For a small dog, weighing 63 pounds meant that Bertha couldn’t do the simple things that most dogs do. She had trouble walking, couldn’t jump, and going on walks was out of the question.
When Meredith decided to foster Bertha, she knew that she had a lot of work ahead of her. But she was determined to help this poor pup.
Abandoned
Bertha’s owner abandoned her at a local shelter when she started getting several health conditions. If she didn’t lose weight, it was very likely that she would not last long.
So when Meredith took her home, she had to create a weight loss program for her.
the first consideration was her food intake. Meredith had to count all the calories that she took in each day. She made some calculations to determine how much, or how little, she could give, without endangering her well-being.
Then, of course, there was the important issue of exercising. Bertha hated it.
Treadmill
They first started her on an underwater treadmill. The water would at least give her some buoyancy and remove some of the weight from her legs. In her first attempt, she took five steps and she gave up. They decided to increase the water so she wouldn’t put any pressure on her legs. They even had to give her a life jacket.
When she first put the orange life jacket on, it couldn’t snap close as she was too large. They had to use a bungee cord so that they could latch it around her. She then started paddling. It wasn’t much, but at least it was a start.
They did this every day. Meredith was so patient and she was confident that she would get results. And slowly, her weight started to drop.
Victory
They had small victories during the process. And they celebrated them. One notable moment was when they were able to close the life jacket around her. The next was when she was finally able to scratch her ear with her leg.
All of these proved that their method was working.
18 months after Bertha moved in, She lost more than half of her weight. She was then at 30 pounds. And by that time, Meredith became so emotionally invested in Bertha that she decided to adopt her.
Source: The Dodo via Youtube