The above picture is what adorable chihuahua Bertha used to look like.
When she was given to Muttville Senior Dog Resue in San Francisco after her owner passed away she tipped the scales at 13lb – almost three times the recommended weight for a dog like her.
Her owner had passed away, and she was struggling to carry her body on her little legs. Not the best time for poor Bertha.
However, when she was adopted in August 2017 by 35-year-old Allison Hackett, things turned right around for her.
Bertha has now lost almost half of her body weight, and has a loving home where she can run around and play.
Allison, a mergers and acquisitions associate says that when she was rescued, ‘She was unable to move well and she was definitely hindered by her weight. She looked like a sausage.
‘My friend said she looked like a loaf of bread on tiny legs.’
The vet advised Allison to feed the 11-year-old pooch just a quarter of a cup of food per day.
Although she wasn’t sure what she’d been eating before coming to Muttville, it was likely considerably more than this.
On a hot summer day, fill up an inflatable pool with water and ice.
Now, Bertha enjoys low-carb dog food, and has even gotten in to eating carrot and apples as well as no ‘people food or high-calorie treats’.
She reached her 5lb goal a year into her diet, and Allison says ‘her vet is super happy with her at the moment.’
She continues, ‘Now she can go up and down the stairs, she can stand on her hind legs, she can run around.
‘The has so much energy now and it’s so nice to hear the click of her toenails running around the house constantly especially when she could hardly move before.’
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Apparently her love of food has remained, and Bertha is constantly on the lookout for her next snack. For Allison to resist those puppy dog eyes, she deserves a medal.
All worth it though to see her happy and healthy dog loving life.