The determination of this formerly obese dog will also inspire you!
Golden retrievers are one of the most popular dog breeds in the country. Known to be people-loving and great with children, these dogs make for excellent family pets.
They are obedient, intelligent, well-mannered, and generally kind even toward strangers.
Because of these traits, Golden Retrievers have easily earned their status as one of the most beloved dog breeds.
Their presence brings a ray of sunshine to every household, and their cheerful countenance is so contagious, that one can’t help but smile when they encounter one.
Kai the Golden Retriever surely has all these great qualities that people especially love in their breed. However, there is one thing holding him back from becoming the best dog that he can be – his weight.
Kai, an obese dog, weighs a whopping 173 pounds, which makes him overweight by 100 pounds.
The dog was taken to the vet by his previous owners with a cruel intention – to put him down because he was having a hard time getting up. Luckily, the vet refused to do it, sensing that Kai still had a lot of life in him.
Truly, he did. But his weight was just getting in the way.
Kai’s vet found him a foster mom, Pam, who was understandably overwhelmed when she saw Kai in the flesh.
When he took him to her vet, the doctor told him that he was the fattest dog that he’s ever seen. She was advised that Kai had to lose roughly a hundred pounds.
The mission seemed daunting, but Pam was absolutely up for the challenge.
Pam described Kai’s first day in her home: “When he got to the house, it took us probably 20 minutes to get him up the 3 stairs into the house.”
The woman willingly took the challenge of fostering Kai, but there were times when she doubted her ability to help the dog.
“I remember saying to the vet, ‘I literally don’t know what to do’. And the vet was like, ‘Anything you do is going to help him.'”
With that, Pam had a renewed determination to help Kai lose all the weight. She started by taking him to walks on the park, but the poor obese dog literally couldn’t do anything.
He’d just walk a few steps, start to pant, and then lay down. Seeing this heartbreaking sight brought Pam to tears.
“I remember going to the dog park at first, and he’d just sit there. He’d watch everyone play and he’d just kind of look at me, and I’d be like, ‘Buddy, I don’t know if we’ll ever get there, but we’re gonna try,'” she recalled.
And so they did.
Pam is a nurse and used to work at cardiac rehabilitation. Her experience there helped her determine the best exercise plan for Kai.
They began with the simplest thing – walking. She walked Kai three times a day and made sure that they went out every single day.
Pam put him on a strict diet as well. He wasn’t allowed to get any treats and his food was monitored.
At first, Kai could just walk five to ten steps before stopping. Then Pam thought of getting him to walk in shallow waters, believing that the buoyancy would make it easier for him to move.
Gradually, Pam observed Kai improving. Every day, the dog would do little things that he wasn’t able to before, like licking his back legs and fetching a stick.
Soon enough, Kai started prancing along and his speed picked up. He’d run, jump over something, climb up, and claw his way onto the bed. Pam was overjoyed, seeing that Kai had come so far.
After a year of hard work, Kai finally reached his goal of losing 100 pounds!
“Kai worked harder than any person, animal, I have ever known in my life, to get to where he could enjoy life again,” Pam said.
By the time Kai met his goal, Pam just couldn’t bring herself to give him up. So she adopted him officially!
Kai’s previous owners gave up on him, but he never gave up on himself.
Congratulations on losing all that weight, Kai! And a massive thank you, Pam, for being a wonderful human being and giving this dog what he truly deserves – lots of love and a family to call his own.
Check out the video below and see Kai’s incredible transformation.
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