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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>I
have to say something here about overweight dogs, and how nasty people can be,
because this is a very sore subject with me. To make this Basset related,
Holly is trim and a perfect weight, Gracie is a little fluffy and Anna has a
pot belly. So do I.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Now.
Mr. Gus was my last Dachshund, he was a small standard and should have weighed 21
or 22 pounds. Gus was a rescue who was probably about 8 years old when he
came to live with me, and he was the fattest dog I have ever in my life
seen. The first time I weighed him was about three weeks after he came to
me, and he weighed 48 pounds. He had the shortest legs of any Dachshund
I've ever seen, he was so fat he could barely waddle and his weenie missed
scraping the ground by about 1/8 of an inch, and I'm not making this up.
Oh yes, he had been in rescue for nearly a year, so doG knows how much he
weighed when he first went into rescue but you know they had been working on
his weight. And he still weighed 48 pounds.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Well
anyway, Gus had to take medicine for some health issues, so you had to be
careful about cutting his food back too much – besides, if he got hungry,
he would find a way to get into the cat food and eat it. So we were
reduced to walking all that fat off, and I got him down to 27 pounds from 48
before we hit a plateau and could not get more off. I was able to walk 21
pounds off him, and that was it. Which I thought was pretty darn good. He
looked a little chubby, but wonderful compared to where we started.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>So
here is what I want to say about this – when we would go to Petsmart and
other places, there was always at least one rude person who felt compelled to
announce "look at that fat dog, boy that's just disgusting" or
something similar after we had walked by. They never had the guts to say
it to my face, only to our backs. I never went Marlene on any of them,
but I sure wanted to. It took a lot of work to get 21 pounds off that old
boy, and I highly resented some big-mouthed know-it-all announcing to the world
how fat he was and what a bad owner I was. And I still resent it, even
though he's been dead for quite a few years. So I guess I'm saying, don't
be too quick to judge, you don't necessarily know all the facts and background.
And if you do make snap judgments, please keep them to yourself. Snide,
nasty comments that are meant to be heard in public places are NEVER
appropriate. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Thanks
for listening. End of Rant.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=JanieHmkBold><span style='font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:JanieHmkBold'>Anita Woodrum</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt'><a
href="mailto:awoodrum@clear.net">awoodrum@clear.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:11.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
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