The only thing worse than trying to lose weight is trying to cajole your pet into shedding a few “ellbees.” (That’s short speak for lbs. for all you *&^% slender people out there). And that time had come. The vet started in with “the talk.” Let’s just say that Lewis was to the point that he was in danger of forcing the creation of a new blog, well, at least a new blog title. Gone with the pounds was “Life with a 140-lb. dog.”

When Lewis arrived here at his new home, he was a scant 60-lb. fur ball. Well, that status didn’t stay quo for very long. 60, 70, 80, 110, 125…. The numbers rolled by like dog treats on a platter (the actual occurrence of which probably contributed to his weight problem). Soon, we were looking down the barrel of 155 lbs., and the vet said, “Oh hell, no.” (She didn’t really. I just like that phrase for emphasis sake.) But the 155 lbs. were all too real. Big dogs (and Lewis “are” one) usually have hip problems because of their weight (been there done that). Lewis had already started to struggle just a bit getting up from wooden floors, so there was no more….weight….and see. The pounds had to go.

The pounds had to go, therefore, so did the scrambled eggs in the morning, the last bite of a sandwich at lunch, and that little piece of meat at dinner….and everything in between. Over the course of a couple of months, Lewis successfully saved the title of his blog! The big boy, okay, less big, got down to 140 pounds. He’s still on a semblance of a diet in order to preserve that svelte, fighting weight of his. Mind you, he doesn’t stand in front of the mirror and opine, “Oh, would you just look at those hips.” But he gets up more easily, and he runs to his dinner bowl a half-step faster.

He has inspired me to lose weight myself, so I made an appointment this week with the vet!