Dog News

Obie gets excess skin removed after losing 40 lbs

by Katherine

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On April 30th, 2013, Obie the six-year-old, overweight Dachshund, who last August weighed 77 lbs, went into surgery to have his excess skin removed. He has successfully dropped 40 lbs in the past eight months. Nora Vanatta, his care taker, has helped him lose weight by following a healthy diet and a low impact exercise program. The surgery was performed by Dr. Alon Kramer from Oregon Expert Vets.

Obi fat dog
This photo shows Obie at 77 lbs and a few days before his surgery took place. Photo Credit: Facebook

In August 2012, Obie was relinquished by his loving owners who unknowingly where over feeding him. Vanatta stepped in to help Obie get on the right track to a healthy life. She has a degree in Animal Science from Colorado State University, and eight years of working experience as a certified veterinary technician. Vanatta planned to do swimming therapy and light treadmill runs with Obie once he started to lose some of the weight.

When Vanatta met Obie for the first time, she said that his situation was very frustrating and sad, but that she was thrilled to be able to help him move on with his new life.

On the morning of the surgery, Vanatta greeted Obie’s Facebook followers with the following message.
Good Morning! Today is a big day for Obie as he finally gets to have the excess skin removed since losing 40lbs in the last 8 months. He weighs in at 37lbs and 4oz today. The extra skin likely only weighs a few pounds and his ideal weight is probably around 28 to 30 pounds.

“I don’t know that this surgery has ever been performed on a dog before after a significant weight loss,” said Vanatta. “But it will be similar to doing a mass removal procedure.”

The surgery took over two hours and a total of 2 lbs of skin was removed. Obie spent the night at the hospital and is now recuperating at home.

If you want to learn more about Obie, you can follow his Facebook page. You can also see images from Obie’s surgery. *Warning some images are graphic.