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Olympia might have broken the scales the day that folks at the Montgomery County Animal Shelter in Chrisitanburg, VA, had to weigh her. Except they couldn’t. Because they didn’t have a scale large enough.
It was July and the dog had come in as a wandering stray. At, 128, the overfed pooch weighed roughly double what she should have.
The shelter is located near the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and so Olympia was lucky enough to get her own nutritionist who formulated for her a special diet. Short walks were mandated; Olympia had knee problems associated with her weight.
The shelter, needing extra help, pleaded for a rescue to step in.
Lindsay Vega, an emergency veterinarian with VCA Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, Maryland, saw the request and shared it on social media, hoping someone would step up. She and the rest of her coworkers decided to foster Olympia right at their hospital.
Olympia’s been with them since August, and she’s proven herself to be “a wonderful, wonderful dog,” Vega told The Dodo. She’s spent the last several months getting into shape with acupuncture, underwater therapy, an exercise program and knee surgery.
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She now weight 70 pounds! That’s within 10 pounds of her goal weight.
Her caretakers say Olympia is a social butterfly who is sassy and stubborn and affectionate and sweet. Her body may have shrunk, but her spirit has not.
“Oh my gosh, super big personality,” Vega says.
And now she’s looking for a forever family. One who will love her enough to help her stick to her diet — and let Vega come over from time to time for a visit!
Olympia, while a people-lover to the max, isn’t the best with other dogs. That’s why Vega, who already has one, can’t adopt her.
“It tears my heart in half to be looking for a home for her,” she said.
So she recently asked her parents to look after her own dog for the weekend, and took her beloved foster dog on a weekend trip to the beach in Delaware.
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They enjoyed walks on the beach and greeting lots of people. They stayed in a hotel, where Olympia slept on the bed. Vega was bowled over by the dog’s sweet nature and big heart.
“I was like, ‘You’re the most amazing dog,'” she says. “I feel very honored to have been part of her journey. It’s been a blessing for me.”
Find out more about adopting Olympia here.