Senior Shelter Dog Weighed 110 Pounds, And Her Georgia Foster Mom Couldn’t Believe Her Size In Person
Perogi the senior dog was surrendered to a Georgia shelter carrying a dangerous amount of extra weight. Thankfully, a compassionate vet tech stepped in to foster her and change her life.
A Sudden Change For A Senior Dog
At ten years old, a sweet dog named Perogi suddenly found herself in a shelter environment.
Losing a home is incredibly disorienting for any senior animal, but Perogi was facing an additional, massive hurdle.
She was surrendered with absolutely no backstory, leaving shelter staff to guess how she had gotten into her current physical state.
Perogi was carrying a dangerous amount of extra weight, making every movement a struggle for the older dog.
The Wrong Environment For Recovery
Shelters are inherently stressful places, filled with loud noises and unfamiliar smells.
For a dog like Perogi, who desperately needed to embark on a strict health and fitness regimen, a kennel was the worst possible place to be.
The shelter environment is simply not conducive to a controlled, safe weight loss journey.
Fortunately, a compassionate woman named Amber saw Perogi’s situation and knew she had to intervene.
Amber is a veterinary technician who works at a local clinic, putting her in the perfect position to offer the specialized help this senior dog needed.
A Shocking Reality Check
Amber officially decided to foster Perogi, determined to give the sweet girl a safe place to heal.
However, seeing photos of the dog was entirely different from meeting her face-to-face.
When Amber arrived at the shelter to pick her up, she was completely taken aback by the dog’s true size.
“My first thought was, oh my gosh, she’s so much bigger in person,” Amber recalled.
She quickly calculated that Perogi needed to lose about 50 pounds—roughly half of her current body weight.
A Heart Of Gold
Losing half of your body weight is an insane mountain to climb for any animal.
Despite the immense physical burden she was carrying, Perogi’s spirit remained completely unbroken.
She proved to be an incredibly gentle and affectionate soul who just wanted to be loved.
“She’s so sweet, she’ll run up to any person… with her tail wagging like crazy,” Amber shared.
Her charming personality made the difficult road ahead feel entirely worth the effort.
Searching For Medical Answers
Because of Perogi’s extreme size, Amber’s first priority was to rule out any medical conditions.
Sometimes, rapid or uncontrollable weight gain in dogs can be tied to thyroid issues or other metabolic disorders.
Amber ran a full panel of blood work at her clinic to see what they were dealing with.
To everyone’s relief, the results came back completely normal and great.
There was no indication of any underlying health issue driving her weight gain.
Hidden Struggles And Pain
While her blood work was clear, Perogi was still suffering from secondary conditions caused by her size.
She had developed skin infections that required medicated baths and a round of antibiotics.
More concerning, however, was a painful eye condition known as entropion.
This condition causes the eyelids to roll inward, meaning Perogi’s eyelashes were constantly rubbing against her eyeballs.
Tragically, she was suffering from this severe irritation on all four of her eyelids.
A Dangerous Waiting Game
Entropion is highly irritating and requires medical intervention to correct.
Normally, a veterinarian would perform a straightforward surgery to fix the rolling eyelids and provide immediate relief.
However, Perogi’s massive size made the situation incredibly complicated.
At 110 pounds, she was not a safe candidate to be put under general anesthesia.
She would have to endure the discomfort a little longer while she worked hard to shed the dangerous weight.
Loved The Wrong Way
With no underlying medical cause for the weight, Amber was left to piece together Perogi’s past.
She strongly suspects that the dog came from a home where she was simply overfed.
“I don’t think that her previous owners meant her harm,” Amber explained thoughtfully.
She believes the family likely thought that giving her endless food and treats was the best way to show affection.
They were trying to love her, but they were unfortunately doing it in a way that put her life at risk.
Taking The First Heavy Steps
The journey to health began with strict boundaries and a lot of patience.
Perogi was placed on a specialized prescription diet with absolutely no extra treats allowed.
On her very first day, just walking the short distance from the shelter doors to Amber’s car in the parking lot was incredibly difficult for her.
But with daily encouragement, Perogi began walking farther and farther each day.
Her hard work has already started to pay off, as she has successfully dropped from 110 pounds down to 107.
A Brighter Path Ahead
Today, Perogi is a beloved fixture at the veterinary clinic where Amber works.
She comes to the office every single day, where Amber’s coworkers happily help out with her care.
With her unique shape, Amber lovingly describes her as looking like a “baked potato on legs,” bringing smiles and giggles to everyone she meets.
Clients are constantly asking about her, adoring the sweet senior dog at first sight.
For now, Perogi remains a foster dog, focusing entirely on getting her weight down and her health on track so she can eventually find the perfect forever home.
