Overfed dog is losing weight

The Labrador weighing 80kgs (12st 5lbs) was signed over to the RSPCA to slim down earlier this year, and his diet is going to plan.

The twelve-year-old dog had been continuously eating as his elderly owner would forget he had already fed him. The dog, named Alfie, was struggling to walk more than a few steps and was being lifted by four people using towels as slings.

Staff at the Leybourne Animal Centre in Kent, where Alfie now stays, made a bed for him on the floor as his kennel bed was raised a few inches and he couldn't lift his legs that far.

He is now on a calorie-controlled diet of two meals a day, strictly no treats and weekly weigh-ins. The diet will help him breathe easier, cure his pressure sores and ease his damaged joints. He has already lost about 30kgs (4st 7lbs) since arriving a few months ago.

"[Alfie] was being fed to death, it's amazing he was alive given his size," said centre manager Christine Dooley. "A healthy Labrador weighs about 30 kilos, so poor Alfie was carrying the weight of two Labradors and a Staffie too.

"We want the weight to come off slowly and give his leg muscles a chance to build up strength and for his skin to shrink," added Christine. "He's such a lovely dog and his tail never stops wagging."

It is hoped that Alfie will be rehomed after he reaches a manageable weight.