Bolinha an obese 80 pound stray hungers for love
This story takes place in a remote gas station in rural western Brazil, where a Dog Lover rescuer took action and changed a starving stray dog’s life for the rest of her life. This animal had been overfed with scraps for 13 years by passing motorists and neighbors, but the only thing they never put on her menu was: LOVE.
After this brave and admirable rescuer took Bolinha in, it wasn’t necessarily a a pleasure ride from then on. Within the following year she was exercised and her food intake tremendously reduced in order to restore in some measure her mobility and breathing capacity. But all this was tolerable for her because she now had what had been missing her entire life, someone who truly cared.
Bolinha became obese from the too-frequent feedings — ballooning to a whopping 80 pounds. After being overlooked countless times, hope finally came for Bolinha last September after an animal rescuer from a nearby town heard about her plight. The dog was found huddled amongst a pile of debris behind the gas station when the kind man arrived to save him. She was so heavy, breathing had become difficult and she was barely able to walk on her own.
That’s the moment everything began to change for the old dog. She was placed in the caring hands of folks from Animal Protection Organization (OPA-MT) who gave her what may have been the first bath she had ever had.
She was given an exercise regimen that involved walking on a treadmill in water to alleviate the stress on her aching joints. Progress was slow at first, but sure enough Bolinha’s extra weight started to melt away.
Meanwhile, while her food intake had to be reduced to much lower than she’d grown accustomed to, caregivers made sure to fill the void with no shortage of affection.
It’s been less than a year since the obese dog was rescued from her lonely life in the place where she’d been abandoned, yet so much has changed.
Bolinha has so far shed more than 30 pounds — no small feat considering her age and condition. Rescuers says that’s still some ways off his healthy goal weight, but the old dog is nearly unrecognizable in both body and spirit.
Stephen Messenger
(Sources: Facebook/PamPet, thedodo.com)
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