My foster whale

We called her Nellie because it rhymes with Belly. Found as a stray by Animal Control, they think she is about 4 years old and morbidly obese.

Here she is outside immediately after arriving:

Here she is snoozing (and snoring) at my feet a little while ago.


Here's a picture with my resident Tina. I guess her to be at least twice Tina's weight. I have trouble lifting her.

Poor fat girl. Looking forward to a slimmer and healthier Nellie.

I had an Aunt Nell who looked a lot like your Nellie. But my Aunt Nell was strong as an ox. Really.

Maybe I should have called her "traditionally built" like the heroine of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books.

pugpillow wrote:Maybe I should have called her "traditionally built" like the heroine of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books.

Ah. No. Your Nellie is fat. My Aunt Nell was built like a brick shithouse (as my dad would have said). She was most famous for cold cocking a pony that had kicked my younger sister and for naming her daughter Dixie Cinderella.

And I love those books!

Poor little, er, big Nellie. She is a cutie tho! Here's to a healthier, lighter Nellie in your loving care

Wow. WOW. She is one lucky fatty boomba Pug to end up with you, Hillary. She is gonna get the most healthy, nutritious and most importantly SLIMMING diet. I look forward to seeing her drop a few dress...er...harness sizes.



And Blanche, so that was Dixie Cinderella's ma, eh? I just crack up every time I see or hear mention of that name.

Well Rona, she turned up her nose at raw dinner (chicken and ground turkey bones) and breakfast slop this morning so she hasn't eaten since she got here. It looks like she has no concept of mealtimes so probably has been grazing all her life. She does show extreme interest when I eat so probably has been fed table scraps too. This will be a big culture shock for her. So I'm off today to buy kibble (can't believe I said that!). She's a happy little scamp and has become my shadow.

Wow, "what a beast" as Darian would say! Poor girl. I just can't imagine a pug just wandering around as a stray. Sad.

I remember that Dixie Cinderella story....did they call her this all the time? Or just Dixie?

Fatty fatty two by four, can't fit through the kitchen door!!! Jesus how do people let them get like that? That's the equivalent of those TLC specials on the people that weigh like 800lbs.

I'd tell her to suck it up and not offer anything else. She's obviously been well spoilt. You eat what i offer or you don't eat at all at my house. It's not like she's a little <5lb chihuahua that'll go hypoglycemic.

She actually did have trouble fitting through the door to the crate when I picked her up yesterday. It's an unusual crate where the door is quite a bit small than the width of the crate. While I agree not to coddle her about the food, I think she should have a LITTLE something in her tummy every day. I went out this morning and got a small bag of Taste of the Wild Fowl, put the dry kibble in a stainless steel bowl and she turned up her nose at that too. That's it until suppertime when I will try the kibble moistened a little. Eventually she'll get that we have mealtimes twice a day and nothing in between (no treats either). I stopped at a vet and weighed her and to my surprise she was ONLY 28.5 lb. I was figuring close to 35. I checked twice.

She's a happy wee girl who loves people and car rides. She is house trained and slept under the covers in Big Bed last night. Obviously comes from a home where she was loved. Too well loved.

Wonder if she would eat her kibble with green beans on it. I agree that you need to keep her fed so her metabolism doesn't get too screwed up. Good luck with her! She sounds like a doll.

We had a pony years ago the vet put on a "dirt diet" which involved 3 small measured meals a day and the rest of the time was spent wandering around searching hopefully for whatever crumbs she had missed the first time.

When I took 1/4 of Stubby's poundage off him 2 years ago he has been left with several handfuls of loose skin around his neck giving him the appearance of one of those frilled lizards you see on the nature channel! My vet keeps threatening to make another Pug out of the leftover skin.... Wonder whether or not she will have the same experience. It just gives them more character and reminds the owner of what to avoid!

Looking forward to seeing Nelly's true self emerge. Such a cutie pie.

Rallypug wrote: When I took 1/4 of Stubby's poundage off him 2 years ago he has been left with several handfuls of loose skin around his neck giving him the appearance of one of those frilled lizards you see on the nature channel! My vet keeps threatening to make another Pug out of the leftover skin.... Wonder whether or not she will have the same experience. It just gives them more character and reminds the owner of what to avoid!

I was wondering the same thing this morning.

Nellie Belly! She is a big girl. She must have a small frame under there. I had a foster hold out for 2 weeks on eating. I only gave him greek yogurt and small amounts of baby food just to get him a little bit of something in the belly. He eventually gave in.

Nellie the elephant packed her trunk ...

Bless her, she is very cute. Glad she's in your capable hands.

pugpillow wrote:

Rallypug wrote: When I took 1/4 of Stubby's poundage off him 2 years ago he has been left with several handfuls of loose skin around his neck giving him the appearance of one of those frilled lizards you see on the nature channel! My vet keeps threatening to make another Pug out of the leftover skin.... Wonder whether or not she will have the same experience. It just gives them more character and reminds the owner of what to avoid!

I was wondering the same thing this morning.

Tank has masses of extra skin from his weight loss. He was a hefty 32 lbs at intake and is now 23 lbs. While he would be jowly anyway, he's much jowlier due to the weight loss.

northernwitch wrote:

pugpillow wrote:

Rallypug wrote: When I took 1/4 of Stubby's poundage off him 2 years ago he has been left with several handfuls of loose skin around his neck giving him the appearance of one of those frilled lizards you see on the nature channel! My vet keeps threatening to make another Pug out of the leftover skin.... Wonder whether or not she will have the same experience. It just gives them more character and reminds the owner of what to avoid!

I was wondering the same thing this morning.

Tank has masses of extra skin from his weight loss. He was a hefty 32 lbs at intake and is now 23 lbs. While he would be jowly anyway, he's much jowlier due to the weight loss.

I never thought of it... but, that must be why my Tobey has jowls that are so much bigger than the other pugs. I think she hit 26-27 pounds at one point early on, and now she is down to 18 lbs. Hmm.

Thar she blows! What an adorable whale. Glad she's in your capable hands now.

Jeebus, what a snausage! She is quite fluffy! I can't wait to see her after she gets her slim and girlish figure back.

I am in the same camp as Amanda and Renee - boot camp. If they don't eat, I just make sure they stay hydrated (chicken broth in the water usually helps). And watching the others eating their own meals often helps, too!

But, but but...one concern: if that weight was not really as solid as you expected - has she been checked to see if some of it is fluid and not fat? Thyroid, metabolism issues etc?

And the loose skin? I have had pugs that have NEVER been obese have that excess skin plus I have had some Big Bertha's that I have toned down into Slim Joans and their skins have shrunken with the rest of them, so I conclude that the loose skin is just an inherited thing and not directly connected to rapid weight loss. JME.