Poor Sampson, a Labrador, Is Horribly Obese | I Call it Animal Cruelty
source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/is-sampson-the-labrador-australias-most-obese-pet/story-fn6...
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- EthicalVegan
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Kelly Ryan
From: Herald Sun
June 22, 2011 12:00AM
Sampson obese dog
Sampson the labrador with Kaden Lavery.
Herald Sun
AT 85kg, Sampson the larger-than-life labrador is a staggering 42kg over his ideal weight.
The hulking hound is so fat and so unfit that staff at the Animal Aid shelter in Coldstream say it will take him until Christmas to shed half his massive frame.
Sampson is at the forefront of Australia's epidemic of overweight pets.
He is too fat to be exercised. His bulging, blood-shot eyes are the result of fatty tissue around his head and high blood pressure.
The lumbering lab has to be taken to the shelter in the Animal Aid van for his weekly weigh-in because he can't comfortably fit on the back seat of vet Amber Lavery's family sedan.
She has taken Sampson in until he sheds at least half his weight, when he will be put up for adoption.
"He's the size of a small heifer," said Ms Lavery, who works for Animal Aid.
"It's obvious to get a case of such extreme obesity, Sampson has been fed excessive quantities of the wrong types of food over a very extended period of time.
"His former owners obviously couldn't resist his big brown eyes that follow you around saying 'Feed me'."
It is believed Sampson enjoyed regular feasts of fast foods and other fatty treats - food normally consumed by humans as occasional meals.
He is struggling to adjust from a life of gorging to a meagre meal of a little more than three cups of dry dog biscuits and water.
"Tough love means saying no," Ms Lavery said.
"He has a very keen appetite and shows a willingness to do anything he can to get food, any way he can."
Animal lovers can contribute to Sampson's expensive diet food at animalaid.com.au
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mastroiannic
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... What the fuck is wrong with people!?. This blows my mind. I don't expect a whole lot of people to be amazing pet owners, but in the very least, pet-food packages have a recommend feeding guide. It's not hard to follow from the get go. The adults in this family need to jump off a bridge. I don't want that kind of ignorance around.
- 11 months ago
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mastroiannic
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EthicalVegan
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My heart breaks every time I look at these two photos of Sampson, this precious, beautiful being whose family just plain didn't GET it.
I'm much relieved to know he's no longer living with such selfish, stupid people... and I hope like mad that Sampson will survive his weight loss program (one which I personally do not think is the healthiest plan, either), and be able to have an at least reasonable rest of his life, poor baby.
I sure wish I could hug him... a lot.
- 11 months ago
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EthicalVegan
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EthicalVegan
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Sampson "is the size of a small heifer".
Herald Sun
- 11 months ago
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EthicalVegan
