Obese Dachshund sheds 50 pounds, poses for hot dog calendar

This pup underwent quite the transformation.

Obie the dachshund, from Portland, Oregon, first made headlines in 2012 when heweighed a startling 77 pounds and his new owner set out on a quest to help him lose more than half of that. Nora Vanatta, a certified veterinary technician who rescued him from his previous owners, put him on a strict diet and exercise regimen. It worked and Obie now clocks in at a healthy 23 pounds. To celebrate, Vanetta has released a 2015 calendar chronicling the pups journey.

I feel blessed to be involved in Obies rehab and hope he can be an inspiration to any person or animal trying to lose weight, Vanetta told the Telegraph. It is so important to introduce pups and kids to a healthy lifestyle and food choices as early as possible.

Getting Obie down to a healthy size was no easy task. The pups previous owners, an elderly couple, fed him human food with the intention of spoiling the dog, The Oregonian reported. When Vanetta rescued him, Obie had a great deal of adjusting to do.

He was eating only people food before, so it took a little bit of a transition to get him on dog food, Vanatta told the Today show in June. Now [he has] two meals a day, a couple snacks and lots of exercise.

In addition to a revised diet, which now includes vegetables, and an exercise regimen, the dachshund also underwent surgery last April to remove the excess skin that was leftover from slimming down.

He is a star representation of a perfect body condition, Dr. Leilani Alvarez, a veterinarian and director of a rehabilitation and fitness service told the Today show.

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Obese Dachshund sheds 50 pounds, poses for hot dog calendar