Gables Farm Dogs and Cats Home has recently taken in a 6yr old tricolour Collie cross from the RSPCA. She has affectionately been named Hattie “the Fattie” as she weighed a staggering 36kg when she arrived. Due to her morbid obesity Hattie is very stiff, her joints are painful and she is also diabetic, which requires twice daily injections of insulin to keep her blood sugar level stable. She is on a strictly controlled diet to lose the weight slowly and safely. As a result of her diabetes she developed cataracts, which has caused blindness in both of her eyes. When she arrived her ears where in need of cleaning and it was discovered that not only were they infected but her ear canals are too narrow and will require surgery to help prevent future infections. She will need to continue having insulin injections for rest of her life and be fed a strictly controlled diet. 

She is a candidate for cataract surgery and due to her young age it is predicted that surgery should greatly improve her vision and make her more comfortable. When she successfully loses her weight she will need to have a “tummy tuck” to remove the excess skin she will be left with.   Hattie’s ongoing medical treatments, and procedures that she will need once she has reached a safer weight, are expected to cost the Home in excess of £1200. 

Deputy Manager Ruth Rickard said: “When I first saw Hattie I couldn’t believe it as she looked more like a Pot Bellied Pig than a dog. I just knew we had to try and help her. I take her home with me at night so I can administer her insulin injections, which she tolerates very well. As the weight has started to come off we have found that she is very spirited and extremely loving, despite the fact we put her on a diet. She spends her days in our reception, keeping an eye on the staff and customers, and as we watch her gain confidence and lose weight it makes me proud that we are a genuine non euthanasia charity”.