Poor Heidi has had a rough couple of years--and she's only 3 years old. She found her way to BONES from a very small rescue organization in Queens, NY that saved her from an abusive owner who had no time for her and was literally feeding her to death to keep her quiet. She was crated almost 24 hours a day. When the rescue picked her up she weighed in at a whopping 120 pounds and could not move on her own! Within two months they had her down almost 40 pounds and while she did tire out when she walked or tried to run, she was at least somewhat mobile. However, that organization does not normally deal with beagles and their unique traits and sought out a beagle-specific rescue organization to ask for help--fortunately, this led them to BONES.
Heidi officially entered BONES on November 23, 2008 when her foster family met the Queens rescue folks to pick her up. Not having seen any pictures of her previously and only being told what her weight was, what a shock to see this sweet little girl buried in all this fat. It was a two-person effort to lift her into the SUV and back down again. However, that has so far been the most difficult part of having her around -- getting her in and out of a vehicle. Her foster family snapped some pictures of her arrival day so you can see what they saw when they picked her up. They're posted in the picture gallery and are dated 11/23/2008.
Just a couple of days after arriving in foster care, Heidi was given a thorough workup and blood tests at the vet. Quite surprisingly, she has just a couple of minor health issues as a result of her weight, but is an otherwise healthy three-year-old beagle girl! Well...except that her official first weigh-in was 82 pounds. Her foster home kept the same strict diet that she was on at her previous rescue and she has been doing GREAT on it. She went in for a weigh-in on December 11 and had already lost 6 pounds! See the chart to the left--we'll keep it updated as her weight loss progresses.
Since arriving in foster care, Heidi has been a surprisingly easy keeper for a beagle her size. One thing that has helped is having three foster beagle brothers who LOVE to run around in the yard. She sooo longs to run with them -- you can see that as she watches them. She loves to be outdoors -- although she's not too crazy about the cold weather and doesn't quite know what to make of snow (except it is great to eat when she's thirsty). She has also finally picked up on the idea of going to the bathroom outside; you see, Heidi came to BONES pad-trained rather than housebroken. Fortunately, between her foster brothers' daily routine and her foster family's guidance, she is learning all about housetraining (she is now responding positively to the word "out") and is almost there--she is a quick learner and very eager to please!
Personality-wise, you could not ask for a sweeter girl. She LOVES head scratches and back rubs and is very affectionate in return (you'll know when she's "adopted" you as her own). She is content just to be in the same room with her family, and once you get used to her snoring and snorting (which sounds relatively like a pig snort), she is very little trouble. She even has the most adorable little beagle low howl that we've captured (see the video link above) -- it is guaranteed to make you laugh and go "awwww" at the same time. However, being a beagle and given her start in life, she is obviously VERY food motivated and has learned to use her weight to her advantage when necessary--she is not above body-slamming against anything in her way, although she rarely does this. She has not shown any signs of aggression towards humans or other dogs, although she won't be bullied either.
Heidi will need a forever family that understands her situation and is committed to keep her to her strict weight reduction (and subsequent maintenance) plan. She is a beggar girl who can give you the saddest little story (as only she can tell it) and it is a challenge to keep from giving those extra treats. But in the end it will be well worth the effort to have a more active, healthier, and happier beagle girl who wants nothing more than a family to call her own (or share with a canine brother or sister).
In the pictue gallery section, there are pictures from various dates since her arrival that show her progress. You can see a little more "ground clearance" under her belly and she is moving around a lot more than in the beginning. Also, her head doesn't look as disproportionately small as it did when she first arrived--she is looking more beagle-like all the time!
Look around Heidi's website and check out all the special features...and please visit Heidi's guest book and send her some words of encouragement on her weight loss journey as well as her discovery of what it's like to be part of a family and a pet pack. Her foster family is hard at work preparing her for her future forever family...could it be yours??