MISSOULA – You may not acknowledge this pet dog, however in 2015 ABC FOX Montana did a story on Pearl’s New Year’s resolution to reduce weight.
Now one year later on, Pearl’s weight loss journey is acquiring nationwide attention.
Watching the beagle run, you would never ever think that simply in 2015 she might hardly stroll.
“She weighed 50 pounds, unable to walk more than 4 to 5 steps before her legs would give out,” Pearl’s owner and shelter employee, Jessie Maclay stated. “She had a dislocated hip that prevented her from being able to walk well.”
Jessie Maclay operates at the Humane Society of Western Montana. When she initially saw Pearl she believed she understood how to assist. So she brought the pet dog to Montana Water Dogs to experiment with water treatment.
“Her first swimming session she swam for a minute and 45 seconds, so not very long, many breaks in between,” Maclay stated. “She swam for 10 seconds at a time then took a break, then she would swim again and then she was exhausted for the rest of the day.”
After 54 sessions, 6 days a week, Pearl developed her endurance and had the ability to swim for as much as 15 minutes.
“In the time that we were swimming she lost, easily, 20 to 25 pounds,” Maclay stated.
After dropping those very first couple of pounds, Pearl’s real character started to shine through.
“She is amazing, she runs, she swims, she plays with other dogs, she has the biggest personality that I never would have ever expected when I first met her,” Maclay stated.
But she’s not out of the pet dog home yet, Pearl has Cushing’s Disease and in order to keep the weight off she requires to follow a rigorous diet plan. That does not indicate she can’t take pleasure in a reward every now and then…
“We asked ‘Can she have anything?’ and the vet said she could have green beans,” Maclay stated. “It took a long time to convince her that green beans are good but now she loves it.”
Pearl is likewise caring her brand-new leash on life.
The puppy was just recently included in People magazine for January’s “Half Their Size” problem.
On Friday she’ll remain in the nationwide spotlight once again, this time reside in New York on ABC’s Good Morning America.
