When my brother and I drove Rocco from Kansas City to Durham on Thanksgiving Day 2006, my college dog weighed in at an impressive 123 lbs. Thanks to the plethora of table scraps available from Darryl and the lawlessness that presides when there are 4 dogs, 2 cats and 3 humans living under one roof, Rocco was able to eat pretty much anything he wanted to for 3 years and topped out at 148 lbs around a year ago. We once witnessed him consume an entire cheese tray in 5 seconds flat. One second it was there, the next it was gone. Over New Year's we went on a trip to the beach. He struggled walking on the beach, going up the two flights of stairs and he wanted nothing to do with the water, which is pretty hard to comprehend considering most Golden's LOVE the water. We knew he was fat, but at that point we realized just how unhappy he was. In the below picture, we took it RIGHT before the wave hit him from behind, forcing him to jump up and run away.
Anna and I made it our 2007 goal to get Rocco back at a respectable weight, and we're happy to say that was accomplished this weekend. On Saturday morning, I took Rocco for his monthly weigh in and in only 6 months, Rocco has lost 60 lbs, with his most recent weight being 88 lbs. To be honest, he's pretty much a new dog. On sunday he went swimming in the ocean. Even better and a lot funnier, he jumped off a boat for the first time, fully submerging himself in the ocean.
Below is our perfectly thin Golden Retriever.
