Two chubby pooches will be panting their way to good health over the next six months after making the final trim to take part in a national pet slimming contest.
Bulging cavalier King Charles spaniel Bobby and supersized Staffordshire bull terrier Beetlejuice will be subject to a gruelling weight loss regime as part of pet charity PDSA’s Pet Fit Club competition.
Bobby, of Stepney, weighed in at 3st 5lb - a staggering 111 per cent over his recommended mass - while Bethnal Green’s 7st Beetlejuice was labelled 50 per cent overweight.
Owner Annette Green admitted Bobby was living on a diet of takeaway curry and treats.
“I love him to bits but I’ve been feeding him too many chews and biscuits, and whenever we have a takeaway he has some of that as well,” the 39-year-old said.
Margaret Cox, owner of five-year-old Beetlejuice – named after the hit comedy horror film - insists she is determined to help her pooch shed the pounds after he developed a taste for sweet and sour chicken.
She added: “I feel terrible about it now but we just didn’t realise how bad it was for him.
“He just looks up at us and it’s so hard to resist his adorable eyes, we’d always give in and give him titbits all the time but that’s all stopped now.”
The pets will now begin their six month diets, which follow PDSA research showing that 18 million pets are being fed “deadly diets” - which could ultimately send them to an early grave.
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