Overweight dog undergoes surgery in Pune, loses over 5kg in a week, gains her pace

Pune: A Pune-based animal clinic conducted its first laparoscopic surgery on an overweight dog, an Indian cross breed

Pune: A Pune-based animal clinic conducted its first laparoscopic surgery on an overweight dog, an Indian cross breed. Post-surgery, doctors have claimed that the dog lost over 5 kgs in just a week. Just like adults, animals too could suffer from serious health issues due to obesity.

Pet owner said Deepika is able to walk after the surgery. (HT)

Ms Yasmin Daruwala, a resident of Karvenagar, was worried as her dog avoided participating in any physical activities almost 7-8 years ago. He said, “We had neutered our dog, Deepika, 5 years ago. Initially, she would run around the house, help me with some of the household chores, play with me, go for walks, won’t get irritated easily, follow my instructions, eat properly, exercise with me, help me fetch things, and was attentive. A few years down the line, I noticed her rapid breathing, inability to walk and breathlessness. She was 5-6 years old when she lost interest in all the activities. She would just sit on the couch being lazy, salivating, panting severely for breath. With time her condition deteriorated,and we spent about ₹10,000 every month on medicines and food.”

After consulting many doctors, Daruwala came across Dr Narendra Pardeshi of Small Animal Clinic, Pune, and tried various ways to reduce weight by prescription diets for obesity, cardiac food and joint foods. “Dr Pardeshi suggested laparoscopic sleeve gastronomy surgery and so we consulted Dr Shashank Shah, leading laparoscopic bariatric surgeon, Laparo Obeso Centre, Pune,” she said.

Dr Shah said, “Like humans, obesity is a silent killer in animals too. Animals can become obese owing to the lack of exercise and excessive food intake. Labrador, Pug, Golden retriever, boxer, St. Bernard are more predisposed breeds along with Indian dogs who are fed more on carbohydrate-rich food. Like humans, this dog had a history of obesity, high blood pressure, dilated cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart), thyroid problem (hypothyroidism), higher Body Mass Index (BMI), panting, salivation (watery discharge) from the mouth, joint problems and bluish tongue (cyanosis).”

Dr Pardeshi said the normal lifespan of a dog is 12 -15 years and tends to reduce by six years if they are obese and fail to seek timely treatment. He said, “The joints of dogs get degenerated because of obesity and have less physical activity. This dog underwent various medical tests like humans to check for the fat percentage by measuring the ratio of the stomach and hind legs.”

The surgery was conducted on June 6 and the dog had to fast for 12 hours prior to surgery and on a liquid diet for 5 days with protein-rich powder in liquid form. The dog’s weight was 50 kgs before going for surgery which should have been about 18 -20 kgs. After being on a liquid diet for seven more days, the dog lost four kgs in just five days and more than five kgs in a week.

Ms Daruwala said that the surgery had now helped the dog move easily.