Sophie is thirteen years old - a Beagle who despite being grossly obese, is quite beautiful to us. She was given up by a family, along with their Cocker Spaniel and Doberman in March of 2003. Sophie was already spayed but the Cocker and Dobe weren’t. Even so, they were “adoptable” because they “looked good” and were young (compared to Sophie). We vetted those two and they were placed pretty quickly. Sophie however, no one wanted, all comers saying she was “too old” or “too fat”. Sophie is loving, smart, funny, playful, talkative, and a connoisseur of the varied human diet, the richer the better. Her previous family wasn’t very enlightened about the importance of a healthy, consistent diet (needless to say). We tried daily walks and a limited low calorie diet, but at her age it’s very, very hard to get the weight off. Sophie is so happy and so loving, and she is what she is, even if it is obese. We take care of her in a responsible and consistent manner but if she wants a cookie when the other dogs get one (and, of course, you know she does), then she gets a cookie. The only time Sophie is a pill is when any attempt is made to cut her nails. On the day we took her in, her nails were a half of an inch long, three of them curling under and growing back into her pads. The result of this neglect created disgusting sores on her feet. We decided to sedate Sophie in order to not only cut her nails but to drain the abscessed areas in her pads. Only when was high were we able to cut her nails. To this day, when she needs a trim, it has to be done sneakily, one nail at a time - usually one nail per day - while she’s sawing logs in dream land. Boy, does she get mad! But that’s the only surly aspect of her otherwise sweet and charming personality. She loves it here, as well she should. She is indulged, alright, but with affectionate attention instead of bacon and cheese.
