It hit me hard this weekend that my actions affect more than just myself. When we took our two beloved dogs (our only “kids,” to date) to the vet on Saturday, we were told that the pups’ weights are far too high and both need to lose about 12 pounds. Raven, our black-and-white lab mix, weighed in at a hefty 66.7–12 pounds higher than when we rescued him–and Nora, our chocolate lab, tipped the scale at 77.5–about 11 pounds more than she was just 18 months ago.
Because our lifestyle is sedentary, theirs is as well. When we’re too tired to exercise, they don’t get to exercise either. It’s not fair to ourselves or to our dogs to live a sloth-like lifestyle, and it’s stopping now.
To be fair, the dogs do get walked almost every single morning. But when we get home at night, we often crash on the couch when we should be walking them again or playing fetch. We also don’t have a fence, which limits the amount of activity we can give them, but we should be more than making up for it in other ways.
So, the whole family–two-legged and four–is now on a lifestyle change. We’re going to turn our dogs from couch potatoes into svelte canine specimens–and transform ourselves in the process.
Quote: “A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk.” ~O.A. Battista
This post made me feel so sad for my dogs! Since we have always had a fence, I can’t even tell you the last time we walked them.
I love the picture of them playing outside, they all look so energetic and happy!