Vets Hate Him: Dog Loses 75 Percent of Body Fat With One Weird Trick

Meet Dennis, a mini dachshund who has a new lease on life. Once weighing over 56 pounds (that’s four to five Dennises) he’s slimmed down and is looking fitter than ever, all with the power of one very important trick that can be yours for less than $1. Read on, and get your wallets handy.

When Brooke Burton first met Dennis in 2013 she almost cried. Living at the home of Burton’s relative, Dennis had been fed on a steady diet of White Castle burgers and pizza. By the time he left the relative’s home with Burton, Dennis weighed 56 pounds. He couldn’t walk without hyperventilating, his head appeared too tiny for his body and he rested upon rolls and rolls of fat. Burton knew she had to do something. MSN reports that she convinced her relative to let the dog go and then took him home for a lot of life changes.

Now that Dennis is off the pizza and burger diet (that’s his weird trick), he’s gone back down to 12 pounds and is much happier. Burton recalls how sad he looked at the home of her relative and compares that to how happy he is now that he’s eating dog food and taking walks several times a day. The only problem? Poor Dennis has lost so much weight that he’s tripping over his own excess skin, which is a common occurrence now that he loves to jump around and play. He’s had three surgeries to remove the skin so he remains healthy and doesn’t get infections.

And this story does have an important lesson:

Dr. Kathleen Ham, the veterinary surgeon who performed the operations, says Dennis’ story is a good lesson for pet owners who might feed their animals too much.

“We have an expression: food is not love,” Ham says. “Most of what your pet wants from you is affection and attention.”