Now he’s helping his foster brother get healthy ❤️️
When Wolfgang entered the shelter as a stray, the obese beagle tipped the scales at 90 pounds — three times his healthy body weight. The shelter got in touch with his owner, who surrendered him over the phone.
But Wolfgang never lets his dark past get him down. His personality is always shining through — something Erin McManis noticed right away.
“He was incredibly nice and friendly the first day we took him from the shelter, and that never changed,” McManis, a foster with Arizona Beagle Rescue, told The Dodo. “Wanting to see his weight loss through, we decided to adopt him.”
At first, Wolfgang could only walk very short distances, and his weight stopped him from doing many of the things he wanted — like greeting his mom at the door.
“When I come home from work, my dogs would typically come to the door and greet me. But Wolfgang couldn’t do that. It would just tire him out too much,” McManis said.
Now, after a year of diet and exercise, Wolfgang has dropped nearly half his body weight. At 51 pounds, he’s able to chase toys, run, swim and play with his brother Andre.
McManis didn’t think beagles could get bigger than Wolfgang — but then she met Jameson.
Seeing the success McManis was having with Wolfgang, Arizona Beagle Rescue contacted her about a 100-pound beagle who had just entered the local humane society. “We had never had four dogs in our house before, so at first I wasn’t sure,” McManis said.
“I thought three was definitely our maximum, but we decided there was room for one more.”
Jameson came to live with McManis and her family in late January and has already dropped 25 pounds. While Wolfgang fit in with everyone right away, Jameson has taken a bit longer to adjust to his new lifestyle.
“Jameson is only 3 years old, but he was an only dog,” McManis said. “He loves the other dogs, but sometimes he isn’t used to sharing or being part of a pack.”
Wolfgang is doing his best to coach his foster brother through the weight loss process, and once Jameson receives corrective surgery to fix a tear in his knee, he will be able to exercise and play again.
When Jameson reaches a healthy weight, he will begin his search for a forever family. Until then, he is in very good hands with his big brother Wolfgang, who is happy to give him all the support he needs.