In a new example of civilizational decadence, the first pet obesity clinic has opened in Massachusetts.
Obese pets are a growing problem in the US, with estimates that 60 percent of cats and dogs could qualify as obese, said The Week.
Obesity affects cats and dogs the same as humans: increasing the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, joint problems and a host of other ailments.
The clinic will be housed in Tufts University's veterinary center and will have a full-time animal nutritionist on staff.
It is estimated that about 600 pets will be treated per year, which will be as much a lesson for dogs to eat better as it will be for their owners.
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Pet diets, however, often fail.
The likely cause of this failure is too much love.
“We have some studies showing that owners consistently score their pets as weighing less than a vet would deem them to be,” Deborah E. Linder, who runs the clinic, told the Los Angeles Times.
Also, “there’s a sense that food is love.”
The clinic hopes to remedy this by monthly visits and consultations that include the whole family and their pet.
In combating pet obesity, it seems, the appetites of dogs and cats are never the real problem.
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/pet-obesity-clinic-opens-massachusetts
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