About a month ago the Tasmanian North East Animal Sanctuary got a call about two overweight Labradors.
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Their elderly owner loved the pair but due to deteriorating health and a poor understanding of what constitutes a healthy dog diet they were no longer able to take care of them properly.
When Bonnie and Cyrus arrived at NEAST they weighed 55 kg and 44 kg respectively.
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Bonnie was 50 per cent body fat while Cyrus was 40 per cent.
To put their weight into perspective the healthy weight for a Labrador is about 34 kg according to Scottsdale Veterinary Services who are helping treat the dogs.
For the last month the NEAST team have been working to get the dogs back down to their fighting weight.
Megan Barker from NEAST said the first step was a healthy diet.
"For Bonnie specifically that is the best way to go around it especially at the beginning," she said.
"Just to make sure they are on a good quality food which covers all of their nutritional requirements - that is a low calorie metabolic food which will fill them up in ways that a dog feels like it is getting lots of food but reduce the calories."
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Hills Pet Nutrition have joined the campaign to save Bonnie and Cyrus and have provided NEAST with prescription weight loss dog food.
After just one month on the clean eating regime the pair are already experiencing the benefits of their new found healthy lifestyle.
At their last weigh in Bonnie had lost one kilo and Cyrus had 1.7 kilos.
"Bonnie's weight and her condition is dramatic enough ... that when she first came in she couldn't even stand for long periods of time," Ms Barker said.
"She would stand for basically one minute and then she would have to sit or lie down, she couldn't weight bare her own weight.
"She has lost enough weight and gained enough muscle tone back that she can now stand, so Bonnie is a lot more comfortable."
The journey is far from over and Ms Barker said it is likely to take between six and 12 months before the pair reach their goal weight.
As they lose more weight and the temperature rises NEAST hope to get them swimming and exercising more often.
But for now they will stay on the healthy diet - Bonnie will spend her days sunbaking and Cyrus will spend his roaming around at the sanctuary.
Ms Barker urged anyone who has elderly neighbours or family members to check whether they are still able to take care of their pets and to offer assistance where possible.