TV stars...

Hi Everyone

It's so good to be in touch again & I hope you all had a chance to see us on TV the other night on Close Up. It was so much fun filming that as we went to the beach and played with some lovely children. It feels so good to be able to run around again, especially Ernie he is much faster than me. Ernie was awarded his weight loss certificate and he is so proud of it, I can't wait to get mine, then we can put them both on the wall in our kennel.

The Women's Weekly also ran an article which was really good but the best news ever is that we will be ready to be adopted after Christmas. I just need to lose another couple of kilos and we're away. We love being in our foster home and our foster parents are just the best but they have a furry family of their own and we would like to find someone who will make us part of their family forever.

We are both really well behaved dogs and we have learnt a lot in our foster home but the most important thing is that we have to be adopted together. We have been together since we were little and neither of us could bare to be separated from each other. We are looking for some specific criteria in our quest for the perfect home

Both of us must be adopted together We need to get regular exercise and be kept on our strict feeding program so we don't get overweight again We need someone who will be patient, understanding & love us no matter what We need a soft bed, warm arms & lots of toys We need to be allowed to socialise with other people & other dogs We will still be in the media & at SPCA social events from time to time so our new owners must be willing to be involved We are on the senior side of life so we might need to visit the vet a bit more often than younger dogs so you need to budget for that Well that it really, not much at all when you think about it!!

If you think you might be interested in putting your name down as an adoption applicant please e-mail tracy.dunn@spca.org.nz or you can download the application form, complete it and fax to 092567314 or post to Tracy Dunn, SPCA Auckland, PO Box 43221, Mangere, Manukau 2153. Please write "Ernie & Bert" at the top of the form so they know who it's for.

We'll be in touch over Christmas and New Year, Ernie and I are quite excited about Christmas this year and I'm sure there are some Christmas presents out there with our names on them but the best Christmas present ever would be to find our new family.

Lots of Love

Ernie & Bert ( the two slim foxies)

Trim, taut and terrific...

Hi everyone

Brace yourselves for a shock - check our me and Bert in our all new glamour shots that were taken when we called into the SPCA to say g'day to all our dear friends! And it's all down to our willpower and determination to stay on our Hills diets (thanks guys!). Plus, no-one would give us junk food snacks, so I guess that helped a bit...

That's me - Ernie

and this is my mate, Bert

Pretty impressive weight loss, hey?

I'm so handsome, I impress myself!

So good.

Here's Bert again.

Bert's smiling because he's feeling so much better!

And one last shot of Bert...

Ok, that's enough for now. Catcha laters...
Ernie
(and Bert)

Hot Dogs, Cool Cars

Hi everyone

We had a wonderful day out at the Auckland SPCA Renegade Rod and Custom Open Day last Sunday. Lots of cool cars to look at and plenty of neat people coming over to say hello.

Now that we’ve lost heaps of weight we have a lot more energy. In fact, Ernie spent most of the day barking at all the other dogs that were visiting the village.

A few months ago we would have struggled to breath let alone bark! The diet is really making a different to our quality of life.

Jackie from Hill’s Pet Nutrition was looking after us on the day and we got to meet Cookie, a Golden Labrador, who is also on the Hill’s slimmer’s diet and looking a lot healthier, I might add.

Check out our photos from the day.

Catch you soon,

Regards

Bert & Ernie

Trim, taut and terrific... well, almost

Hi Everyone

This is just a flying e-mail to let you know that we are loving our foster home and our foster parents & we are having so much fun. We went out for a drive today with our foster dad and he stopped off at our lovely local vet clinic to do our weight check. Ernie weighs 11kg & I (Bert) weigh 22kg; how's that for impressive??

I hope you are all coming to the big Renegade Rod and Custom Hot Rod Show being held at the SPCA Village on Sunday 28th because we are putting in a VIP guest appearance. We will be hanging out at the Hills Pet Nutrition tent showing off our new waistlines from 12.00 - 2.00pm, so please come over and say hello.

Anyway I have to dash because I can hear the food bowls rattling & if I don't watch him Ernie will get there first and try to eat mine. See you all on Sunday...

Ernie & Bert

The healthy option is best...

Did you know that a healthy weight dog can outlive an overweight dog by two years? Did you know that your dog eating a slice of buttered toast is the equivalent of a human eating a whole hamburger, or a 50g chocolate bar?

We sure didn't, and that's why we're sticking to our diet and getting those excess kilograms off !

Our friends from Hills™ have put together a presentation that you can download in Microsoft PowerPoint format here, or Adobe Reader format here. Just click on the links.

And remember - just say NO to toast ! !

On holiday...

Hi Everyone

We just wanted to catch up & send you a photo of us looking very cool. We have gone on holiday to our new temporary foster home where we are allowed to stay for a while to get used to living in a normal home & keep on with our weight loss program.

We are both members of the Hills Pet Slimmer club & we are trying really hard to get our waist lines back and make everybody proud of us. Our foster parents are really lovely & are keeping us on a pretty strict diet even though we both do that "big brown eyes" look every now and again but it doesn't seem to work very often.

Isn't it lovely now its stopped raining and we have some sun, we are really enjoying getting outside and getting a bit of a tan before the beach weather really arrives. we are coming back to the SPCA next Tuesday for a visit and a weigh-in, so we will get to see all our human friends and say hello to everyone.

We are feeling so much better now & we will let you know how our weight check goes next week.

See you soon!

Ernie and Bert

Going for a stroll

Hi guysThought we'd better check in and let you know that we're sticking to our new diet.

We won't say that it's all good - we're used to getting lots and lots of little tasty treats all hours of the day and night!

That's all stopped now and we're just getting our regular meals each day.

A bit boring, but the upside is that we're getting lots more energy to play and walk around.

I won't say 'run around', because we can't quite make it into a run just yet... lol. But give us time and we'll get there, for sure.

See ya

Bert and Ernie

Charts

Here's the 'Pet Slimmer of the Year Competition' charts for Bert and Ernie, who are now on their strictly controlled Hill's r/d Prescription Diet.

Ernie and Bert’s journey – Fat dogs slim ...

On Tuesday 17th June 2008, two perky 8 year old Fox Terriers were surrendered to the Auckland SPCA as their owners could no longer look afer them. Ernie and Bert (as we have renamed them) are morbidly obese due to a poor diet and overfeeding.

Ernie weighed in at 20kg which is 67% overweight and Burt was a whopping 117% overweight (32.5kg). In fact, the team at the SPCA were speechless at the condition of these animals. Tracy Dunn, SPCA Operations Manager, mentioned that they often see malnourished and underweight dogs and cats but overweight animals to this degree is an unusual occurrence.

Animal obesity is becoming a major problem in New Zealand. We have a nation of over weight people that are in turn overfeeding and supersizing their beloved pets. Despite their weight problems, Ernie and Burt were happy dogs with wagging tails and bundles of spirit.

The team at Hill’s Pet Nutrition (the exclusive sponsors of SPCA feeding program) were called in to help. Hill’s have recommended that both Ernie and Bert are placed on a special weight reduction diet called Hill’s Prescription Diet r/d. The team at Hill’s were so taken by the brave characters of these special dogs that they have happily donated the food for the duration of their weight loss program. Prescription Diet r/d is low in calories, high in dietary fibre and has appropriate levels of protein. This combination will ensure optimal fat loss while maintaining lean muscle mass. From a welfare point of view, the combination of fibre and protein will mean Ernie and Bert feel full while losing weight.

Both Ernie and Bert are now signed up members of the Hills Pet Slimmer program and their weight will be monitored every week until they reach their ideal goal weight which is 12kg for Ernie and 15kg for Bert.

Hill’s looked at the dogs current weight and their ideal weight then devised a weight loss program to get the dogs health back on track. Sensible weight loss is loosing no more than 1-2% per week. Ernie’s weight loss plan is predicted to take 27 weeks and Bert’s is going to take 36 weeks. This is the safe period of time to reach their ideal weight, without putting undo stress on the dogs.

Ernie (above) and Bert (below) get their first weigh-in...

After just 2 weeks on their new diet, we’ve already noticed some positive changes in Ernie and Bert. They are finding it easier to move around and their weight is slowly but surely dropping. Ernie and Bert will eventually be going to a foster home, where help will be provided until their weight drops to a manageable and healthy level. Once they reach their goal weight, the SPCA will look for a new family for the lovable Ernie and Bert. With regular weight checks, it will take time, but these large little dogs will get a second chance at life.

The SPCA hopes they can be rehomed together as they are the best of friends.