Post op ...

Hi Everyone

I just wanted to let you know that I had my knee operation on Wednesday morning & so far it looks like a great success. I'm sorry I haven't let you know sooner but I was quite sleepy for a while & the nurses & staff were pampering me so much I didn't get a chance to get to a computer.

My operation took about 2 hours but I was sound asleep dreaming of big meaty bones, chew toys and other doggy dreams so time just flew. I would like to thank Ruth Youmans my very special surgeon from the Small Animal Surgeon practice plus Sara Mae & the other fantastic (& very pretty) nurses who looked after me & held my paw the whole way through.

I am staying at the vet clinic until Tuesday just to make sure everything is ok & I have a huge, very impressive bandage on my leg which Bert would be so jealous of because it makes me look special.

I hope to be back at the SPCA on Tuesday morning because I do miss all my friends there & of course I really miss Bert because he's my best mate. I hope he's not missing me too much but I guess if he misses me the stress might help him lose those last couple of kilo's & then he can get his Pet Slimmer certificate & hang it next to mine.

I just can't believe my good luck because all of you have supported Bert & I through our incredible weight loss journey & now the SPCA are having my legs fixed so I'll be more comfortable so life is looking pretty good from where I sit.

I asked the chicks here at the clinic to take some pics so you could see my big bandage. I'll be in touch when I get back to the SPCA, talk soon...

Love

Ernie

Hello again ...

Hello all of the Ernie & Bert fans out there

We have not updated the blog for these two for a while so we thought it was time to let you know how the boys are doing. As you probably know from the "Close Up" article that aired a while ago Ernie achieved his goal weight and received his pet Slimmer certificate from Hill's Pet Nutrition and Bert is almost there at current weight of 16kgs, aiming for 15kgs.

Bert and Ernie came back to the the SPCA from their long term foster home a couple of weeks before Christmas and have been living here since then. They did take a little while adjusting from a normal home life to being back in a shelter environment but they are both coping fairly well.

Unfortunately Ernie has had some problems with his skin but that is now under control and it may have been related to a little bit of stress due to the change in environment. It is likely that Ernie will suffer periodic skin problems for the remainder of his life but it is manageable on medication. The other news is that Ernie suffers from a condition known as luxating patella's (human's know these as knees) in both hind legs. His right leg is much worse than his left and in fairness to this little dog who has beaten the odds and come so far the SPCA will be having surgery done on Ernie next week to try and correct this condition as much as possible, improve his mobility and his long term prognosis. After the right knee is operated on Ernie will need 4 - 5 weeks controlled recuperation to strengthen the leg and then will have surgery on the left knee and another recuperation period. We estimate the cost will be in the vicinity of $5,000 - $6,000.00 and we are currently exploring funding options for this.

Ernie has probably had this condition for a long time but it has been aggravated by the immense extra weight that he had to carry around on those little legs and although he now looking trim and terrific the damage has already been done. Ernie is quite comfortable and copes extremely well but both his back legs are weaker because of the condition so surgery is the best option for him.

We will keep you all posted on how the surgery goes and we will be looking for an appropriate foster home for the two dogs to go to after surgery so if any of you think you might be interested in offering a foster home or would be interested in possibly adopting these two characters please contact Operations Manager Tracy Dunn on 092567318 or e-mail tracy.dunn@spca.org.nz

Thank you all for your support and ongoing interest in following the journey of these great little dogs...

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 ! !