A resident of Northern California, Gina Spadafori is a syndicated pet-care columnist and the author of more than dozen books on animals and their care. She is also the writing partner of Good Morning America veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker.
I’m infamous among my friends and colleagues for asking people if they are aware that their dogs are overweight. It’s because I have seen firsthand how fat dogs suffer in their senior years when they are too heavy to exercise without pain! And their burden of carrying extra pounds makes the ordinary aches and pains of arthritis even worse. AND YET, I have to give myself a stern talking-to from time to time about helping my older dog stay trim.