A middle-aged Alaskan Malamute with a black and white coat, standing outdoors on grass near wooden structures in bright daylight during summer or spring. 3:28
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How a 210-pound husky got down to 152 pounds

Woody the husky weighed 210 pounds. "He was just huge," says Pam, his foster mom. "There was no other way to describe him." more

He was quiet and reserved, and he lived with Pam in Edmonton, Canada. The first time she drove him to the park, he didn't want to get out of the car. All that weight made it hard. After a lot of "come on, you can do it," he climbed down, and at first their walks only went halfway around the block.

Within a month he was down to 193 pounds and moving more, so Pam started taking him to off-leash dog parks. Once she knew his personality, she got brave enough to take all three dogs at once.

Another month brought him to 182, and by then Woody loved a long walk. He loved the cold, too, which helps in Edmonton, where Pam says winters are "not exactly balmy." Soon the scale read 171, and something else changed.

The quiet dog started talking. "He talks incessantly," Pam says, and he chats with everyone in his own dog language. The prescription food was a hard sell, but in time he no longer thought it was horrible. His treats are bananas and carrots, and those puzzled him at first too.

A middle-aged Alaskan Malamute with a black and white coat, standing outdoors on grass near wooden structures in bright daylight during summer or spring. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Woody the husky weighed 210 pounds.

By 160 pounds, Woody was getting excited about his walks while he sat in the car, the same car he once refused to leave. He starts chortling as soon as they get close, because he knows where he is going. Then came 152. He's still a big boy, and he wears it well.

Pam's goal is to get him as healthy as possible before he's ready for adoption. "He's an old dude," she says, and he has been through a lot of change. Down nearly 60 pounds, he has her convinced that old dogs can learn new tricks.

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