This vid landed in my inbox today. It is an upsetting video of a morbidly obese Pug called Boo sleeping. He has - wait for it - over 20,000 followers on Instagram (see here). There is the occasional comment about Boo being too fat, but most of those who comment think he's cute. They love his chubby wrinkles.
Boo's nose roll almost obscures his nostrils. What with this and the blubber, it is hard to comprehend how he is still alive.But he won't be for much longer. His owner is killing him. Being a Pug is hard enough without this.
This is as cruel as beating a dog with a stick.
There will be some who defend her, saying perhaps she doesn't know this is wrong. But it's impossible that Boo's veterinarian has not told her that this is a problem for the dog.
No doubt she will insist she loves him to bits. But this is not love. The dogs we own and the shape they're in are a pretty good reflection of our own psychological health. There is something terribly, terribly wrong here.
