The photo you see above is Arbuckle, or as he's also known, 'Arbuckle deUnicorn' or more simply, 'Arby'
I'd like to tell you a little about him, and for our purposes from here on out, we will call him 'Arby.'
Arby is an Australian cattle dog. In November 2017, Arby ended up at the Tulare shelter in central California. Rescue workers say he was found in a field, dirty, with open sores and so morbidly obese he could barely walk. In fact, they said when they first saw him, they didn't think he was a dog.
Shelter workers believe that Arby did at one time have a family, but that they didn't take care of him and ultimately abandoned him in a field when they moved away.
A dog of his type should weigh about 50 pounds, but Arby tipped the scales at 130 pounds.
Tests done by a vet showed that Arby had hypothyroidism, it's a condition that if untreated, leads to extreme obesity. So the Tulare Shelter put out a plea to the rescue community for help for Arby. The amazing organization, A Purposeful Rescue here in L.A., heeded the call and took Arby in. He got a bath, a trim, started taking medication and getting exercise and he lost about 14 pounds.
That's when actress Jane Lynch and her partner Jennifer Cheyne saw him, and they knew they just had to add him to their pack, which already consisted of several rescue animals.
They were determined to give Arby a better life but they knew it would be a challenge, not only to get his weight under control because it was putting so much strain on his joints, but to teach him what it was like to live in a caring family. But they were up for it!
Jane and Jennifer say is was so heartbreaking when he first came to live with them. He was 116 pounds, had a hard time getting around and didn't even want to come in the house, because he didn't know he was allowed to, so they and the rest of the pack had to teach him all about how to be a family dog.
But through their loving care and help from friends and the rest of the pack, Arby recently weighed in at 85 pounds! Their goal is to get him to 60!
You can follow Arby's sweet journey on Instagram @allaboutarbuckle
Follow the organization to saved Arby, A Purposeful Rescue on Instagram @apurposefulrescue