Famously fat dog to open Leamington event

Buy photos » Cassie as she looked last year. 15.011.047.leam.nc4.

A ONCE famously fat dog will be special guest at a canine swimathon in Leamington on Saturday (July 14).

Cassie the collie hit national headlines last year after ballooning to three times her normal weight on a diet of fish and chips and fry ups, but slimmed back down with the help of Dogs Trust re-homing centre in Honiley near Kenilworth and was eventually rehomed in Coventry.

Now she will officially open a 12-hour swimathon at Rainsbrook Veterinary Group in Leamington, at which dogs from across the county will be dipping their paws into the state-of-the-art hydrotherapy swimming pool and showing off their best doggy paddle to help raise funds for both Dogs Trust Kenilworth and Dogs for the Disabled.

Helen Barlow from Dogs Trust Kenilworth said: “Our canine carers worked extremely hard to ensure Cassie lost all her weight, and swimming in the Rainsbrook hydrotherapy pool was a vital part of her recovery."

Alison Coxon, veterinary nurse at Rainsbrook, added: “Cassie is one of the many dogs to use our hydrotherapy pool to aid weight loss – she’s the perfect ambassador for the success of hydrotherapy.”

A total of 18 dogs will be taking part in the swimathon, each swimming for 20 minutes at a time, for a total of 12 hours.

Visit http://www.justgiving.com/Vetswim2012 to sponsor their dogged efforts.

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