Keep pets trim, healthy

We hear a lot about the obesity problem in America, but did you know it extends to the pet population? According to the veterinarian-launched Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), an estimated 54 percent of dogs and cats are overweight or obese. Obesity reduces the life expectancy of pets, so watching your furry friends’ food intake is important. The APOP’s website—petobesityprevention.org—has a number interactive tools to help owners safely reduce their pets’ caloric intake. One of the tools, a pet weight translator, gives the human equivalent of a pet’s weight (for example, a 90-pound female Labrador retriever is equal to a 5-foot-4-inch woman who weights 186 pounds).