It was a heart-wrenching sight really.
There we were gathered around the dining table with our bellies full, unbuttoning and unzipping our pants just enough to keep our modesty.
Everyone was full and content.
Everybody, that is, except Barney.
Barney looked up at us, turning his head to see which of us would notice his pleading glances, begging for table scraps again.
"Why wouldn't we throw him some leftovers," he must have been asking himself.
They used to reach down and let me eat right out of their hands but not lately.
Was Barney now questioning our love for him? Did he see us as cruel or angry? I don't think I'll ever know.
What I do know is that it was our fault that Barney was overweight.
We had made him fat by giving him supper (and lunch, and breakfast) leftovers.
Now he had to pay the price for our foolishness.
In the beginning Barney was a lively, active Golden Retriever but as time went on our beloved pooch received too much love in the form of food.
The over- eating took its toll on poor Barney and soon he was barely able to finish his usual walk.
Sure, he'd give it the old doggy-college try but by the end of the circuit Barney was wiped out.
Our Veterinarian warned us at every annual checkup that Barney needed to lose some weight or he would likely begin to suffer health problems.
He was at risk of heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure and who knows what else.
We needed to take action and part of that action was going to be tough love for Barney and restraint for our family.
We decided to put Barney on a good quality dog food that was recommended by our veterinarian for weight loss and we decided to give him smaller portions but provide them more often through-out the day.
The idea was to speed up his metabolism and make his body burn some of his fat.
I can't say it was easy for Barney or our family.
As soon as we put his kibble in his dish it was gone! Barney actually started to loiter around his food dish during the day.
In the evening Barney would put on his saddest puppy dog face and use all his psychic ability to coerce us into feeding him table scraps.
We continued to exercise Barney with the usual routine and he gradually seemed to be gaining more energy.
The pace of our walks quickened and Barney seemed to notice it too.
It was kind of like watching Barney get younger as he seemed to have more energy and stamina.
Our family was starting to notice a visible size difference in Barney's physique.
He began to look happier if that's even possible.
The truth was that Barney was winning his battle against obesity and our whole family celebrated his achievement.
After a matter of months Barney was back to a respectable weight for his breed and height.
We wanted to celebrate but this time we did it with more affection and new dog toys instead of mass quantities of food.
Our veterinarian complemented us on a job well done and has used Barney's story to inspire other owners of overweight dogs.
The moral of this story is: It is completely possible to "kill your pet with kindness" or at least what seems to be kindness.
Remember, your pets rely on you to make dietary and exercise decisions for them.
Learn from Barney's story and be good to your furry friends.