On September 24, 64 dogs entered a competition to find Delhi’s fattest dog. Within days, the contest had campaign posters, neighbourhood loyalties, heated debates and, naturally, because this is India, concerns about rigged campaigns and vote chori. Strangers across the country threw their weight behind their favourite chonky contenders, with some even turning up at physical voting booths when the competition moved beyond Instagram.
The 64-dog knockout eventually whittled the field down to four semi-finalists — Googoo from Saket, Tara aka Khan Sahab from Khan Market, Hero from Malviya Nagar and Gola aka Kebab aka Rajpal Singh from SDA Market in Hauz Khas. By the grand finale, it was Gola versus Googoo. Of the 94,000 votes cast — 92,958 online and 1,042 across four physical voting booths — Gola took 66,954, winning the title posthumously by a whopping 39,904 votes.
It was silly, wholesome internet fun and a rare reminder that complete strangers can come together over their shared love for chonky dogs. The organisers have also directed some of that attention towards animal welfare, sharing rescue organisations and raising funds for shelters.
Still, amid all the jokes and love, an uncomfortable question remains. When does celebrating a fat dog become celebrating an unhealthy one?
An Indian clinical study published in Intas Polivet in 2020, examined 2,332 dogs and found that 31.39 per cent were obese and another 18.57 per cent were overweight, based on body-condition scores and BMI.
Canine obesity is not harmless. The American Animal Hospital Association’s 2014 Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats and its updated 2021 Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines link appropriate weight management with better health, quality of life and longevity, while identifying conditions including osteoarthritis, diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease among the health concerns associated with nutrition and weight. A long-term study of 48 Labrador Retrievers also found that dogs kept on a controlled diet lived a median 1.8 years longer, with late-life diseases, particularly osteoarthritis, appearing later.
Street dogs can have complicated relationships with food, particularly when several people feed the same animal, while age, activity levels, sterilisation and underlying health conditions can also affect their weight. Their size alone cannot tell us how they became overweight. That is why the answer isn't to stop feeding street dogs or to shame people for caring for them. It is to recognise that healthy weight is part of animal welfare too.
There is nothing wrong with finding a chunky dog adorable. The problem begins when obesity itself becomes the goal. As Fat Dogs-style pages begin appearing in other cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune, and more, the joke can travel quickly, even as the conversation about responsible feeding and animal health gets left behind. Loving a dog should mean wanting it healthy enough to keep running around for years, not making it fatter for a few more likes.
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