When Annika first brought Frannie, an eight-year-old Golden Retriever, into her home, the dog couldn’t even stand up on her own. She weighed 125 pounds—twice what a healthy weight would be for a female of her breed. Any movement at all took Herculean effort. Frannie was depressed, which wasn’t surprising, as she was missing out on all the joys of doggie life. Rover’s Retreat, a dog rescue in Los Angeles, rescued Frannie from a miserable life of sleeping on concrete. She had sores on her tail and massive calluses on her legs. She also suffered from hypothyroidism and was scheduled to be put down. Annika got the call and responded immediately. “We didn’t even think or have a plan,” she wrote. “We just got in the car to go get her because the one thing we knew was that she did not deserve to die.” It took four people to get Frannie into the car. @franniesfight Frannie has been working so hard every single day and is now getting up much more often on her own! She still definitely appreciates the help getting up but when she really wants something (and she’s on non-slip ground) she can actually get up on her own! She has been particularly getting up when I leave her sight and she wants to see where I went! I often come back to her and she’s already standing walking towards me! I can tell she is going to be a major “Velcro dog”. She has improved SO much in this last month and we cannot see what this next month has in store for her! @Rovers_Retreat #fightlikefrannie #fyp #foryoupage #dogsoftiktok #dogs #goldenretriever #goldenretrieverlife #dogrescue #rescuedog #rescueanimals #animalrescue #obesity #weightloss #animalsoftiktok ♬ Happier – Marshmello & Bastille They faced a steep uphill climb. Frannie had no energy and exhibited no personality to speak of. But her new family was determined to help her find herself, so they picked her up to take her outside daily, even just for a few assisted steps. “One day, we were throwing the tennis ball around, and she perked her ears up,” Annika told The Dodo. “And we were like, ‘That’s weird! She’s been so sad and miserable this whole time.’ So we threw it towards her and she just went nuts.” At first, she caught the ball with a cushioned stool under her belly and backside to support her. But after slowly increasing her exercise every day, she began standing on all fours and catching the ball without any assistance. Then she began to take a few steps to chase after it. Slowly but surely, Frannie was getting healthier—and learning to be a dog. @franniesfight We are so excited about Frannie’s progress!! She LOVES her tennis balls and we have been using them to our advantage! This week she shocked us and was literally trying to run after them – we were speechless!!! We are just so happy that she is feeling so much better and is that much closer to actually running after the tennis ball one day! Thank you to everyone who has sent her tennis balls as you are playing a pivotal role in her recovery!! I don’t know where she would be in her journey without her love for tennis balls. We cannot wait to see what is in store for the next few weeks! @Rovers_Retreat #fightlikefrannie #fyp #foryoupage #dogsoftiktok #dogs #goldenretriever #goldenretrieverlife #dogrescue #rescuedog #rescueanimals #animalrescue #obesity #weightloss #animalsoftiktok ♬ Sunshine – OneRepublic For a while, she could only walk to the end of the driveway. But by February 2024, Frannie was frolicking in the snow on her own. By March, she was able to walk a full mile. She still had a ways to go with her weight, but the contrast from where she started was night and day. With help from her diligent family and therapeutic rehab treatments like walking on a water treadmill, Frannie kept getting healthier. By August, eight months after not even being able to stand, she had lost 50 pounds and was a whole new dog. Annika told The Dodo she had previously cared for another obese Golden Retriever, Georgia, whom she had rehabilitated and later lost. “Something inside of me was like, ‘Georgia sent this dog to me,'” she said. “I got to fight for her.” In December 2024, a year after she came to live with Annika, the family posted an update on Instagram: “We are so happy to celebrate one whole year of Frannie!! In the last 12 months, she didn’t just lose 58 pounds—she gained so much! She learned how to get up on her own, how to walk, how to run, how to chase tennis balls, and even tackled the water treadmill like a champ! She discovered what it means to be loved and cared for, and most importantly, she gained her forever family and a whole new lease on life.” Frannie continues to improve and thoroughly enjoy being a dog. “I still see her getting happier every day,” Annika told The Dodo. What a beautiful gift for both of them. You can follow Frannie’s ongoing journey on Instagram. The post An obese, depressed Golden Retriever couldn’t even stand up. Watch her become a new dog. appeared first on Upworthy.