An in-home caregiver adopted her dementia-stricken patient’s dangerously obese Dachshund in late May to try and return the pup to a healthy weight and found a new member of her family for life.

Tegan Strickland met her patient’s dog, Daisy, on her first visit to the home. While the elderly patient’s daughter was showing Strickland inside, she offhandedly added that her mother “has a very fat dog” that was frequently overfed. 5

Strickland was expecting “a heavyset dog,” maybe 10 pounds above average. Instead, she found sweet-faced Daisy, who weighed a staggering 55 pounds.

“I laid eyes on Daisy for the first time, and there are no words to describe what it is like to see Daisy in person for the first time. I was very shocked. She’s very heavyset,” Strickland told PEOPLE .

Over ti

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