Down from 300lbs to 173lbs in 17 months

This is Petal! I've been a volunteer dog handler since November, 2021. It's been great therapy for my recovery from years of unresolved trauma, alcoholism, obesity, mental illness and all the fun stuff that comes with PTSD.
I just graduated to a higher level handler. I learned some training techniques. This is the open hand signal for 'sit'. I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Petal is high energy. A few nights ago I took her into a meet and greet room and worked on calming her energy. I brushed her for five minutes then got her focused on 'sit'.

Tonight, I went in to walk some doggos and found that Petal was about to meet her new family! I rushed to her cage and got to meet her lovely new family! I got to say goodbye to a favorite in the moment for the first time! I was asked to turn her cage and erase her from the board. It was such a wonderful, emotional moment! Shout out to RJ and Huey!

After Petal went home, I took Maggie out for a walk and a go in a play yard. This is our first time out together. She is a ball of love! We got caught in the rain and had a fun dash uphill, through the woods, and back to the shelter. The campus is huge with lots of woods, a running creek and calming shelters.

Bonus Banjo Tax

It's a bitter feeling to think I used to spend my time holed-up while drinking and eating myself to death instead of volunteering...

Shit well, my friends!