Stair Elevator For Pets Could Give Obese Dogs A Lift

A dog sits on a chair lift as he slides up the stairs.

With pet obesity on the rise in the U.S. and the U.K., perhaps it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an elevator targeted at obese pets.

Dubbed "Stair of the Dog 2022," the prototype was created by U.K. pet insurance company More Than as a way to publicize the rising need for costly medical care for obese pets.

Once the dog sits in the basket big enough for their chubby derriere, the system initiates, bringing the pup up to the second level or back down to the first. The proposed design even includes a paw recognition button.

Excess fat can put pressure on an animal's back and lead to bone, respiratory and skin conditions that can make it impossible for a dog to climb stairs, according to the Daily Mail.

So far, two retailers have already expressed interest in manufacturing and selling the $8,000 dog lift, according to a press release from the company.

But huge sales aren't exactly what they're is after with this prototype.

“It's extremely worrying to think that 52 per cent of all dogs in the UK could be obese in 10 years time," John Ellenger of More Than Pet Insurance said in the media release. “A stair lift for dogs is a vision of the future we really don’t want to see become a reality.”

Overweight pets suffer from a number of health issues including diabetes, kidney failure, and cancer.

In 2010, U.S. pets owners using one particular insurance company paid vets $25 million to treat obesity-related conditions such as asthma, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Comments

[Melissa Marhefka]

02:10 AM on 09/19/2012

This is a very good invention for dogs with hip dysplacia but obese dogs need to be walking up and down like people!

[whyus]

12:55 AM on 04/11/2012

Shouldn't that dog be walking up those stairs for his health??

[propofemandsyd]

09:57 PM on 04/04/2012

Or, one could move to a ranch-style house.
:)

[DawnMichele]

09:09 PM on 04/04/2012

I would love this for my dog who has arthritis and I have to help up and down the steps. What a great invention.

[sahali]

07:39 PM on 04/04/2012

Ridiculous!
Feed better food, less of it + take the dog for a long walk at least once a day!!!
There is no excuse for having a fat dog.
And while we're discussing stupid owners, brush your dog/pet, cut their nails, check their ears/eyes + take responsibility for your pet.

[Laylla]

01:17 PM on 04/19/2012

Amen! What do you wanna bet these owners probably feed their dog people food?

[bffls]

08:00 PM on 07/29/2012

whats wrong with that? what do you think dogs ate before pet food was invented.

[bffls]

07:57 PM on 07/29/2012

certain breeds like bulldogs shouldnt walk up and down staircases because its really bad for their joints...do your research before you call people stupid, stupid.

[innerpuppie]

03:12 PM on 04/04/2012

It's terribly sad that human beings who have control over what their animals eat allow them to become so fat that they suffer health issues.

[Myra Martinez]

02:33 PM on 04/04/2012

This is a fabulous idea if positioned appropriately, targeting pets who are handicapped and/or suffering from an illness and could use the extra help to make them more mobile.... NOT to applaud obese pets and the handlers that aren't properly taking care of them. tsk tsk tsk ....

[Konnie]

11:33 AM on 04/04/2012

egad, what a bunch iof mean ignorant commentors. the headline was misleading. there are many older pets out there being lovingly tended to. this would be a great help for older, arthritic and otherwise handicapped dogs. and some older owners can't carry their pets up and down either. i hope none of you have pets of your own. people food police are bad enough...........geez.

[Laylla]

01:20 PM on 04/19/2012

While I agree with the first part of your comment about older arthritic dogs, I'm not quite sure where you went with the rest of it and the "people food police".
People that wont feed their dogs healthy food need not own them.
I've always had animals. I work in the animal rescue field. My family owns a rescued greyhound and he gets NO people food. He's pretty healthy.

[Konnie]

02:19 PM on 04/19/2012

didn't insinuate that dogs should eat people food. I was comparing the judgemental commentors to the people who make judgements about what other PEOPLE eat. everyone has an opinion on what everyone else should be eating. whenever there is a food related post, those for or against that food, or anything else someone eats that doesn't agree with their own particular food philosphy get really nasty. and the commentors on this post were just as "food policey" nasty as those kind of commentors. the comments did not help the discussion about the product or why it was necessary. they just jumped to the conclusion that only pet owners/parents who had made their dogs obese by feeding them people food would buy the product. i tried to make the point that some pet owner/parents themselves could not lift their older pets up and down the stairs.

[Melissa Marhefka]

02:13 AM on 09/19/2012

My dog is very healthy and gets people food once in a while along with every dog I have had since I was a child and they have lived for 15+ yrs. Actually some "people food" has been proved to be healthier for pets than dog foods. Do your research please.

[james4truth1066]

11:21 AM on 04/04/2012

The only thing sadder to see than an obese person is an obese dog. Just another symptom of a sick society and planet.

[Richard Davis184]

10:55 AM on 04/04/2012

Get your dog off cheap, grain-based food. High GI carbohydrates are just as fattening for dogs as they are for humans.

[fetchmasters]

10:36 AM on 04/04/2012

Or (here's an idea), put your dog on a diet and take him for a walk. Responsible pet ownership means keeping your pet healthy.

(However, I do acknowledge that this might be a pretty cool idea for older pets or pets with disabilities.)

FetchMasters, LLC
http://www.fetchmasters.com

[debberae]

10:29 AM on 04/04/2012

I hate to see an overweight animal. A little less food and a little more exercise are guaranteed to trim the fat.

[no exit]

10:22 AM on 04/04/2012

People who overfeed their pets shouldn't be allowed to have them. They think they are making their animals "happy," when really they are sending them to an early death, after the pets suffer perhaps years of painful leg and back injuries, not to mention breathing problems and heart disease.

People who overfeed their pets are every bit as disgusting as people who overfeed their kids by letting them swill down pop, candy, and fast foods pretty much 24/7.

Love means caring for, not making sick. Take your fat pet to the vet and ask for a food regimen and some tips on keeping him healthy.

[DSevere]

07:38 PM on 04/04/2012

I agree. And it's not that hard to reverse. We've had one dog that got fat -- our first two were not very food motivated, so we just left food out for them and they ate when they were hungry.

And then we adopted a 4 year old chow mix who'd had a really hard life, she'd been a stray for a long time, was at the pound, had had kennel cough, etc. So we really wanted her to be happy in her new home, and it took us a while to realize that she was eating piles and piles of food and getting fat.

So that was the end of free feeding, and she also got hauled to the dog park (which she really didn't enjoy, but dutifully ran around anyway, giving us dirty looks on the side ;) ...) on a regular basis. Lost the weight in no time.

[BlueKansas]

10:05 AM on 04/04/2012

If we tried to put either of our dogs in that thing, they would flip out.

[jonny dipstick]

10:02 AM on 04/04/2012

That looks like it would be fun to ride! I bet the animals have fun riding it. Do you think they know they are obese? In a way, it makes them cuter when they are fat. Just like children.