PET OWNERS LOOK TO MAKE BIG CHANGES FOR THEIR OVERWEIGHT PETS IN "MY BIG FAT PET MAKEOVER"

- Pet Expert and Trainer Travis Brorsen Hosts All-New Series Premiering Saturday, September 30 -

The U.S. pet overweight and obesity rate for dogs and cats is more than 50%. In Animal Planet's new series MY BIG FAT PET MAKEOVER, pet expert and trainer Travis Brorsen begins a four-month long weight-loss and behavior modification journey with pet owners and their overweight animals with the aim of helping each pet live a healthier and happier life. Each story ends with Brorsen returning for a final weigh-in to see just how far the pets and pet owners have come. MY BIG FAT PETMAKEOVER premieres Saturday, September 30 at 10PM ET/PT.

Obese animals can experience health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart failure, thus leading to a shorter life. In MY BIG FAT PET MAKEOVER, Brorsen creates individual exercise and diet plans in addition to implementing positive reinforcement training methods. He also uses creative techniques as wake-up calls for owners, using visual experiments that let them experience what their pets are going through. As an example, one individual is forced to wear a weighted vest to experience the extra weight the dog is living with each day.

"My goal for this series is to raises awareness of the pet obesity problem while educating and empowering pet owners to make big changes for their furry family members. I'm thrilled to be sharing health, wellness and training tips to the Animal Planet audiences that will help owners find new ways to love their pets and add years to their life," said Brorsen.

"We are thrilled to welcome Travis to the Animal Planet family," said Patrice Andrews, General Manager of Animal Planet. "Travis will bring forward important issues to the animal community with a focus on providing pet owners with simple changes anyone can make to help their pets."

Can Brorsen help families realize how dire the situations are with their overweight pets? Will the animal owners learn how to properly feed and exercise their pets? While every animal's challenge is unique and their results may be different, Brorsen's goal is to help everyone keep up with their new-found routines.

MY BIG FAT PET MAKEOVER is produced for Animal Planet by Castleview Productions. For Castleview Productions, Ted Barnhill and Jessica E. Reynolds are executive producers. For Animal Planet, Keith Hoffman is executive producer and Sarah Russell is producer.