Dunedin owners Arthur and Colleen Linnell entered the 9-year-old canine in the Hill's Pet Slimmer of the Year award after rescuing her from the Dunedin SPCA in August last year, just half an hour before she was due to be put down.
At the time, she weighed 13.1kg and could barely walk, her small legs struggling to hold her relatively massive weight.
Pepsi had lived mostly indoors and her paws were soft and her nails so long it was a struggle for her to walk on the gravel to the Linnells' home.
"Pepsi couldn't scratch herself or do any of those normal doggy things. She didn't like dog food and we ended up feeding her with a spoon, one nut [dog biscuit] at a time."
The couple, who live in Kew, took Pepsi down the hill to St Clair for walks, but at first she could only walk from one lamp post to the next before tiring.
Now, with Pepsi weighing 6.5kg, Mrs Linnell takes her for long walks most days and restricts her eating to one small container of food a day.
But there are still a few treats for the slimmer of the year.
The prize includes $1000 worth of travel, $150 for pet toys and a year's supply of Hill's pet food.
Pepsi can now squeeze through spaces she had not been able to before.
"It keeps us on our toes."
