ANIMAL OWNERS LOOK TO MAKE BIG CHANGES FOR THEIR OVERWEIGHT PETS IN ANIMAL PLANET'S "MY FAT PET"

-- Animal Expert Travis Brorsen Hosts All New Series --

Who hasn't laughed at a shared internet video of a cat trying to fit through a cat door? But the unfortunate truth is that the U.S. pet overweight and obesity rate for dogs and cats is more than 50%, mostly the result of being overfed and not getting enough exercise. In Animal Planet's all-new series MY FAT PET, animal expert and trainer Travis Brorsen works with pets and their owners through a four-month long weight-loss journey. MY FAT PET premieres on Animal Planet in 3Q17.

Obese animals are more than likely to experience high blood pressure, diabetes and heart failure, thus leading to a shorter life. In MY FAT PET, audiences are introduced to families and their pets that require an immediate intervention. Brorsen creates individual exercise and diet plans for the families to follow in addition to scheduling appointments with a veterinarian. He uses creative techniques as wake-up calls for the owners, using visual experiments that let them experience what their pets are going through. As an example, one owner is forced to wear a weighted vest to experience the extra weight their family dog is carrying around due to being overweight.

After tasking the owners with a four-month period to work with their pets, Brorsen returns for the final weigh-in to see just how far both the owners and the pets have come. 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 result may be different, Brorsen's goal is to help each family keep up with their new-found routines which will help their pets live a healthier and longer life.

MY FAT PET 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.

About Animal Planet

Animal Planet, a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the network of hit franchise series and special programming dedicated to animals and the natural world that includes RIVER MONSTERS, DR. JEFF: ROCKY MOUNTAIN VET, PIT BULLS & PAROLEES, TREEHOUSE MASTERS, THE VET LIFE and PUPPY BOWL, the largest non-sports TV event on Super Bowl Sunday. Animal Planet is the premiere TV, digital and social community for all things animal, providing immersive, engaging, high-quality content across all Animal Planet platforms including: Animal Planet television network, available in more than 90 million homes in the U.S., that is complimented with a deep Video On Demand offering; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for animal lovers and pet owners; the Animal Planet Go app that allows viewers to catch up on full episodes of their favorite shows anytime anywhere; Animal Planet L!VE, the go-to digital destination for round-the-clock, unfiltered access via live cameras around the globe in a variety of animal habitats; Animal Planet Social including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram via @AnimalPlanet and on Snapchat as AnimalPlanetTV.