ohmidog!

Like that light at the end of the tunnel, there’s now some light underneath Obie, the overfed dachshund.

And that’s even more the case after surgery yesterday to remove 2-1/2 pounds of loose skin from the dog who once tipped the scales at 77 pounds.

Obie was recovering at the Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Tualatin, in Oregon, after surgery to remove the excess skin that remained after he lost 40 pounds in 8 months.

Obie’s caretaker, Nora Vanatta, says the surgery went well and that she hopes to bring him home today, according to KGW in Portland.

Obie weighed 77 pounds when he was given up by his former owners in Puyallup, Washington, last year and assigned to a foster home by a rescue organization.

Oregon Dachshund Rescue placed Obie — that’s him to the left in his beefier days — in Vanatta’s care. But after his girth garnered national attention the organization asked for the dog back, claiming Vanatta — by publicizing his crash diet and seeking contributions to his care — was exploiting him.

When Vanatta refused to turn him over, they filed a lawsuit, accusing her of using the “sensationalistic promotional value of his unusual obesity” and “earning money off of his public exhibition on national and regional television shows,” while not taking care of his condition.

A settlement in the case was reached in January, allowing Vanatta to keep the dog.

Before the Tuesday surgery, Obie was down to 37 pounds and four ounces. 

“We haven’t weighed him since the surgery, but he lost 2 1/2 pounds of skin” Vanatta said. “So he should be around 35 pounds now. I figure his healthy weight is between 28 and 30 pounds.”

For now, he’s resting comfortably at the veterinary clinic (left), from which he’s expected to be released today — a few pounds lighter and his skin much tigher.

Vets will evaluate Obie to determine if more surgery is needed after he loses the last five pounds, a goal Vanatta hopes will be achieved late this summer.

Obie’s fight with obesity can be followed on the Facebook page Vanatta created on his behalf.

(Photos: KGW)

He may be the world’s fattest dachshund, but apparently there’s not enough Obie to go around.

Oregon Dachshund Rescue has filed a lawsuit against Obie’s current caretaker, Nora Vanatta, claiming that the Portland resident doesn’t own him, was only fostering him for the organization, and must return him.

“The dog was surrendered to me,” the rescue organization’s president Jenell Rangan told the New York Daily News. “Nora is just a foster. I trusted her to bring him back.”

Vanatta, a  veterinary technician, offered to take care of Obie when his former owners — who couldn’t seem to stop feeding him — decided they could no longer care for him. He was 77 pounds at the time.

The owners’ grandchildren contacted Rangan, who asked her volunteers to find a foster. Vanatta stepped forward, and the rescue organization approved the arrangement.

Vanatta agrees that the original plan was for her to foster the dog. “Initially, I said that I would foster him for a little while because I would not be able to take care of him financially,” Vanatta told the Daily News. “But I had no idea how obese he was. It’s going to take a year for him to get to a healthy weight, and I’ve committed to his rehabilitation.”

Vanatta started featurning Obie’s fight to lose weight on a Facebook page, “Biggest Loser, Doxie Edition,” which has led to donations and made Obie a celebrity, with appearances on ”Good Morning America” and the “Today” show.

Obie has lost 15 pounds and has about 25 to go.

Rangan said she wants the 5-year-old dog because Vanatta isn’t caring for him properly.

“I don’t want a dime,” she said. “I just want Obie … He’s a dog. He’s not a celebrity.” She objected to the fact that Obie flew in cargo, and not first class, on his six-hour trip to New York.

Vanatta said all money she has received for Obie has gone to his care.

She said no papers regarding his custody were ever signed, and that she wants to keep Obie at least until he reaches his goal weight.

Rangan and Vanatta are expected to appear in court Monday.

“It makes me sick because he was never in her custody,” Vanatta said. “I can’t understand why she’s spending money fighting this because he’s so happy.”

(Photo: Obie’s “Biggest Loser” Facebook page)

Here’a a preview of tonight’s “Dog Whisperer,” in which Cesar Millan helps “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels with a dog that goes nuts whenever she climbs aboard her horse.

Michaels, a fitness trainer and life coach, says her 14-month-old greyound mix, Seven, has been exhibiting the behavior for seven months. While her horse, Buzz, tolerates Seven’s yapping and nipping, Michaels was worried that it could lead to the dog getting hurt or even killed.

Millan solves the problem in a matter of seconds, climbing on back of Michaels’ horse, and simply leading the dog along on a leash. That, Millan says, gives the dog a purpose — following along — and brings the barking and nipping to an immediate halt. In time, Millan predicts, Seven will learn to walk alongside the horse without a leash.

Tonight’s show also features Sara, a German shorthaired pointer prone to escaping, and a Yorkshire terrier named Madeliene who reacts adversely to brooms and windshield wipers.

The episode airs at 9 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel.