Animal Planet's New My Fat Pet Is The Biggest Loser for Overweight Animals

Animal expert and trainer Travis Brorsen is here to help pets get healthy again

We have seen some amazing animal weight-loss stories over the years, and My Fat Pet wants to make that the norm.

Animal Planets upcoming series is looking to tackle the pet obesity epidemic head-on, helping dangerously overweight cats and dogs shed the pounds through a safe training and diet plan. Animal expert and trainer Travis Brorsen will be coaching these critters through their journey, creating individuals diet and exercise programs for each of the animals he meets.

The furry friends featured on My Fat Pet will be animals that need help immediately. Obesity increases an animal’s chances of getting diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease, just like in humans, and these pets are risking their lives at their current weight. Of course, pet obesity isn’t just the animal’s problem - while Brorsen helps pets get healthy, he will also be showing owners what their pets are struggling through now and how they need to change their own behaviors to help them.

After setting the weight-loss wheel in motion, Brorsen will check in on the pets and their families four months later to see what the final weigh-in reveals.

The journey from fat pet to slimmed-down sweetie begins this fall on Animal Planet.

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com