I didn't see the program, missed 'cos i was busy, but in general i agree people that let their animals get obese are irresponsable and cruel(it doesn't matter what their motives or reasons for over-feeding the animals are, its still cruelty). All sorts of animals are experts at begging for food, particually dogs and cats with their cute "feed me, im hungry" looks, but just because the animal wants food doesn't mean it needs it.
I mean, its no different from looking after a childs diet in some respects- kids want sweets and candy all the time, most 8yr olds would probably more than happily chow down unlimited quantitys of chocolate all day long and look really happy for it, but that doesn't mean you should give it to them nor does it mean its good for them.
I think the other part with obese animals is excercise, most dog owners in particular simply don't give their pets enough daily excercise. Most people will buy a particular breed of dog now days for its looks rather than what it was originally breed for- this can be bad though, for example, labradors were originally breed as working farm and hunting dogs and thus have been bred to have limitless amounts of energy. Most breeds of labradors need around a 3 hour walk a day ideally, although the more the better. Most people simply don't think of this though- as much as these sorts of dogs are very charming and cuddly, they need to be worked/excercised regually if you are going to attend their physical and mental needs properly- labradors really hate just sitting indoors for hours on end as they are not only very energetic dogs but also very intelligent...
oh well at least he started to loose weight after the op which was great for the dog! 
