e reasons/excuses abound why our pets are obese. As we get fatter, so do our pets. We work harder and longer, no time for walks. Yadda, yadda, yadda. The real reason is: We feed them too much. They eat their food. We give them treats. Then they eat our scraps. So, they get fat, and we end up shelling out hard earned cash after they develop health issues like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint issues, and others. My advice for owners of overweight dogs: go green with the Green Bean Diet. It’s easy, inexpensive, and it works. Green beans add fiber and to dogs’ diets and make them feel full without having the extra calories. Here’s what you need to know: 1.) Buy frozen green beans. Avoid canned green beans with salt since they’re loaded with sodium. Get French cut or regular cut, not whole green beans—they’re easier to measure and no cutting. 2.) Halve the regular amount of dog food that you feed your dog. Substitute green beans for the other half. For example, when my Bichon Frise, Scout, got a little tubby from all my counter-top droppings, he got ¼ cup of dry dog food and ¼ of green beans twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. But will dogs actually eat green beans? Most do. If not, try baby carrots, but they’re pricier. Some pet owners start with less than half green beans to get them used to the change, but all ther if lawmakers simply expanded his authority, currently limited to 5 percent of any appropriation, to 10 percent, and let him decide how to cover a $700 million deficit in the first year. It's unclear whether they would agree to do that. The Democratic controlled legislature turned down Malloy's request for more authority earlier this year. Union officials, meanwhile, urged Malloy and the legislature not to take the "nuclear option" and give the unions some space to figure out the next step. Larry Dorman, a spokesman for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, said the leaders still hope there's a way to avoid the layoffs. There are more than 50,000 state employees, including about 45,000 unionized workers. "Difficult as these times are, difficult as this moment is and painful as this moment is, we need everyone from our members and their leadership, to the legislators and the governor, to step back and figure out what's truly in the best interest of the citizens of the Connecticut and what's truly in the best interest of preserving the services our members provide," Dorman said. Some Democratic state lawmakers, disappointed by the vote, have suggested that workers re-vote, but Dorman said it's premature to discuss specific options. The union leaders are scheduled to meet on Monday. As of Friday afternoon, more employees — at least 60 percent — had voted in favor of the tentative agreement than opposed it. But the deal died because of the union coalition's rules, which requires 14 of the 15 unions to support any change to the retirement and health care benefits package that it negotiates. In this case, 11 unions had voted in favor of the agreement while two opposed it. Two unions were still voting on Friday. "I'm disappointed and I'm angry at the same time. I was really confident in the deal that was presented to us," said Dawn Tyson, 35, a processing technician at the Department of Social Services who supported the agreement. "A lot of people really didn't think that layoffs would be a real reality. They just thought, oh, he's bluffing." Malloy addressed reporters after meeting with the mayors of five large cities. He said most of the likely cuts in state aid to cities and towns would come in the second year of the budget, given the fact that so many local budgets have already been settled. "I will do everything in my power to avoid serious and devastating cuts to local governments" in the first year, said Malloy, a former mayor of Stamford. State employees had various issues with the deal, with some saying they wanted promises that big businesses and wealthy taxpayers would be asked to pay more if they agreed to givebacks. Others questioned a voluntary wellness plan that required workers to get annual physicals and age-appropriate tests, expressing fears they would have to pay large fees or lose coverage if they skipped appointments or didn't make healthy lifestyle choices.