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00:01Professor Noel Fitzpatrick
00:03All right, Mrs.
00:04Cuddle monster incoming
00:06is the super vet.
00:08We have issues.
00:09I knew I should have got chihuahuas.
00:11At his unique vet practice,
00:13he merges mechanics and biology.
00:16We're past the point of no return now.
00:18Don't be pulling apart my repair, Mrs.
00:21to heal the nation's pets.
00:23Sorry about coronavirus.
00:25Oh, because you're responsible?
00:26I'm responsible for almost everything else.
00:29Even in the darkest days...
00:32What is it ever?
00:33Noel imagines the impossible.
00:36Oh, my little baby gives leg.
00:39It's gone.
00:41Sometimes you have to bend the rules and mechanics
00:43to fit the biology.
00:45..and offers hope...
00:47We've definitely made the right decision.
00:49Good boy!
00:50We've got my boy back.
00:52..for families and their friends.
00:54Look at you! Bionic doggo!
00:59T'was the months before Christmas,
01:11when all through the house,
01:13not a creature was stirring.
01:16Not even a mouse.
01:18Christmas at Fitzpatrick's is like your second family.
01:26Look at the client!
01:28The festive vibe here is really great.
01:31I've never actually worked anywhere that's quite like it.
01:33Merry Christmas, Nala!
01:35There's a lot of singing to the patients,
01:39and also we'll try and make their kennels a bit festive.
01:42Oh, do you like it?
01:44We try and make the practice a home away from home
01:47for them during Christmastime.
01:49This year I do think that Christmas will be slightly different,
01:54but because it's been such a rough year,
01:56I think everyone's going to come together even more so
01:58and make this one heck for Christmas.
02:04So, uh, Christmas, bring it on.
02:10This year it's not just Santa who's making a special appearance.
02:14There's been a number of famous faces at the practice too.
02:23It's not your house, you don't need to bark.
02:26To animals we are all equal,
02:28regardless of whether you're in the public eye or not.
02:31Lee!
02:32Our job is to get a quality of life for all patients
02:35and get them home for Christmas.
02:38Do you need a poo?
02:39Good, no, I know you don't want to go, do you?
02:42Come on, come on.
02:43Come on, come on.
02:45When he doesn't want to move...
02:48It's July and four-year-old Mastiff Cross Domino
02:51is enjoying giving his famous dad the runaround.
02:55Round, round, sit, sit.
03:01Oh, that's good.
03:04I've come here for facial surgery on my nose.
03:08It's been too long.
03:09No, I've come here to bring this boy, Domino.
03:14Er, he's got something going on with his back right, possibly metatarsal.
03:20I mean, I talk as if I know what I'm talking about.
03:22I don't have a clue.
03:23Really, look at his face.
03:26Good yawn, TV dog!
03:28Domino?
03:29No.
03:30Come here.
03:31Come on.
03:32Pop icon Will Young has been a dog lover from day dot.
03:37I guess we've just always been a bit crazy about animals.
03:43No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
03:47Because I don't have children and I'm single, the dogs are literally like my family.
03:53Lie down.
03:57I mean, I'm clearly like the bottom of the pack.
04:00Just trod on, you know, fed scraps.
04:05Okay, take the car.
04:07Oh, you're slobbing on me as well.
04:08Yes.
04:09But I wouldn't have it any other way.
04:10Yes.
04:12Animals constantly have empathy.
04:15Hello, Esme.
04:16When I got Esme, I became very ill.
04:19I mean, I had a breakdown.
04:21There.
04:23I mean, I couldn't leave the bed for days and wouldn't eat for days.
04:27And she would just sort of be there.
04:29They just provide something special.
04:32They're very magical.
04:33I mean, she's probably emotionally scarred.
04:36Earlier this year, on a visit to the States,
04:39Will's canine family doubled in size.
04:42I saw these two dogs, Domino and Diamond.
04:48They were found very malnourished.
04:51And I think they were about an hour away from being put down.
04:55Unfortunately, Domino was in need of more than just a new home.
05:00What I was told was that Domino had a problem with his metatarsal
05:03and was needing an operation.
05:05You couldn't run him.
05:07And he would limp.
05:09But then the virus happened.
05:10And I just thought, I can't leave these dogs like that.
05:14I don't think anyone's ever going to adopt them.
05:17And then it was game over, really, after that.
05:19Domino.
05:21Oh, you're so scary.
05:23People cross the road because he's so big.
05:25But he is literally the biggest baby.
05:27I mean, he follows me everywhere.
05:29Diamond's much naughtier.
05:31She's a bossy woman.
05:32Not the women are bossy.
05:34Put that straight right now.
05:37They just want to love people and they just want to be loved.
05:41And they give it unconditionally.
05:43So, I'm going to give a lot to them.
05:46Whatever's necessary.
05:48You know, that's my duty.
05:51So, that's what I'll do.
05:53There.
05:54Sit.
05:55Sit.
05:56Unsure how long Domino has been in pain and desperate to help him,
06:00Will and his goddaughter Eve have brought the gentle giant to see Noel.
06:06Good morning, by the way.
06:08Good morning.
06:09Now, have we spoken before?
06:10Yes.
06:12Have you?
06:13Yes.
06:14Which, where did you come to?
06:16Was I good?
06:17Oh, thank God.
06:18Oh, thank God.
06:19Thank God for that.
06:21Don, are you a Will Young fan?
06:23Yes, I am.
06:24I'm the first person I've been starstruck with.
06:26Is that right?
06:27Yeah.
06:29All right, off you go.
06:30Come on.
06:31Good boy.
06:32Whilst he was in America, Will was told that Domino's painful limp may be caused by a foot injury.
06:37I just want to watch the walking up and down, please.
06:40But Noel needs to examine the four-year-old himself.
06:43Okay.
06:44Good.
06:45Good.
06:46Okay.
06:47Stop there, please.
06:48So just hold his head for us, please.
06:51Hold tight.
06:52Good boy.
06:53Oh!
06:54I know.
06:55That hurts, doesn't it?
06:56Oh.
06:57Oh dear.
06:58Good boy.
06:59So, at the moment I'm not buying the metatarsal theory.
07:04Yeah.
07:05I can't feel anything unusual there.
07:08However...
07:09That bit?
07:10Yeah.
07:11See that?
07:12Yeah.
07:13Shouldn't do that.
07:14Okay.
07:15Shouldn't move like that.
07:16Yeah.
07:17And what's that telling you then?
07:18That's telling me that he's probably ruptured his cranial cruciate ligament, which is one
07:23of the two ligaments inside the knee.
07:26And how would he have done that?
07:27So it's believed that there may be a genetic basis to it whereby inflammation builds up inside
07:33the knee.
07:34Yeah.
07:35And gradually the ligament frays like a shoelace.
07:38Oh dear, Mr. Man.
07:40Have you ever noticed any front leg lameness?
07:43No.
07:44I've actually noticed it with her, funnily enough.
07:46Oh, you have?
07:47Oh dear.
07:48Yeah.
07:49Oh, are you springing another surprise?
07:50No, I'm not.
07:51Oh, is this like this?
07:52No, no, no.
07:53I'm not doing two for one.
07:54No, I know exactly what you're doing.
07:56This is the Gareth Gates and this is the Will Young.
07:59I know exactly what he's doing.
08:01She could be the Darius.
08:02She could be the Darius.
08:04Yeah.
08:05She could be.
08:08Now, in the past, what we would have done is try to replace the ligament, but we now
08:14know that in very large breed dogs like this, that doesn't work too well.
08:19Yeah.
08:20So what can you do then?
08:21We make a curved cut in the top of the tibia and we rock the top of the tibia around and
08:28then we put a plate on it, which looks something like that, which is called a TPLO.
08:37TPLO.
08:38T-P-L-O.
08:39Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy.
08:42And there can still be movement.
08:44Yes, but it doesn't slip.
08:46Now, the possible complications are, one, mechanical failure.
08:51Two, infection.
08:52And number three, osteoarthritis is inevitable.
08:56Now, that other dog's worrying me.
08:59Diamond.
09:00Right.
09:01The other thing that these kinds of breeds are predisposed to is osteoarthritis of the
09:06elbows.
09:07Ah, okay.
09:08So what I suggest we do is ping off a couple of x-ray pictures of her elbows if you want.
09:12Yeah.
09:13Then I'll know either way.
09:14I wasn't going to mention her, actually.
09:16Promise.
09:17Please, God, she doesn't have anything, but I'll have to check it out.
09:20These dogs.
09:21I know you've just...
09:22Why do we...
09:23Well, it's love.
09:24Off we go, guys.
09:26Okay, see you.
09:28Bye.
09:31Domino will have x-ray pictures taken to determine if he has ruptured a ligament inside his knee.
09:40Meanwhile, his sister Diamond is getting an unexpected turn in the CT scanner to give Noel
09:46a clearer picture of any possible problems with her elbows.
09:54I'm reviewing all the images now for Domino and for Diamond.
10:00It's not looking good, unfortunately.
10:06Now 7.30 in the evening.
10:08Hello.
10:11It's very quiet, isn't it?
10:13Will has returned to get the results.
10:17Now, I know you've spent the afternoon worrying.
10:20Um, we have issues.
10:23It's not that they're not treatable, but it's probably more than you'd hoped for.
10:27Oh, right, okay.
10:29Oh, my gosh, look at this.
10:30Is this...
10:31Is this for Mr. Man, Domino?
10:33Yes, this is for Domino, yeah.
10:35That grey is fluid building up inside the joint because of inflammation.
10:41That is degenerating, unfortunately, both knees.
10:46Oh, both his knees?
10:47Yes.
10:48Now, the one which has got most of the problems is the right hind.
10:52But, unfortunately, it is likely I'm going to be seeing you again with the left one going in the future.
10:57Oh, gosh, poor chap.
11:00I'm going to move on to Diamond.
11:02Okay.
11:03And it transpires that the left elbow does, in fact, have osteoarthritis.
11:10Already.
11:12And what we can see, the ulna's cracked.
11:15Oh, gosh.
11:17So she must be in pain as well.
11:18Sadly, she's in more pain than he is.
11:20Gosh, and how is she running?
11:22And she still runs?
11:23She's just never known life any different.
11:25Really?
11:27Oh, blimey.
11:29Gosh, it's quite a lot to take in.
11:31Yes, it is.
11:33The bottom line is that we need to have a think about doing a TPLO on the right knee for Domino.
11:40And an arthroscopy of both elbows for Diamond.
11:43Yes.
11:44You see, they might be here with the doggies.
11:46Help!
11:47One sec, we'll see.
11:48My babies.
11:50I knew I should have got chihuahuas.
11:51Now, here we go.
11:53Ow!
11:54Oh, you've got a thingy.
11:56Yeah.
11:58Having already been through so much...
12:01A newly vacuumed car.
12:03Domino and Diamond now face at least two major surgeries.
12:08I'm a pop star.
12:09Should have people doing this for me.
12:11But it may be Will's only hope to give his adopted American family the future they deserve.
12:19I love you.
12:21It's 167 days till Christmas.
12:22We're not going to be able to defrost Buble together.
12:24Defrost Buble?
12:25No, because you know, like, we start singing Christmas songs in October.
12:27Oh, yeah.
12:28Same with Leona Lewis, isn't it?
12:29Is that Mariah?
12:30What?
12:31She hasn't brought out a single for years.
12:32No, Mariah Carey, I think it was.
12:33Morning.
12:34Morning.
12:35Morning.
12:36Morning.
12:37Morning.
12:38Morning.
12:39It's been two weeks since pop star Will Young found out that his dogs Domino and Diamond may both need life-changing surgery.
12:53Come on, Mr. Man.
12:54And he's lost a bit of weight.
12:55He's doing about two grams.
12:56Don't you think he's lost weight?
12:57Today, hefty but harmless Domino is being dropped off for his operation.
12:58I feel a little bit empty.
12:59I'm a bit like.
13:00I'm a bit like...
13:01I'm a bit like.
13:02I'm a bit like...
13:03It's been two weeks since pop star Will Young found out that his dogs Domino and Diamond may both need life-changing surgery.
13:07Come on, Mr. Man.
13:10And he's lost a bit of weight.
13:12And he's lost a bit of weight.
13:13He's doing about two grams.
13:14Don't you think he's lost weight?
13:16I think he's...
13:17Today, hefty but harmless Domino is being dropped off for his operation.
13:22I feel a little bit empty.
13:26I'm a bit like, there's nothing I can do, do you know what I mean?
13:30That's the thing.
13:32I think, like everything, there's no point worrying.
13:36It's not going to make any difference.
13:38It's all about trust, and I do trust Noel and his team.
13:43He's been a really good boy.
13:46Noel is going to attempt to level off the joint surface of Domino's tibia
13:50to stop his femur from slipping.
13:52We're going to make a curved cut in the top of the tibia.
13:59Having removed the torn ligament and inspected the cartilage,
14:03Noel cuts the bone at a precise position.
14:07I'm going to rotate that cut 6.6 millimetres
14:11so that the femur doesn't slip down the tibia any more.
14:17In its new non-slip alignment,
14:19Noel inserts a plate to secure the bone segments.
14:27Hopefully, with this, we'll give him a new lease of life without pain.
14:32The only problem is I think the other knee's going to need surgery
14:36in the not-too-distant future.
14:38Well done, Domino. Good job.
14:41Domino will need six weeks' recovery before his knee is fully healed.
14:47But it's just halfway through the journey for Will.
14:52One operation down and one dog to go.
14:55It's lunchtime, and the spotlight is on an emergency case
15:14that has just arrived at the practice.
15:16It's going to be OK, Missy.
15:19Yeah.
15:20Let's see what's going on.
15:23We're going to be OK.
15:25Well used to attracting attention,
15:27three-year-old French bulldog Willow
15:29lives with Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon,
15:33supermodel Yasmin, and their family.
15:35She's bonkers, really.
15:38We all call her, like, she's the crazy dog.
15:40She is a handful, and her job is to get the squirrels and the foxes,
15:45and she is ballistic.
15:47She's like a missile.
15:48She's a bit like a wrecking ball, actually.
15:50She is a bit of a wrecking ball.
15:51Yeah.
15:51Yeah.
15:53Sadly, it looks like the high-energy Frenchie
15:56may have crashed and burned.
15:58We found her in the garden the other night,
16:02absolutely shaking and unable to move.
16:06I think she may have fallen.
16:09And I know that with, you know, with backs and spines,
16:12you know, you've just got to be quick.
16:13You can't take any chances.
16:16I thought of...of spinal surgery.
16:20I don't know.
16:23I don't really want to think about it, actually.
16:27Yasmin?
16:27Hi.
16:28Hi.
16:29Go right ahead, girls.
16:31We're going to the room on the left right there.
16:34Okay.
16:34There we go.
16:37Now then, so tell me.
16:40Monday night, she was shaking in the garden.
16:42Monday evening in the garden.
16:43Right.
16:44And she was not moving properly.
16:47Okay.
16:48On all four legs or just the back legs?
16:51The back legs.
16:52Okay, fine.
16:53Yeah.
16:53By the evening, she was really showing difficulty.
16:57And my brother-in-law is an osteopath.
16:59Gave her a little treatment.
17:01Simon's brother?
17:02Yeah.
17:02Oh, is he an osteopath?
17:03Yeah, he's a really good one.
17:04Is that right?
17:05Yeah, it's for years.
17:06I mean, thank God we've got an osteopath in the family.
17:07Kept him jumping around on the stage.
17:09Kept him amusing people like me.
17:11I'm a big fan, by the way.
17:12Cool.
17:13And so, yes.
17:15Yeah.
17:15So, Lauren's going to hold her, and I'm just going to do a few little checks.
17:19Yeah.
17:19So, Mommy, you can talk to her head end.
17:21Yeah.
17:22Perfect.
17:22Good.
17:22Okay.
17:23All right.
17:24Talk to her, please.
17:26Yes.
17:26You go.
17:27Yes.
17:27Okay, so you see this, Yasmin, here?
17:29Look.
17:30Yeah.
17:31Her brain doesn't know where that is.
17:33She's doing it on her other foot.
17:34Yeah.
17:35Yes.
17:35The reason for that is an interruption in the flow of the spinal cord.
17:41Okay.
17:42Now, that's something.
17:45It could be an accident.
17:47Mm-hmm.
17:47But it's more likely to be a disc problem.
17:52Based on the breed.
17:54Really?
17:55Okay.
17:55It's all right, Boop.
17:56I got you.
17:56Thank you, Lauren.
17:57You can move on to the table.
17:58All right, Boop.
17:59You're okay.
18:00All right.
18:01Bottom line is that is a surgical emergency if the dog is going from grade three to grade
18:07four, which it is now.
18:08Zero is normal.
18:09Five is totally paralyzed on the back end.
18:13I'm sorry.
18:14I know.
18:14I know it's heartbreaking, but...
18:17Told you, when you fall.
18:19Yeah.
18:20Sorry.
18:21Don't beat yourself up.
18:22I feel for her.
18:24This is...
18:24Yeah.
18:24A sudden pop can happen because of degeneration in the disc itself.
18:29So, most likely...
18:30Do you like one of the family?
18:32We've all got bloody back problems in our family, honestly.
18:35Me too.
18:36Unfortunately, it's...
18:37It's genetic in the Le Bon family, the Fitzpatrick family, and this doggie's family.
18:42It is her.
18:43Oh, no.
18:44Do you want to give her a cuddle?
18:45Because we're going to take her through in a moment.
18:46Come on, you.
18:49Come on, you're going to be all right.
18:51All right.
18:51You're going to be all right.
18:52I love you.
18:54Okay.
18:55Thank you, Lauren.
18:57Take care.
18:58Cheers.
18:58Cheers.
19:01I'm still in shock, actually.
19:02The idea of having a degenerative disease like that, and a dog so young, and she's just
19:11so full of energy, and she must be really suffering.
19:17I just want her to have a good quality of life.
19:18Yeah, it's the most important thing, because she's still so young.
19:25Come on, little Willow.
19:28Good girl.
19:30Good girl.
19:32An MRI scan will confirm if three-year-old Willow does have a damaged disc in her back,
19:39and if surgery could help.
19:47Hello?
19:48Hey, it's Noel here.
19:50Hi.
19:50Hi, Noel.
19:51Now then, it is exactly as I expected.
19:54It's a very large volume, acute disc extrusion, in the middle of the lower back.
20:04Right.
20:05I just, I don't know what to do.
20:07Well, um...
20:09I really, I really don't, and you wouldn't believe this, but my pug today, he's been wobbly
20:14for a while.
20:15Oh, my goodness.
20:16He's just refused to walk.
20:18He can't walk.
20:19What?
20:20His back legs just won't go.
20:22I mean, he's 12, but they just won't go.
20:25What, like now?
20:26Yeah, no, and he, he, he, his bladder is completely full.
20:31He can't wee.
20:32Oh, my God.
20:33Oh, my God.
20:34That's lightning struck twice in 24 hours.
20:38I mean, that's a nightmare.
20:41What's the other dog's name?
20:43Luigi.
20:44And he's 12?
20:45Yeah, he...
20:47He...
20:47Okay.
20:49My advice to you is, providing your vets are happy with it, just come straight away.
20:55Okay.
20:57Bye.
20:57Bye.
21:00Whilst the team prep Willow for spinal surgery, Yasmin will drive poorly pug Luigi to the practice.
21:07It's just utterly bizarre that Yasmin's other dog, Luigi, has gone off his legs this afternoon as well.
21:16But I can't afford to think about that right now.
21:18I've got to fix Willow first.
21:20Willow's scan shows that a degenerate disc has leaked, and the material is pressing on her spinal cord.
21:28The Le Bon's want Noel to operate, rather than risk paralysis.
21:33Okay, so we're going to get on the right-hand side of the spine here.
21:36I'm just putting my finger in to feel exactly where I am.
21:41L1, T13.
21:42Having located the right spot, Noel cuts a window in the vertebra to access the leaked disc material.
21:54So that there is disc material, right there.
22:01Using a blunt-edge tool, Noel carefully scrapes away the exploded disc.
22:06Okay, good. That disc is now clear.
22:15This spinal cord is fully freed up. There's no compression.
22:19Spinal cord also doesn't look too bruised.
22:22You can never tell for sure, but I think Willow should do well.
22:28That's really fine.
22:29I'm under there.
22:30Now, Willow, we're going to have to see your brother now.
22:36Unbelievable.
22:39Thanks, everybody.
22:45It's always been a dramatic pug, haven't you?
22:49Willow may be out of immediate danger.
22:52It's okay, it's okay, it's okay, don't try to stand up.
22:55But it's the Le Bon's other dog, Luigi, who is now the concern.
23:00All right, all right, all right, all right, all right, sweetheart, all right.
23:10This day is just getting worse and worse.
23:14Our darling pug, Luigi, who's, you know, no spring chicken, but, you know, we just kind of go,
23:20oh, it's just old Luigi, you know, if you put a bit of ham in front of you or mention sausages,
23:24it'll be off.
23:25And I went back this afternoon and I could not get this dog to get up.
23:30And I thought, no, this is ridiculous, this can't be happening.
23:34So, here we are, again.
23:40What's wrong with our family?
23:42Same thing as this morning, please.
23:45We'll just have you talk to him up here.
23:48All right, big guy.
23:52He's slow on the left hind.
23:54Man, it's in exactly the same area as Willow.
24:21This is what's going on.
24:24This is not, um, what's happening?
24:30All right, I don't know what's going on in your house, but that's the weirdest thing I've ever seen.
24:35All right, um, I've just operated on Willow.
24:38The good news is it went well.
24:40The ethical dilemma with Willow is a lot different than the ethical dilemma with this dog because of the age of this dog.
24:46Yeah.
24:49And whether it's morally and ethically right to put this dog through surgery.
24:54So, look, I'm just going to be frank with you.
24:56I think that we're going to end up putting him to sleep if we don't scan him
24:59because he's going to get worse by the rate at which he's going downhill.
25:04And I think that you're going to lose him, unfortunately, and I'm very sorry to say that.
25:11I can't have him be in pain.
25:15I'm really sorry.
25:16I'm really sorry.
25:17I'm sorry.
25:22So, I'll give you a couple of minutes, okay?
25:25We'll just go and see how Willow is.
25:27Are we ready for all hands on deck?
25:33They're trying to make the decision now.
25:36Yeah.
25:44I just, I'm, I'm completely flummoxed by this.
25:53Yes, I love to put him through.
25:57Maybe it's his time.
26:01He's had the best life.
26:04He said he's had a great time.
26:07You also know that he's, he can be a strong dog.
26:13Do you think we've got to give it a chance, then, would we?
26:16Yeah.
26:18I'm sorry, girls.
26:20What do you want me to do?
26:22Well, I think, let's, let's scan him.
26:24Okay.
26:24Yeah.
26:24I, I, I would do anything to save this dog.
26:29It's, it's such a huge part of our family.
26:33I have to be careful.
26:43Now, I'm going to pick you up, buddy.
26:45I know you're painful.
26:46I know you're painful.
26:47I know you're painful.
26:47I know you're painful.
26:48I know you're painful.
26:49Yay!
26:50I've got my heart, boy.
26:53No.
26:59Okay, let's go.
27:02Despite being late at night, Luigi will have an MRI scan.
27:07Hello, little friend.
27:08All right, Luigi.
27:09He's 12.
27:10Yeah.
27:10His bladder's full and he's in a lot of pain.
27:13If the scans reveal an exploded disc like Willow's, the family could face yet more major
27:20surgery for another of their beloved dogs.
27:37I love Christmas, Mario, it's my favorite period of the year.
27:42I love Secret Santa.
27:44If I will have to do your present, I already know what to do.
27:48What?
27:49I can't tell you.
27:53It's great, isn't it?
27:54Oh, my God.
27:56It's amazing.
27:57Oh, Mario, I love Christmas so much.
28:00Oh, my God.
28:05I'm going to spoil him so much.
28:09You can have sausages for breakfast.
28:12Yasmin and Saffron Le Bon
28:15Girls.
28:16Are waiting for the results of 12-year-old Pug Luigi's spinal scan after he collapsed earlier
28:22this evening.
28:23The bottom line is that he has multiple discs that are dried out in his back.
28:29And it's not as straightforward as Willow.
28:34At the lumbosacral junction, which is right down here at the very base.
28:38Yeah.
28:39That disc is dramatically bulging and causing sciatica.
28:44The problem with his clinical signs is it's very unusual to have a knuckle that doesn't come
28:56back with just a lower motor neuron problem, which is the sciatic nerve.
29:00So I suspect there's two problems.
29:03So I'm going to give permission for him to be woken up because we all need to just take a step back here
29:11and see what the clinical signs are tomorrow.
29:15It does not require surgery tonight.
29:19Okay?
29:20Don't worry about his pain.
29:22You're in a good place for happy drugs.
29:25So we'll take care of it.
29:27Do you want him to get the A-class?
29:29We'll give him all of the A-class.
29:31Class A's.
29:32Class A's.
29:33He'll have it tonight.
29:39It's a bit shell-shocked, really.
29:42You know, you think you know what's going on and that you love and know,
29:46you can read signals with your animals and I just thought it was just, you know,
29:51just getting stiff and old and being a bit lazy, but I never really imagined what was going on.
30:00If there's a possibility we can make his life better, then at the moment that's what I would want to do.
30:11Yeah.
30:12I would.
30:14Yeah.
30:16Big Softie Domino is taking his first tentative steps since the operation that repositioned his knee.
30:45So Domino is two days post-surgery now. He's doing great.
30:50He's walking pretty good already on the leg, which is wonderful.
30:55You know what's really remarkable, though, is that he was just hours away from death when Will rescued him.
31:02And to see the life that's in him now.
31:05Yes, mate, I love you too. It's remarkable.
31:09Shall we go for a walk? Oh, yeah. Let's do it.
31:12With Domino's recovery going well.
31:15Come on, then. It's very exciting.
31:17He will be allowed home.
31:19Hey, buddy. How are you? Come on, Diamond.
31:22Hello, sweetie pie. How are you doing? Good girl.
31:25But whilst her big brother is on the road to recovery, Diamond is only just starting her journey.
31:32Now, it's a dog exchange day today, isn't it? Yes. Let's get her through. Come on, sweetie.
31:38Later this afternoon, she will have an arthroscopic investigation to check how bad the erosion and osteoarthritis is affecting her elbows.
31:47One out, and then one in. Oh, my gosh. Hello.
31:53Meanwhile, Domino can leave right now. There you go. On y va. On y va. There we go.
32:00He'll need six weeks of cage rest, but will hopefully be signed off for Christmas.
32:07The biggest task that lies ahead is his rehab. To be honest, it's probably the best time, because all my...
32:15You know, I should be on tour now. So there's always a, you know, silver lining.
32:20I lost all my work and thought, oh, gosh, but then I met these two and, you know, I get to properly help them.
32:27And so this is all obviously meant to be.
32:33When Will came to see me with Domino, he had no idea that Diamond might need treatment as well.
32:39Ginger, come on. Come on, baby.
32:42So for Yasmin to have Willow operated on and then Luigi to go down with a spinal problem that same day was bizarre. Unbelievable.
32:51He doesn't have pseudo-hyperflexia, does he? No, no, no, he doesn't.
32:55In Luigi's case, his symptoms are unusual. The sciatic nerves are so squished by the degenerate bulging disc that not only is he in significant pain, but also the input and output signals from those nerves are impaired.
33:11So his back legs are weak. And that's quite uncommon. Unfortunately, medicine is unlikely to deal with this problem. So sadly, the family are probably going to need to consider operating yet again on another one of their friends.
33:28Can you imagine having two dogs, both of them in the same day?
33:37Having been given the go-ahead for surgery.
33:40I can't believe it. It's the worst. It's incredible.
33:44Noel will operate on 12-year-old pug Luigi in the hope of getting him out of pain and back to his sausage-eating self.
33:53All right, here we go.
33:59Man, these nerves are like five times the size they should be up here.
34:03Poor Luigi. This has been going on for ages.
34:07A bulging disc has been crushing the nerves at the base of Luigi's spine that lead to his back legs.
34:14Just trying to scrape the disc out now underneath those nerves, removing the bulge.
34:20Pins and cement will fuse Luigi's vertebrae in position and give the nerves more room.
34:27So I'm looking at the CT scan and trying to judge where I'm going to put the pin.
34:33It's like operating multiple chopsticks with the same hand.
34:42With 14 pins now in place, I'm going to put some collagen to protect the nerves.
35:00Noel can pour in the cement.
35:04We're past the point of no return now.
35:11OK, so we're going to go to CT now and hopefully all the pins will be in the right spot.
35:16And if we're lucky, hopefully, Luigi will be out of pain.
35:19I haven't eaten all day.
35:26I'm hungry like the wolf.
35:28The CT scan shows that the pins are in the correct place.
35:44But it will be a few days before it's clear if the operation has worked and if Luigi will walk properly again.
35:51Is it Christmas? Is it Christmas?
35:52You've got all the presents?
35:53Good boy.
35:54Good boy.
35:55Will and his pack are back at Fitzpatrick's.
35:56I feel like I pretty much work at this place.
35:58Put it this way.
35:59It's a Christmas.
36:00It's a Christmas.
36:01It's a Christmas.
36:02It's a Christmas.
36:03You've got all the presents.
36:04Good boy.
36:05Good boy.
36:06Will and his pack are back at Fitzpatrick's.
36:21I feel like I pretty much work at this place.
36:24Put it this way.
36:25I don't need to put the address in the sat-nav anymore.
36:28I know where I'm going.
36:30And that's a sign, isn't it?
36:32Come on.
36:34Domino's recovery is going well.
36:36But his little sister Diamond's arthroscopy showed severe erosion on the inner half of the left elbow.
36:43And Noel has recommended an innovative surgery.
36:46What I'm going to try and do is alleviate the pain associated with rubbing of the humerus on the ulna.
36:53So what's going to happen today is that I am going to perform a sliding humeral osteotomy.
37:01And it's going to move the upper part of the humerus over so that the weight is preferentially borne on the good half of the joint.
37:10Yeah.
37:11And we do that nowadays with a custom plate which we have custom made for your friend.
37:18Look at that.
37:20Now that is for you but not in your mouth.
37:25Please don't believe that I'm curing her arthritis.
37:29Nobody can do that or they win a Nobel Prize.
37:31No.
37:32What I'm doing is I'm alleviating pain and I'm giving that part of the joint a chance to recover.
37:38Exactly.
37:39Any questions?
37:40No.
37:41I'm happy she's here.
37:42I'm happy she's here too.
37:45Animals can unblock our hearts and our minds with empathy, with unconditional love and with loyalty.
37:53There you go.
37:54Domino and Diamond have helped Will to heal and now Will is helping them.
38:01It's a fantastic example of dog being man's best friend and man being dog's best friend.
38:09It doesn't get any better than that.
38:22Anyway, what are you going to do for Christmas then?
38:30I have no idea.
38:31Not yet.
38:33No, we will definitely travel to Italy.
38:36Even if I have to...
38:37Ne balloon!
38:38I can go ne balloon!
38:40You could, but...
38:42They're going to shoot me down.
38:43I will, yes.
38:44While Domino makes good progress at home, Will Young's All-American Girl Diamond is being prepped for advanced elbow surgery.
38:57So we're going to operate on Diamond now to try and unload the painful area of the elbow where the humerus has rubbed away against the ulna.
39:08Staple, please.
39:10Diamond's cartilage has worn away on the inside of her elbow joint where her humerus and ulna bones have a poor fit.
39:19Noel is going to attach a custom-made plate to the inside of the humerus.
39:24Then he'll cut through the middle of the bone.
39:27Non-locking screws will slide the bottom half towards the plate.
39:31These are replaced with locking screws sequentially.
39:34Diamond's weight will then be transferred away from the painful erosion to the healthier outside of the joint.
39:41So this stepped plate is specially contoured for this bone.
39:45We pop it in like so.
39:56Noel fixes the plate to both top and bottom halves of the humerus.
39:59Go.
40:01He then cuts through the bone.
40:03Relax.
40:05OK, we've cut the bone in half now.
40:07Right next to the step.
40:08What we're going to do next is move the bottom half up towards the plate, which pushes the top half outwards.
40:14With the bone in the new position, Noel inserts the final locking screws.
40:17Give me the graft, please.
40:18Give me the graft, please.
40:19Bone marrow harvested from the top of the humerus is packed into the step to help the bone to heal.
40:20Now we stitch everything together in half.
40:21Now we stitch everything together.
40:23What you do next is move the bottom half up towards the plate, which pushes the top half outwards.
40:28With the bone in the new position, Noel inserts the final locking screws.
40:35Give me the graft, please.
40:37Bone marrow harvested from the top of the humerus is packed into the step to help the bone to heal.
40:42bone to heal now we stitch everything up it may have been a rough few years for
40:56diamond but she will now be in with a chance of a bright and shiny future
41:01well done luigi oh look at you go look at you go good boy good boy yay in the kennels 12 year old
41:19pug luigi is making good progress after his spinal surgery there is nothing that luigi won't do for a
41:27sausage you want that mate there you go oh yeah oh yeah that is the essence of a pug's quality of
41:37life luigi may have his appetite back but wrecking ball willow has already been discharged and has
41:47been strutting her stuff on the dog walk i walk her three or four times a day and she's getting
41:54stronger every day she really is today willow has returned to escort best friend luigi home
42:00that's if he wants to leave noel has been hand feeding him chicken pate i'm a little bit upset
42:09about it i'll be honest we give him cucumber iceberg lettuce he loves here he's had i'm being hand fed
42:16chicken pate he's not going to want to come home so this is what you do see he's walking really well
42:25oh my god yes oh look at that so he's in great shape look at that that's amazing oh my gosh hopefully i
42:32can sign him off for christmas oh i didn't expect him to be walking that well i have to say that's amazing
42:40it never ceases to amaze me even in a dog this age how they bounce back and they're like we were
42:45really close yeah saying goodbye but i mean look at him yeah it's amazing there's a lot more love
42:52and time yeah yeah a lot more sausages in the world mate there really are yeah
42:59it's mad to think that we we came here with two dogs that couldn't walk and
43:04we're going home with two dogs that can walk which is absolutely mind-blowing
43:18it's been a challenging year i don't know what was in the air but everybody sort of fell apart
43:26is it edible and now everyone's back on their feet so christmas is going to be fantastic
43:33come on then let's go outside yes go on then freedom willow slow down
43:47it's just phenomenal you can look at them now and look at willow and she she she couldn't move
43:52when she got in and you admit you take off the lead she's she's off she's like a rocket
43:57oh luigi's really strong that night when we we really thought we were going to say goodbye
44:05now he leaps up onto the sofa it's just amazing the life he's got back honestly he's living his best
44:11life yeah over the shoulder one of my favorite angles
44:28it looks like a drunk father christmas we're just feeling incredibly lucky that all of them have
44:35pulled through and and just recovered so well you know you're gonna have a good christmas yes
44:47happy christmas domino happy christmas diamond it's a special time for will and his adopted family
44:55this year they'll be spending their first christmas together oh thank you christmas is going to be so
45:08different for domino and diamond they now have a home there's no christmas spirit with domino it's like
45:15i will just chew these antlers up it's destroying christmas
45:22wait wait wait i love watching them play come on
45:32they just look so happy it is honestly one of the things that makes my heart leap the most in my life
45:41at the moment it's like having these enormous headies that give out this love boundless love
45:49the future for these dogs is ultimately i mean everyone's saying it anyway
45:54cross happy doggies has a rescue dog ever won cross i don't know probably not stop me
46:03won one talent show they could win another talent show don't let daddy down
46:11okay
46:13come on
46:21come on
46:28come on
46:41You
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