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00:00I'm Pete Wicks, and as well as dancing, I love bikes, I love Essex, but my one true love will
00:15always be dogs. You've got a lovely wet face, thank you. So I was totally made up to be spending the
00:21summer of 2024 at Dogs Trust. Good girl. It's where I adopted my Eric from, and the other
00:29waifs and strays here. Well, my mission is to find them homes too. Now I won't just be having my cake
00:37and eating it. Oh no. Wow, look at you. I'll be having the whole bakery. Nice to see you. Oh,
00:45lovely. I've been here for a few weeks now. I'm available to do this anytime you want me to.
00:50And let's just say, it hasn't been plain sailing. Stop breathing. I think he's going to die. No,
00:56he's not. But this week, things are about to get a whole lot more difficult. She's lost a little
01:02bit of weight. Every hour's a worry, really, with these hand rears. Come on, little fella. And the
01:08cost of living crisis... Go on. ..has meant impossible decisions have to be made. It's life, isn't it?
01:15It's... nothing's too easy anymore. As the dogs just keep on coming...
01:21Oh, cheeky girl. ..but the staff are always here for them. These ones are playing up a
01:27bit. They should be like that. Why don't you give me the dodgy one?
01:30Attention's where the sweeties are. I've been here for a while now, and they still won't
01:34give me a pouch. Oh, I feel bad, cos I've got two. Absolute liberty.
01:38These ones, we're just filling up with meat, yeah? Yeah. I mean, I don't really want to touch
01:53that, but I'm going to. Cold stuff to lick, enjoy. The dogs love it. You can put a dental stick in the
02:00end of it as well. Oh. Oh, beautiful. Look at that. That's a plate. There you go. Yeah, that's the one.
02:05A little 99. Perfect.
02:11It's another scorching summer's day at the Dogs Trust. And just when things couldn't get
02:15any more perfect... Puppies! ..the pups arrive. Big'uns. Middlers. And ones that are just a few
02:24weeks old. But at the Leeds Dogs Trust, six orphans have turned up. They are so young, their eyes
02:34haven't even opened. Where did you find them? My sister found a walk in her dog this morning.
02:39It was in a bottle. You were in a bag? Yeah. They're going to need bottle feeding.
02:43Taking care of them is assistant manager, Emma.
02:48We have got two girls and four points.
02:57After a bottle each, they're then taken off to vet John to be weighed.
03:010.27.
03:05If the team see the pups are losing weight, it's an indicator of a serious problem.
03:11Oh, dear. I've upset you. He says it's feed time. He's hungry.
03:16I think there's two issues with these dogs. Number one, separating from mum, most of the puppies' initial
03:23immunity will come in the milk from mum.
03:262.1. If they don't get that, their immune system in the early stages is quite severely compromised.
03:332.2. The other thing stating the obvious is hand-rearing puppies is not easy.
03:38They are not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination.
03:41We'll really start to breathe more a sigh of relief when we're getting up to five weeks of age.
03:47So we've a long way to go yet.
03:49And I'll be up as soon as possible because currently, at the other end of the country in Basildon,
03:54as is often the case, there is a delicate situation unfolding in the Dogs Trust car park.
03:59Do you want me to get him?
04:03So I've just heard that three dogs are being brought into the centre.
04:07They are being surrendered by their owner, so the guys are just taking them in now.
04:12It's always a sad situation whenever you have dogs being surrendered.
04:17I'm just standing back at a minute because it's already quite a stressful situation.
04:20The staff have to keep the three dogs that all came in from the same home calm,
04:26so they can get them inside for the vet check.
04:29I can see a beautiful dog de Bordeaux who doesn't look like she's in the best shape at the minute.
04:35Looks quite skinny.
04:37Evidently, they're not in the greatest condition at the minute, so...
04:41Oh, my God, that's a tiny shitsa.
04:44The dog de Bordeaux.
04:45Looks like she may have been used for breeding.
04:50OK.
04:52Oh, Poppy.
04:54The fur on the shitsus is...
04:57There's some balding in places, they look like they might have fleas,
04:59but, you know, they're in the best possible place now.
05:03Oh, a bit of a mess on you.
05:06Possibly never seen a vet.
05:08She's crawling in trees.
05:09Yeah.
05:10They're all crawling in fleas.
05:12So the three dogs that have just come in are just being seen
05:15for their initial vet checks now, which is what happens any time a dog is surrendered
05:19or comes in to make sure there's no immediate health concerns.
05:23Like she's just in such bad condition?
05:24Because there's no muscle there.
05:26Aye.
05:27We don't know what the situation is yet, so it's best that I just give them a little bit of space.
05:30But they don't look great.
05:32I mean, I can see now one of the shitsus who's got a lot of balding on the back.
05:36But they seem very friendly, which is good.
05:39And I'm already a little bit in love with the dog de Bordeaux.
05:42She's my favourite breed of dog.
05:44So I'm very excited to meet her.
05:46I think we should call them teeny, tiny and tiny.
05:49She can be topped.
05:50Are you OK?
05:51Teeny and tiny.
05:54All of them have quite a bad skin condition.
05:57And we can see fleas all over them, so their flea infestation is pretty bad.
06:01The shitsus have matted coat, so that's definitely going to have to be addressed.
06:07We have had to separate the two little shitsus from the dog de Bordeaux
06:10because we've got two entire male shitsus and one entire female.
06:16If she's not currently pregnant now, mistakes can happen.
06:19That night, Teeny and tiny got to bunk down together,
06:23while Tart is relaxing in her own way.
06:26Tart, cheeky girl!
06:28And at the Leeds Centre, the staff are becoming increasingly concerned about one of the pups.
06:44Yeah, hi, Sue from Dogs Trust in Leeds.
06:48Just wanted to be able to see a little nine-day-old puppy for us.
06:52We've been hand-rearing a litter of puppies and one of them's not doing very well.
06:55He's just a tiny little nine-day-old.
06:58But yeah, we haven't got a vet today and we don't have overnight facilities.
07:02Throughout the night, he was very restless.
07:04He was whining.
07:06He wasn't interested in feeding at all.
07:08We gave him some more fluids and we've been monitoring really closely throughout the day,
07:11but unfortunately, he's just not picking up like we'd want him to.
07:15We could be there in about half an hour.
07:18All right then, thank you.
07:20Bye.
07:21These are the things that happen with hand-rearing. It can all go really wrong very quickly.
07:36You do take it a little bit personally and feel a bit like you've failed.
07:40You might pull through, fingers crossed. You never know. A miracle might happen.
07:44But it is a bit of a blow, to be honest.
07:52Now, I've been kept away from the Leeds pups for long enough.
08:00Hello, Emma.
08:01Hi.
08:02I can see things wiggling.
08:04Do you want to be introduced to our babies?
08:06I cannot wait to meet them. Oh, my God.
08:07There we go.
08:08Oh, my God.
08:09They're all snuggled up together.
08:10We're missing one.
08:11Oh, they're so tiny.
08:12Are they ready for cuddles yet?
08:14I think so.
08:15Why has it been around puppies that you whisper?
08:17I don't know.
08:19The rear canals are only just opening actually, so they might be able to hear you at this age.
08:23They were found in a carrier bag and the people that found them brought them into us in a crisp box.
08:29So we've named them all after potatoes.
08:31After potatoes?
08:32This little brown one here.
08:34This is Piper.
08:35Piper.
08:36Yeah.
08:37And then, obviously, we've got a Maris as well.
08:39Maris.
08:40To go with Piper.
08:41How many of them is there?
08:42So there was six, and there still is six, but one of the smaller ones took a bit of a turn in the night,
08:48so we've whisked him off to the local vets, so we're going to keep an eye on him.
08:52We'll see what happens.
08:54This little chunky one here is Melody.
08:57And then we've got two black ones.
08:59This is Russell.
09:00We lost him, actually, a few days ago.
09:01He was really struggling, but he seems to have picked up a little bit now.
09:05And then we've got Duke.
09:06You're a beautiful Duke.
09:07Look at you.
09:08He's quite chunky, yeah.
09:09Yeah, Duke seems like a good name for him.
09:11Yeah.
09:12And are we missing one?
09:13Are we missing little Maris somewhere?
09:15Oh, she's there.
09:16Oh, hello, puppy.
09:17So they were effectively just left for dead?
09:20I don't think they'd have lasted much longer if they were out there on their own,
09:23if somebody hadn't found them, but luckily they did.
09:25And since then they've been hand-reared around the clock.
09:28And it's you that's been doing the hand-rearing, isn't it?
09:30Most of it.
09:31It must be quite stressful.
09:32It's very stressful because these are not easy puppies to hand-rear.
09:36Some are, some tick to the bottle really easily, but these ones have been a little bit more finicky.
09:40This is why you guys are such heroes, because the emotional fatigue that puts on you
09:45to kind of hammer these puppies and get them kind of out of the woods is...
09:49Yeah.
09:50It's a lot.
09:51When I see these guys going home at eight weeks old, it will all be worthwhile.
09:54When I see them going out the door into their new forever homes, that will be an amazing day.
09:58And they're so young to be away from their mum.
10:00They are.
10:01I mean, they seem to be doing okay at the minute, but we're doing the best we can,
10:05so hopefully they're in good hands.
10:07Oh, is that nice, so you're just going to lie on your back, yeah?
10:10Is that nice?
10:11I think me and Piper have got a little bond going on here, because it's just...
10:14Well, I say that, I'm pretending that we've got a bond.
10:16He's just asleep in my hand.
10:18And what goes into actually hand-rearing them?
10:21What do you have to do?
10:22Because they haven't got their mum with them, the mum would normally lick their bottom area
10:26to stimulate them to go to the toilet, because they haven't got mum to do that,
10:29so I have to do that bit as well, which is great.
10:31You don't lick them?
10:32No.
10:33No, I don't.
10:34Just checking.
10:35No, no, no.
10:36No, we use these little pads here to stimulate them to go to the toilet,
10:40and then hopefully you catch it.
10:42They feel so frail and delicate.
10:44You feel a bit crusty as well.
10:46It's okay, I'm crusty when I first wake up.
10:48Don't worry about it.
10:49No, you said I'm not licking them.
10:52I just want to put that out there.
10:53You don't need to do that.
10:54I'll do anything for the puppies, but I do draw the line.
10:56Let's take Melody.
10:58Right, sit them in your hand, and then you take a pad.
11:03Yeah.
11:04And if you just gently rub it under there.
11:07You see we're getting a wee.
11:09Nice.
11:10Might get a poo as well.
11:12Ooh, if you're lucky.
11:13If you're lucky.
11:14If you're lucky.
11:15So I'm just going to gently rub under the towel, yeah?
11:17Yeah.
11:18Ooh, got some poo.
11:20Nice looking poo.
11:22More like cottage cheese, actually, now.
11:24Oh, nice.
11:25Yeah.
11:26Nice.
11:27Oh, here we go.
11:28Oh, lovely.
11:29Isn't it on your shoes?
11:30Oh, lovely.
11:31That's all right.
11:32We'll just go straight into it.
11:33There you go.
11:34Look at that.
11:35That's beautifully done.
11:36That is exactly like cottage cheese, actually.
11:37Yeah.
11:38A scrambled egg.
11:39Oh, I won't be eating either of them again, thanks ever so much.
11:43OK, so they've relieved themselves, mostly.
11:46One of them's still relieving himself on the other one's head.
11:49Oh, honestly.
11:50It's not very nice to your brother or sister, is it?
11:52I spend my life cleaning them and washing the bedding.
11:55Once they start, they don't stop, do they?
11:59It's really hard to describe how I'm feeling,
12:02because what an amazing experience,
12:04and how amazing to be surrounded by these puppies,
12:07then you step away from that, you think,
12:09well, we shouldn't be doing that.
12:11That should be done by the mum,
12:13and it's only down to not good people
12:15that they're in the position where they're having to be hand-beared.
12:18So, as much as that's a beautiful experience for me,
12:21I wish I wasn't doing that,
12:23and I wish they were still with their mum,
12:25and I wish we didn't have one who'd been lost to the vets.
12:28Oh, puppies.
12:38Honestly, how could you not fall in love with these?
12:40I think I've got room for three more.
12:42My Eric and Peggy would love you.
12:45They're going to be fuming when you get home,
12:47and you smell a spaniel.
12:48Eric's going to be so angry with me.
12:50Where have you been?
12:52Why have you got new friends?
12:58Good girl.
12:59It's been a few days since the Dog to Bordeaux top
13:01was handed over in the car park at the Basildon Dogs Trust.
13:04Shall we go this way?
13:06Come on, man.
13:08The staff have been keeping her calm
13:10and slowly feeding her up as she arrived underweight.
13:13And today, I at last get to meet her.
13:17Hello, puppy.
13:19Hello.
13:20I'm very excited about this.
13:22My favourite breed.
13:24I love a Dog to Bordeaux.
13:25I am a very big fan.
13:26Ever since I saw the film years ago called Tona and Hooch.
13:29You ever seen it?
13:30Yeah.
13:31With Tom Hanks.
13:32This is why I've loved them.
13:33She's a lovely lady.
13:34I saw her when she initially came in,
13:35and she didn't look great.
13:36No.
13:37I mean, she's still in a little bit of a sorry state,
13:39but she's definitely looking much better.
13:41Dog to Bordeaux are normally very chunky.
13:43Yeah.
13:44And you can literally feel her entire spine,
13:47the bone on the top of her head,
13:48and that's just where she's lost so much weight.
13:50Yeah, she's lost all of her fat reserves,
13:52so she's super skinny.
13:53But you can see she looks a lot better
13:55than when she first came in.
13:56She's beautiful.
13:57You are beautiful.
13:58Even with the slobber.
13:59I like the slobber.
14:00It's nice.
14:01You're my favourite.
14:02I mean, literally, that's all I can say.
14:03She's perfect.
14:04She's perfect.
14:05She is perfect.
14:06She's absolutely perfect.
14:07Not a single thing wrong with this dog,
14:09apart from her medical, but we'll get there.
14:11Apart from what is it?
14:12We'll get there.
14:13Oh, yeah.
14:14She is due a check-up at the vets,
14:16just to kind of see how she's getting on.
14:18Fabulous.
14:19You want to come and see Charlotte at the vets?
14:20Yeah?
14:21Yeah.
14:22All right, you just ignore me.
14:23That's fine.
14:24I won't take it personally.
14:25Attention's where the sweeties are.
14:26I've been here for a while now,
14:27and they still won't give me a pouch.
14:28I feel bad, because I've got two.
14:29Yeah, I didn't want to mention it.
14:31I've got absolute liberty.
14:33It can cost thousands of pounds each year
14:36to feed a large breed like Top,
14:38and that may be why she was so underweight.
14:41They're also prone to expensive vet bills,
14:44because the folds in their skin
14:45and their flappy ears attract bacteria.
14:48You're going to like Charlotte.
14:51This way.
14:52Good girl.
14:53Hello.
14:54Charlotte, you already know Top.
14:56Yes, I have.
14:57You've seen her once before, haven't you?
14:58Yes, I have.
14:59So what are we in to check her for today?
15:01To have a little look at her ears,
15:03and just see whether we need to clean them today.
15:05Yeah.
15:06And to get a weight for her,
15:07just to see how she's getting on,
15:09to make sure that she is going in the right direction.
15:11All we need to do is just lift this up gently.
15:14Well done.
15:15So I can see that it is dirty.
15:17I'm just going to see if she'll let me smell of these ears.
15:22That's a nice part of the job, isn't it?
15:24Yeah.
15:25How was that for you?
15:26That was lovely, yeah.
15:27Eau de Dr Bordeaux.
15:28Yes, exactly.
15:29So there's a little bit of an odour there,
15:31but not one that I would really relate to an infection,
15:34but we just need to keep cleaning them.
15:36You need to get your ears sorted, babe.
15:38Right.
15:39Here you go.
15:40Well done.
15:41You just concentrate on your little snacks.
15:42Good girl.
15:43Well done, I know.
15:44There you go.
15:45Oh, it's okay.
15:46Just going to put a little bit of this in there.
15:47There you go.
15:48Yeah.
15:49Don't you worry.
15:50Look.
15:51There you.
15:52Good girl.
15:53It's your good puppy.
15:54Here's a large space of the ear just to try and loosen up some of that wax in there.
15:58Good girl.
15:59Here's a good girl.
16:00Hi.
16:01Good girl.
16:02Oh, well done, sausage.
16:03Well done, such a good girl.
16:04Oh, see, there's quite a lot coming out of there.
16:06Oh, what?
16:07This is really not nice.
16:08We don't want this in here.
16:09This is a breeding ground for bacteria.
16:11If we can't keep that dirt out of there, the ear infections will just be reoccurring.
16:16So, yeah, she's done really well today, though, haven't you?
16:18She did a really good job.
16:19She did such a good job.
16:20I'm a little bit in love with you.
16:23Last thing to do?
16:24Weigh her?
16:25Yes.
16:26What weight should she be for a dog of her age and her size?
16:28So, the last time we weighed her, she was around 33kg.
16:31Mm-hm.
16:32I would say, ideally, we would be looking at 37, 38.
16:36OK.
16:37Well, let's do it, then.
16:38Are you ready?
16:39Can I come round this way?
16:40Top.
16:41There we go.
16:42Look at this.
16:43Good girl.
16:44That's it.
16:4533, 7?
16:46Yeah.
16:47That's about 600g gain from the last weight.
16:49So, it's a gain?
16:50So, that's really good, yeah.
16:51It's a gain.
16:52It's a gain weight, puppy.
16:53Amazing.
16:54Dream Team Stripes again.
16:55Thanks, Pete.
16:56Thanks, Charlotte.
16:57OK.
16:58No, there's no more snakes there.
16:59I've got some.
17:00Come on.
17:01Good girl.
17:02See, that was a fun little visit.
17:09Over the past few years, as the economic picture in the UK has got tougher,
17:14Dogs Trust has seen more and more owners being forced to give up their dogs.
17:20The latest is Callie, who has no choice but to give up her dogs.
17:26Unfortunately, I lost my Nan, and so I'm not going to have a great housing situation.
17:32I'm not obviously feeling the best, but obviously the rent's so high now, and I'm doing my council
17:38application, so that's obviously challenging.
17:41I didn't really have another option, so I just wanted to be in a settled time.
17:48Yeah, it's just hard times.
17:50Good days, bad days.
17:51I've had a few of those.
17:52Same old story.
17:53I know how this song goes.
17:54It's steady.
17:55Now I'm not so sure.
17:56It's all right, Penny.
17:57Nothing's in its place.
17:58Nothing's certain anymore.
17:59Okay.
18:00Okay.
18:01I know how this song goes.
18:02It's steady.
18:15Now I'm not so sure.
18:17All right, Penny.
18:18All right, Pibble.
18:22OK. Yeah, it's all right.
18:25OK.
18:27All right, baby.
18:29Go on.
18:30Go on.
18:31Go on.
18:35I do not want to have to go through with it.
18:38It's life, isn't it?
18:41Nothing's too easy anymore.
18:44I know they're in really, really safe hands.
18:48And the Dogs Trust are going to find the best home for them.
18:51So I've got that confidence now, you know.
18:54All those good days I remember well.
19:08A week ago, Teeny and Tiny arrived covered in fleas.
19:12After receiving medical treatment, their fleas are gone, as are their bits.
19:17And today, Charlotte and I are tackling their matted coat.
19:21We've just got the little clippers here.
19:23We do have different...
19:23We've got one each.
19:24We've got one each, yeah.
19:26These ones are playing up a bit.
19:27They should be all right, though.
19:28Why would you give me the dodgy one?
19:30Challenge.
19:31They should just do all the work for you.
19:33We obviously want to do it nice and gently,
19:35because we don't want to be catching the skin.
19:37What are we going with for Teeny?
19:39Is he just a short back and size, skin fade?
19:41We want to get the main mattes off,
19:44and then what we'll do is maybe a number two, something like that.
19:47Number two, you think, yeah?
19:48So, did you want to ever go and get in some of these ones off here?
19:51Here, use my ones.
19:53Absolute liberty, you are.
19:55So, we're just going to go in from here, yeah?
19:57That's it?
19:58Perfect.
20:00Like I said, it's not going to look pretty, so don't worry about that.
20:03Oh, listen, I'm an artist, all right?
20:05So, it's always got to look semi-sort of nice.
20:08Go on this side here.
20:09Yeah, go on this side.
20:10That's a big one there.
20:11Look at that.
20:12Yeah.
20:12Obviously, Teeny's going to look a lot better
20:16now that he doesn't have these mattes in his fur,
20:19but how uncomfortable would this have actually been for him?
20:21With the ones that were under his little armpits there
20:23and down his groin,
20:25those ones do tend to be quite uncomfortable
20:27because there's a lot of movement in those areas.
20:29Yeah.
20:35I mean, I wouldn't say it's my best work.
20:37I think you've done a good job for your first one.
20:40And now for the nails.
20:41So, what would you say about that there?
20:42Let me comment.
20:44Steady.
20:44Is that there?
20:46Yeah.
20:47See?
20:48There you go.
20:48I was going to say something really nasty there and go,
20:50what are you saying?
20:53No, that's perfect.
20:54So, look, you can see there's no bleeding there.
20:56That's taking it right back now, so that's not going to be...
20:59Do you think that's impressive enough to make a necklace out of?
21:01You know, like...
21:02Like a shark's...
21:02Like a shark.
21:03I don't know if that's that impressive.
21:06Okay.
21:06An earring.
21:07Earring?
21:08Yeah.
21:08I'll make one for you.
21:09Yeah.
21:09Oh, thank you.
21:10Um, I think you need a little bit more experience with the cuttings,
21:13so I'm going to hand it over to you.
21:14Lovely.
21:15I'm here.
21:16Yeah, no problem.
21:17Don't worry.
21:18I'm just going to tidy this bit up here.
21:20That was rude.
21:21So, now that they've both had their full checks, the boys are gone, they've had a haircut, they're now ready to be assessed for rehoming.
21:32Which, hopefully, should be any day now.
21:34Amazing.
21:36Okay.
21:37Lovely.
21:38To be honest with you, I'm sure he's going to feel a lot better, but it does look like his hair's been cut by two people just in training.
21:47Okay.
21:49Best I make myself scarce until it grows back.
21:52Soon, I'll be heading back up to Leeds, as I've had some worrying news about the potato pups.
22:05Come on there, my little potatoes.
22:06In Leeds, the potato pups are now ten days old, and I'm taking them to vet nurse Sue for their daily check-up.
22:14Hello, Sue.
22:15Hi, Pete.
22:16How are you?
22:16I'm really good.
22:17You've brought me the puppies.
22:18I've got some puppies for you.
22:19The potato puppies.
22:20Oh, I can think of worse things for you to bring me.
22:22Exactly.
22:23So, they're here for vet check, because, obviously, it's been a little bit touch and go.
22:27We've got Rusty who had a bit of a tough time.
22:29King Edward's not here with us at the minute, so we're going to see how these guys are getting on.
22:33Who's this one?
22:33So, this, I believe, that's Juke.
22:37How does Juke look to you?
22:38Well, lively.
22:39You know, as lively as you expect a puppy of, you know, ten, eleven days old to be.
22:43No discharge, coming from anywhere.
22:45Nice, clean bottom area.
22:47Lovely.
22:48Thanks for showing me.
22:49You'll be so obsessed with puppies' bottoms by the time you've finished the year, won't you?
22:52I'm just obsessed with puppies in general, I think.
22:55OK, there you go.
22:56Come on then, Juke.
22:57And how much weight are you looking for them to put on?
22:59Well, we should do five to ten percent each day.
23:01He was 283 yesterday.
23:04And he is now about 286.
23:07Yeah.
23:07So, he's putting a little bit of weight.
23:08So, that's good news.
23:09Yeah, it is good news.
23:10Well done, Juke.
23:11Smashed it, mate.
23:12Good.
23:13So, this is Piper.
23:14Lovely.
23:14Hello, Piper.
23:15You look nice and bright and lively and responsive.
23:18So, because you have the responding to being handled.
23:20Yeah.
23:20Yeah, they're kind of like, ooh, ooh, somebody's picked me up, what's happening?
23:23And that's a good sign, isn't it?
23:23Yeah, very good sign.
23:25Right, you're going to get weighed?
23:27Piper is 254.
23:31Right.
23:32OK, so she's lost a little bit of weight.
23:34OK.
23:35Is that something that would concern you at this point?
23:36Yeah, I mean, you know, every hour's a worry, really, with these hand rears.
23:41It's one we were worried about.
23:43So, Russet, I think, had a bit of a rough time a little while ago.
23:46Yeah, diarrhea, didn't they, and wasn't feeding very well.
23:48And what was Russet's last weight?
23:51231 grams.
23:52OK.
23:53So, let's see.
23:54We're looking for an improvement on 231.
23:56Yes, yeah.
23:58I think he's about 231, 232.
24:01OK.
24:02Is that worrying that he's not put on the weight, then, if you're looking for 5 to 10%?
24:0524 hours, yeah.
24:07Oh, mate.
24:08Come on, little fella.
24:10Oh, look at you.
24:10So, this is Melody.
24:12Look at Melody.
24:13There you go.
24:15OK.
24:16She was 322.
24:18So, she's 338.
24:21Yeah, that's a really, really good weight gain.
24:23And I think the last one is Maris.
24:25There you go, little Maris.
24:27There you are.
24:28So, what was Maris's weight last time?
24:31234.
24:32234.
24:33OK, so we're looking for an improvement on 234.
24:36Here we go, Maris.
24:38It's about 228.
24:41228.
24:42OK, so she's lost weight, unfortunately.
24:45OK.
24:45Is that quite worrying?
24:46Yeah, yeah.
24:47I mean, they lose weight within 24 hours of birth.
24:51Yeah.
24:51Because they get dehydrated and everything.
24:54So, you always expect some weight loss.
24:56But at this age, you know, 10, 11 days...
24:58There should be signs for weight already.
25:00Yeah, no, they shouldn't be losing weight at this age.
25:02She's not quite as responsive either, really, is she?
25:05She's not as lively or as active as the others.
25:07No, no, she's not kind of as bothered that.
25:08She's been picked up.
25:09So, we've had Russ say, that's a worry.
25:11Maris and, obviously, King Edward, a big worry.
25:14So, that's, like, 50% of them, really, isn't it?
25:17There's kind of no nice way to put it,
25:20but every day is kind of life and death for these puppies.
25:23Yeah, definitely, yeah.
25:24Hey, puppy, you want to go back with your brothers and sisters?
25:27There you go.
25:28Sue, thank you so much.
25:29It's all right, you're welcome.
25:30I really appreciate it. I'm going to get these back to Emma.
25:32OK.
25:38Over the coming days,
25:40the staff continue to battle to save Maris.
25:44But Maris is fading.
25:53Now, I'm heading back to Basildon to check in on Teeny and Tiny
25:58as the staff have noticed they've become reactive to other dogs.
26:04And trolleys.
26:08It's a serious issue, and they can't be rehomed
26:11until Leanne from the behaviour team has found out what the trigger is.
26:17I mean, it's unbelievable, really,
26:19because you look at these two and you think, but I wouldn't melt.
26:21Yes.
26:21As it turns out, you're the terrible two.
26:24I know.
26:25Troublesome.
26:27Right on cue, Tiny is spotted, in the distance, a lurcher.
26:33There's lots and lots of training that we can do with dogs
26:35just to help them feel better around dogs,
26:37but sometimes it is just about managing environments.
26:39Oh.
26:40Yeah, it's just about, hold on a minute.
26:41Oh, wow.
26:43Wow.
26:43OK.
26:44So what are you noticing then?
26:46This is very reactive by the looks of it.
26:48So, yeah, he starts, he then goes,
26:50OK, what are we doing?
26:51So what we would do now is they're quite fixated on the other dog there.
26:56So we're just trying to increase some distance.
26:58So we don't necessarily want to pull him out.
27:01Ready?
27:02Let's go, let's go.
27:03Yeah.
27:04Tiny.
27:06So what you've done there is you've used a tree as a distraction.
27:09Yeah.
27:09And that seemed to work pretty well.
27:11Yeah.
27:12So we don't want to pull him out of that situation.
27:15I don't know if you saw that there as well.
27:16So he'd done a bit of a body shake.
27:18So that's kind of his way of saying, oh, that was a little bit scary.
27:20So he's just shook that off.
27:21Shaking off the stress.
27:22Yeah.
27:22So based on that, Tiny is the instigator.
27:27Yes.
27:27He's the troublesome one.
27:28Yeah.
27:28And Teenie kind of reacts off of that and it kind of builds him up.
27:31Yeah.
27:31But you were able to distract Teenie with a tree and lose his focus, whereas he was just...
27:38There's no thanks.
27:39...on the dog.
27:39Yes.
27:40You're just up for it, aren't you, mate?
27:42Is it a case that these guys might not be able to be rehomed together now?
27:47Yeah.
27:47So that is definitely something that we're going to consider.
27:50Dogs are only separated in extreme circumstances.
27:53And the circumstances with these two is about as extreme as you can get.
28:02In Leeds, the battle to save two of the potato pups has reached a conclusion.
28:10So we took King Edward to the external vets because he really wasn't doing very well.
28:15They tried numerous things to get him going, but unfortunately it just wasn't to be.
28:20And he passed away in the vets.
28:23Since then we've also lost little Maris as well, which was just as sad.
28:28She kind of went the same way.
28:30She went very lifeless, didn't want to feed anymore.
28:33It is difficult and it's really emotional and I won't lie,
28:38I did find it hard to lose two.
28:41It's only the healthiest survival of the fittest, I guess.
28:44Come on, let me smell any first.
28:58So now we've got four to focus on and hopefully they are starting to turn a corner now,
29:04they're getting a little bit older.
29:05So fingers crossed these four will be happy and healthy
29:08and we won't develop any problems with them.
29:10It's all looking good so far.
29:12So the pups are just over three weeks now,
29:14so we think it's about time that we started to wean them onto some semi-solid food.
29:19This should hopefully help them put some weight on.
29:22I feel over the last few days they've kind of turned a corner,
29:25so although we had a really rocky start
29:28and it was all up and down and quite stressful and emotional,
29:31I think we're getting there with them now
29:34and hopefully, touch wood,
29:37they're looking a lot better.
29:38In Basildon, life is also rosier for Penny and Pebbles
29:49as no sooner had their previous owner, Callie,
29:52taken the difficult decision to put them up for adoption
29:54than they're about to leave with Darren and Martine from Milton Keynes.
29:58We've had a couple of rescues in the past.
30:06We've always had them in pairs.
30:08My wife said,
30:09I've found something and I'm like,
30:10what do you mean?
30:11Show me the pictures and we came down the following day.
30:14Oh, we can't wait.
30:15We can't wait.
30:15It's been a long week.
30:17Martine's been carrying down the sleeps.
30:18Oh, yeah.
30:19Yesterday was Christmas Eve.
30:20Yeah.
30:23Hello.
30:25Thanks.
30:26Hello there.
30:28Well, they both seem happy.
30:35Christmas has come here.
30:41She is so excited.
30:43So excited.
30:44Up in Leeds,
30:57the four remaining potato pups
30:59have made it through the difficult first weeks
31:01and believe it or not,
31:02they'll also soon be ready for their new homes.
31:05Emma, how are you?
31:09I'm fine.
31:09How are you?
31:10I'm all better now.
31:11Look at the puppies.
31:12I know.
31:13Oh, my God, they've got so big.
31:15They have really turned the corner.
31:16When we got to that two and a half week mark,
31:19when we could worm them
31:20and start looking at introducing some more solid food,
31:24they just totally picked up.
31:25So how old are they now?
31:26They are six weeks now.
31:28Six weeks?
31:28Yeah.
31:29And that means it's time for their vaccinations.
31:32Right.
31:33I will give you...
31:35Let's go with Melody.
31:36Oh, I'm getting the naughty one.
31:37You're getting the naughty one.
31:39Oh, hello, puppy.
31:40Hello.
31:41How are you?
31:42You OK?
31:43Yeah, it's nice.
31:44Yeah.
31:44Oh, you're so cute.
31:46And Russ.
31:47And Russet, yeah?
31:48Yeah.
31:48Can you manage to?
31:49I've got them.
31:51Hello, puppies.
31:52Oh, hello.
31:53Are we ready to go for our vaccinations?
31:56Right.
31:56After you.
31:58Little puppy walk.
31:59Here we go.
32:02Hello, my friend.
32:03How are you?
32:03I've got your assistant with you this morning.
32:05I've got my glamorous assistant with me.
32:06Exactly.
32:06Would you like to join our puppy party?
32:09Now, any problems since I last saw you?
32:12No, they've just gone from strength to strength, to be honest, John.
32:14I know we had a few problems initially, didn't we?
32:16We did.
32:17But they're doing great now.
32:18And they didn't all get here, but...
32:19No, they didn't.
32:21Mum, too, did a great job.
32:23Mum, too.
32:24Step-mum.
32:24Step-mum Emma.
32:25What does that mean, me?
32:26Like weird Uncle Pete?
32:27Yeah.
32:30So we're going to do vaccines today?
32:31We are.
32:32They'll get one now.
32:33One at ten weeks.
32:34Good.
32:35Right.
32:36This was the poorly one last time.
32:37John, here's a puppy for you.
32:39This, I understand, is Russet.
32:41And what are you looking for now, John?
32:42Primarily, we're looking for things like cleft palates or hernias underneath.
32:48Which we haven't got.
32:48You usually get a little imbalache or hernias there if needs be, but we haven't.
32:53Right.
32:53Who's going to be brave and holding while they're jabbing?
32:55I'll tell you what, shall I?
32:57You hold.
32:57You do the hard work.
32:58And I'll do three.
32:59Hold on, them puppies.
33:01I've got you.
33:01You just wait there.
33:03That's OK.
33:04Your assistant's bottled it.
33:05I've bottled it.
33:06Let's be honest.
33:06Oh, is that nice?
33:07Oh, yes, that's very nice.
33:09Vet John is vaccinating them against distemper, parvo, hepatitis and leptospirosis.
33:16All right, little guy.
33:17Number one.
33:18Shall we go with Melody next?
33:19Let's go with Melody.
33:20Let's lean back.
33:21There's one for you.
33:23Oh.
33:24Is that a hernia, that little spot?
33:26Not really.
33:26Can you see that bit there?
33:28Yeah.
33:28In effect, their belly button.
33:30Oh, OK.
33:31Is that like the difference in humans when you get an innie and an outie?
33:33That's it.
33:34So she's got an outie.
33:35It's like the outie.
33:36Oh, I don't like an outie.
33:37There's nothing.
33:38Have you got an innie?
33:39I've got an innie.
33:39What have you got in there?
33:40Innie.
33:41John, what about you?
33:41Innie or outie?
33:42Innie.
33:42OK, good.
33:44Oh, you didn't even move.
33:46No.
33:46No, good girl.
33:47Great job.
33:48You didn't even notice that.
33:49You're double-ard, you are.
33:52Number three.
33:53Number three.
33:55Let's go with...
33:56Do you want to go?
33:57Do you fancy it?
33:58Yeah, OK, there you go.
33:59That's Piper.
34:00Piper.
34:01Do you want Melody back?
34:02Shall I take Melody back?
34:03I mean, I did just hear her say she missed me.
34:07Obviously, it's like incredibly sad that we lost two out of the six,
34:11but, I mean, these four, are they kind of in the clear now?
34:16We're getting there.
34:16Do we think they're going to be pretty good?
34:17We're getting there.
34:18Yeah.
34:19Right, this little dude.
34:21Ooh.
34:21Yeah, you did the biggest one, Squeaks.
34:24There you go.
34:24Oh.
34:25All done.
34:26Right.
34:27Last one.
34:28There you go.
34:28There's Duke.
34:30Now, Duke, let's have a look at you.
34:32Are they all sounding good?
34:33They're all sounding good.
34:35They're all doing well.
34:35So, plan for going forward, it'll be, we really want these little guys to be starting to get socialised now.
34:41They can mix with vaccinated dogs.
34:44So, yeah, so that's where we are.
34:46First vaccination done.
34:47Yeah.
34:47We're good.
34:47Yeah.
34:48All in pretty good health.
34:49Yeah.
34:50John, which one's your favourite?
34:51Probably that one.
34:52Melody.
34:52OK, you're the favourite.
34:54Yeah.
34:55All right, lovely.
34:56Crack on.
34:56Thank you, John.
34:57All right, guys.
34:58See you later.
34:58In Essex, Leanne from the behaviour team has been working with Teeny and Tiny separately
35:26to try and cure their aggression towards dogs, trolleys and other inanimate objects.
35:34And today is their assessment.
35:37I've just got Tiny out just to see what he's like around dogs on his own.
35:40If you've got two dogs that are super reactive towards other dogs, it can be quite hard to manage both dogs.
35:46So, after today's assessment, if we feel that actually they're easier to manage individually,
35:50then we will probably be looking at rehoming them separately.
35:53Well done.
35:54First up is Tiny.
35:56You ready, mate?
35:57Let's go.
36:00You see a little bit now that he's getting a little bit agitated about the fact that there's a dog there.
36:04So, what I'll do is I'll just allow him to stop, watch, see if I can call him away.
36:08Tiny.
36:09Tiny.
36:10Yay!
36:11Good lads.
36:12So far, he's not actually fully barked.
36:14He's had a little moment of being a little bit uncomfortable, but not to the point of what he was like when we'd done the assessment with both of the boys.
36:22Um, so this is definitely better to be able to be managed individually.
36:28The closer we get, the obviously more frantic he's getting on the lead.
36:31Um, he's barking, he's vocalising, he's jumping around.
36:34Tiny.
36:34Tiny.
36:35Tiny.
36:36Yes.
36:37Good boy.
36:38Good boy.
36:39Better?
36:39The treat in exchange for not barking is working.
36:43Now it's Teeny's turn.
36:46Good lads.
36:48Good boy.
36:49This is a massive change compared to being with Tiny.
36:55We didn't get to this point at all.
36:57Tiny did get quite frustrated, even at a bigger distance.
37:00So this is brilliant for him.
37:02Hey, mate.
37:04Good boy.
37:05The comparison of the two boys, I think it definitely is going to be that we will be looking at splitting these guys,
37:11just because it will be way easier to be able to manage them out in the big, wide world.
37:14And hopefully with the support that we can offer future adopters, these guys won't come back to us.
37:20Come on, Teeny.
37:20Let's go.
37:21Good boy.
37:23Wow.
37:24What a transformation.
37:26And I'm pleased to report Teeny...
37:28There he is.
37:29..has found a home with Stuart and Jane from Basildon.
37:32Hello, Pop.
37:33Teeny, come on.
37:34Good boy.
37:35There you go.
37:36Oh, look at that.
37:37Hello, Teeny.
37:38Hello, guys.
37:38How are you?
37:39You're not too bad.
37:40Good.
37:41What kind of attracted you to Teeny?
37:43Was it kind of like love at first sight?
37:45Yeah.
37:46Was it?
37:47Yeah.
37:47Amazing.
37:48What about that question?
37:49Have you...you've had dogs before, have you?
37:51All my life.
37:51All your life.
37:52We lost our little girl just before Christmas.
37:55I wasn't going to get another one, but the house is so empty, it's unbelievable.
37:59Do you know what?
38:00That's the most beautiful thing about dogs, is they kind of make a home-a-home, don't they?
38:03I'm going to miss you, though, mate.
38:05I am.
38:06He's going to miss your hairdressing.
38:08I don't think he is.
38:10He seems to really love you both.
38:12And what's life going to look like for Teeny, then?
38:14Is he going to be getting lots of cuddles and snuggles?
38:18Is that you?
38:19Yeah.
38:19If I had a feeling it might be you, Jane.
38:21Yeah.
38:22I don't think I've seen Teeny this happy since he's been here, so I think this is a perfect
38:26match.
38:27I'm so pleased you guys are going to take him, because he really deserves that kind of second
38:30chance in life.
38:31Thank you so much.
38:32Honestly, really appreciate both of you guys.
38:35You're amazing.
38:36So, enjoy the rest of your lives.
38:38Come with me.
38:39Teeny, goodbye, puppy.
38:40Come with it.
38:41I love you.
38:42I miss you.
38:45Stuart and Jane are exactly what kind of dog people are about, which is just really down
38:50to worse, beautiful people, and I think Teeny is just going to have the most beautiful
38:55life.
38:57Amazing.
38:58I'm happy.
38:59And the slightly less angelic, Tiny, is off with his new family, the Taylors.
39:06Thank you, darling.
39:09Hello, darling.
39:14Do you like that?
39:16Come on, darling.
39:18Goodbye.
39:19And the last of the three to go is Tot, who's starting afresh with David.
39:23And before the Leeds potato pups find their new homes, I'm grabbing the opportunity to
39:41see them one last time at assistant manager Emma's house.
39:47I mean, seeing them all playing like this in the sun, in the garden, how good does that
39:51feel for you?
39:52It's been a lot of hard work, feeding every two hours, but when I look at them now, it's
39:57kind of so rewarding to think that, you know, that I had a hand in that.
40:02You didn't just have a hand.
40:03You should give yourself more credit for the fact that you've saved four lives and you've
40:07enabled them to potentially go on and live in a home and give so much joy and happiness
40:12to a family, but also an opportunity for all four of these puppies to have an amazing
40:16life full of love.
40:17Yeah.
40:18And that's completely down to you.
40:19I mean, that's all I want for them, to be honest, Pete, is them just to be loved and
40:24to be happy and in a home with people who love them.
40:27You've done an amazing job.
40:31And over in the Leeds centre, the staff have arranged a mass puppy rehoming.
40:36Feeling quite nuts.
40:38It's been eight weeks since they were abandoned and handed in to the Dogs Trust in a crisp box.
40:45It's coming soon.
40:46The potato pups are about to embark on the next stage of their lives.
40:51We are excited.
40:52All on the same day.
40:54First up is Melody with Sarah and Andrew.
40:59I'm not sure Andrew's going to get a look in.
41:12You're coming home with us today.
41:14Duke is going to be spoiled rotten by Linda and daughter Eve.
41:18Hello, little mum.
41:20Hello, beautiful.
41:24Hello.
41:27Pipe has found true love with Karen and particularly Linda.
41:32Hello, baby.
41:34Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
41:36And finally, Russet has indisputably become the most popular member of Mrs. Kelly's family.
41:43Hello.
41:44Oh, hello, gorgeous.
41:47Look, look, oh.
41:51This is what it's all about, isn't it?
41:53The last eight weeks have been building up to this day.
41:55I know.
41:56They're all going off to start the next 15 years with their new owners in their new home.
42:00Just an amazing feeling.
42:01I have to go home.
42:03If there are dogs in need, then we'll always jump in and help if we can.
42:06But I'm hoping that we don't have to repeat this process again anytime soon.
42:10Let us hold each other.
42:14We need a rest.
42:16I think we all do, Emma.
42:19But it's never going to happen, is it?
42:22I'm here to help.
42:23Fabulous.
42:24What do you need?
42:24Well, we are puppy-tastic in the puppy block.
42:28They are some strange-looking puppies.
42:30We actually suspect that he has a broken leg.
42:32Oh, no, Dave, stay still.
42:34Yeah.
42:34She's come all the way from Serbia.
42:37Oh, ladies.
42:38Oh, this is a dream for me.
42:40Next puppy.
42:41Hey.
42:41I'll see you next time.
42:42Bye.
42:44Bye.
42:50Bye.
42:54Bye.
43:02Bye.
43:03Bye.
43:04Bye.
43:09Bye.
43:10Bye.
43:10Bye.
43:11Bye.
43:11Bye.
43:11You
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