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00:00I'm Pete Wicks, and I can't believe it's my last week at Dogs Trust.
00:12Yeah!
00:18It's been a privilege working with these real-life heroes who I now proudly call my friends.
00:24Love you. Love you.
00:29With over 14,000 dogs cared for each year,
00:33I've been just a tiny part of some of their stories.
00:36It's been stressful, it's been nerve-wracking.
00:39They seemed a bit crazy, didn't they?
00:42I didn't need any help with that.
00:45The amount of work that goes into every new intake is undeniable.
00:49What a good boy!
00:51Are you passing another test?
00:54And I'm constantly reminded that even in the most simple of cases...
00:58She's had a few issues with drinking an awful lot of water.
01:01...every rescue can take an unexpected turn.
01:04So how do you go about kind of the fostering side of things then?
01:08At the re-homing centre in Leeds...
01:19Come on, baby!
01:20...the team are all busy with new arrivals.
01:23Big...
01:25...and small.
01:27And I'm here to see Hanla Amy and beautiful Bella, who was recently handed in.
01:33Bella, who's here?
01:35Hello!
01:36Oh, puppy.
01:37Look at you.
01:38This is Bella.
01:39Bella.
01:40She's a four-year-old Labrador.
01:42We think possibly cross Dalmatian, we're not 100% sure.
01:44OK.
01:45And her vet check showed her to be in good health, apart from being very overweight.
01:50You're a chunky monkey as well, aren't you?
01:52She is a little bit, so obviously we're trying to get her on a diet.
01:54And we're trying to give her as much exercise as we can.
01:56So what are we doing with Bella today?
01:58We're going to be doing a snapshot assessment, so we can get her up for adoption and get her out as soon as possible.
02:03A snapshot assessment evaluates things like confidence, social skills and walking.
02:09Oh, don't mind us, Bella.
02:11Oh, yeah, you just...
02:13Lovely.
02:14Excellent.
02:15Real life.
02:16That was nice.
02:17OK, so what's first then, Amy?
02:18Some dogs don't know how to walk on a lead.
02:20So we're going to go for a little wander.
02:22Come on then, Bella.
02:23Come on.
02:24She should pull in there, but there is a bowl of water.
02:27Yeah.
02:28She's clearly parched.
02:29So she's sniffing and things.
02:30She's wagging.
02:31She seems really relaxed.
02:32So that's brilliant.
02:33She's a lovely looking dog.
02:35She is.
02:36Good job.
02:37Hi.
02:38Oh, you're really well behaved.
02:39Yeah, she's really, really nice.
02:41First test passed.
02:43Next is to see how she's around other dogs.
02:46So we're about to meet Otis, is it?
02:48About to meet Otis, who's coming from this way.
02:49So if I take her off you...
02:50Yep, absolutely.
02:51Otis is a very boisterous young pup, so we'll see if she's going to have a really adverse reaction to him.
02:58Wow, good job.
03:00Let's not jump on Bella.
03:02She seems absolutely fine.
03:04So we can see she's very waggy.
03:06She's not put off by his boisterousness, about him jumping on her.
03:10This is quite a tough test really, because that's a pretty boisterous dog, young dog.
03:14But her reaction is really good.
03:15Her reaction, yeah, she's looking like she really wants to interact.
03:18Good job.
03:19Well done.
03:20Is that good?
03:21This is pretty good of you.
03:22Pretty good, yeah, yeah.
03:23I would say a tick on this one.
03:24So the fact that she is as relaxed and as friendly as she is, is a really good sign.
03:28Good girl.
03:29Come on then, this way.
03:30The assessment continues inside, with some toy testing.
03:35Good girl.
03:38I mean, she seems very polite.
03:39Yeah, we need to make sure that she's not going to be grabby, she's not going to be snatchy.
03:43She's bringing the toy to you, she's leaving it, she wants to interact with you.
03:47Can you drop it?
03:48Can you drop?
03:49Can you drop?
03:51Can you sit?
03:52Can you do it?
03:53Where's your paw?
03:54Yes, good girl.
03:55Now you're just showing off, Bella.
03:56Now you're just showing off.
03:57This is a pass on the toys.
03:58Are you passing another test?
04:00Are you passing another test?
04:02Just have a little drink and it's thirsty work, innit?
04:05She might be good with toys, but putting them away is another thing altogether.
04:10Bella, let's put the toy to it.
04:12We don't need no more toys.
04:14Look, no.
04:16Bella.
04:17Bella, we'll get the toys later.
04:19Bella.
04:20She's very good at opening.
04:24Good at this.
04:25What are you looking for?
04:26And shut the door.
04:27Bella.
04:28We'll maybe get them out later.
04:29Good girl.
04:30So even though she does love toys and she obviously wants to play with them,
04:33that's because it's, you know, saying that she really loves, she still listens.
04:36Yeah.
04:37Have we potentially found the perfect dog?
04:40I mean, I don't want to.
04:43Well done, Bella.
04:44An A-star student if ever I saw one.
04:46Is there anything left?
04:48Just to fill in the paperwork and find a new home.
04:51And I reckon she's going to be the world's easiest dog to rehome.
04:55Oh, and the answer, well, who would have guessed?
05:00Could be something as simple as this.
05:05Down in Basildon, however, I'm about to meet a dog off-site who's proven to be quite the opposite.
05:11Hello, my love.
05:12Hello.
05:13Road trip.
05:14I'm joining Behaviourist Destin to go and meet Crumble, who came to Basildon from another centre three years ago and has been up for rehoming ever since.
05:28Crumble's one of your favourites, isn't she?
05:30Yeah.
05:31Why?
05:32She's just brilliant, Pete.
05:34She's a bull breed.
05:35Yeah.
05:36Big tick from me.
05:37I love a bull breed.
05:38Yeah, I'm with you.
05:39And she's been in kennels for such a long time.
05:41She hasn't had one single bit of interest and the team believe she's never lived outside of kennels.
05:47There's a chance that she may have never actually been in a home, is that right?
05:50Potentially, yeah.
05:52To find out how she'd actually cope in a home, Crumble's been staying with staff member Katie for a couple of nights.
05:58Katie works for Dogs Trust, doesn't she?
05:59Yeah.
06:00She's not, like, technically not a foster home.
06:02Has Katie just fallen in love with Crumble?
06:04Yeah, she's an adoption adviser, so she's kind of in charge of helping find Crumble her forever home.
06:11So it just allows her to get a little bit more information on Crumble.
06:15Obviously, like, you know, Katie's falling in love with her.
06:17You have a lot of people in Basildon and falling in love with her.
06:21Yeah.
06:22Why isn't she getting any people that are interested?
06:25In all honesty, people tend to go for the dogs that are all wiggly and happy at their kennels.
06:30She just doesn't sell herself because she can be worried by new people a little bit.
06:39Hi, crummy.
06:40Come in.
06:41Come in.
06:42Come on.
06:43Good girl.
06:46Well done.
06:47I don't know how you feel about, obviously, her with the mother on.
06:51I think if she can settle for a second...
06:53Yeah.
06:54..then we can take it off.
06:56That's fine.
06:57I just want to make sure she's not whiffing at people.
06:59Four-year-old Staffy Box Across Crumble is settled by Katie.
07:03You're amazing, aren't you?
07:05Yes, you are.
07:06I reckon you could probably take it off as long as you've got hold of her lead.
07:09Yeah, I've got hold of her lead.
07:11Katie, how's it been?
07:14I've had her just over about three, four days now.
07:18She has adapted so well because we don't know if she's ever been in a home before.
07:23It's so good for the dogs that have obviously been in kennel for such a long time to come out and actually experience being in a home.
07:28Yeah, and it just gives us a bit more of an understanding as well of what they're going to be like in a home.
07:34In kennels, Crumble is very reactive to her surroundings and it's putting people off.
07:39I just think because she barks, when people walk past her, people are like, oh.
07:43She doesn't sell herself, does she? No.
07:45But it appears in a home environment she's behaving much better.
07:49She is such an intelligent dog.
07:52She is feeling a bit overwhelmed.
07:54She won't sit here, she'll sit over there instead.
07:57So she's making the choices to take herself away and have a minute.
08:01Yeah.
08:02Looking at her now, are there any kind of body language things that you're kind of noticing?
08:06Yeah. She is a little bit worried at the minute.
08:09You can see she's giving Katie all of her focus.
08:12She's a little bit more panty.
08:14If you watch her ears, sometimes they're sticking right upright and then they're going a bit flat.
08:18Her tail's wagging because she's getting food.
08:20But it doesn't mean she's 100% comfortable.
08:23The fact that she's done so well is honestly really reassuring to hear.
08:27We didn't have any of this information on Crumble and we weren't really sure if she could do it or not.
08:32We had faith. But to actually see her in a real home environment, it's just lovely.
08:40She will make such an amazing dog. She has so much potential.
08:44I mean, since we've been here, you haven't stopped smiling.
08:48But you...
08:50Yeah.
08:51You've never seen her in this environment?
08:53No.
08:54You've never seen her being a normal dog?
08:56Normal dog, yeah.
08:57Once she builds a bond with you, she is a proper cuddle monster.
09:00Whenever she's laying here with me or laying up there, every time I look at her, her little tail wags.
09:06I mean, it's just so huge.
09:07That's really sweet.
09:08And you know when you just kind of melt with your heart?
09:10Have you fallen in love with her a little bit?
09:12I'm smitten.
09:13You really have, haven't you?
09:14I'm a bit smitten, yes.
09:15Yeah, you fully, fully, fully have.
09:18Yeah.
09:19This poor dog is trapped.
09:21She's not been rehomed because of how she is in kennels, but she's not going to improve
09:25unless she gets a home.
09:27Fostering might be the only thing to help her, but even that isn't going to be easy.
09:32I think sometimes having a little break and then going back into kennels can be more tricky
09:36for some dogs.
09:37If she struggles going back into kennels, then we wouldn't foster again, just because
09:41we don't want to kind of bring our stress up and down all the time.
09:44Would you potentially be looking for kind of a long-term foster?
09:47I would love to find a long-term foster for Crumble if somebody would love to take her.
09:57It's just finding the right person.
10:00There's nothing in the heavens tells me that we'll be together again.
10:12Time flies by in the yellow and green...
10:16Should we try cutting through the office and go in that way?
10:19Yeah.
10:20Crumble has returned to the centre after her stay with Katie.
10:24Good girl.
10:25The good news is that she's transitioned well back into kennel life.
10:29You're so cute, aren't you? Hello.
10:33Which opens her up to further foster opportunities.
10:36The bad news is that there's no foster or permanent home on the horizon.
10:41She really does want to be loved.
10:45She's such a loyal, smart, intelligent dog.
10:48She just gets overwhelmed sometimes.
10:51Any home would be very lucky to have her.
10:54After a successful first ever homestay, there's a spring in everyone's step, including Crumbles.
11:00However, the training needs to continue to help her chances of ever being able to leave the kennels for good.
11:06Lovely. Right, if we start walking.
11:08Oh, beauty.
11:09She's not great with dogs, so we've been working on muzzle training, doing some engaged, disengaged,
11:14getting her to look at dogs.
11:15And then when she doesn't react, getting her to come back to us and reward.
11:18But yeah, she's come a long way from the dog that we got three years ago.
11:23It's just crazy that she's been here that long.
11:26It's not long before I get to see for myself how Crumble feels around other dogs.
11:31Are you worried about something over there?
11:33What's this?
11:34Ready. Just give her a minute.
11:36We're going to head that way, Pete, just because there's a dog over there and Crumble is not the biggest fan.
11:41She's displaying signs of being very reactive to other dogs, so Becky quickly responds.
11:47Do you want to go back that way then?
11:49Yeah, sorry.
11:50OK.
11:51We're just going to move out the way and give her some space from them.
11:52Can you find it?
11:53Look.
11:54Come.
11:55I'm going to go walk around.
11:56Can we go this way?
11:57Yeah.
11:58Go.
11:59Nearly, mate.
12:00It's OK, puppy.
12:01She might just need a minute.
12:03Yeah.
12:04But the team have learnt how to calm her down and make her feel at ease.
12:08Good girl.
12:09She's lovely, though.
12:10She is.
12:11Come.
12:12She's very misunderstood.
12:13Aren't we all?
12:14Yeah.
12:15We're all.
12:16She's obviously a very sensitive dog and there's, behaviourally, there's a few little things
12:20but actually to get past that, all it takes is a little bit of patience, a little bit
12:24of time and a lot of love.
12:26I know you're so afraid to sing, but baby that's my favourite time.
12:32Over the next few weeks, the more I train with Crumble, the more I understand what's
12:37holding her back.
12:39She's just one of those dogs that can be quite sensitive to different things.
12:43Yeah.
12:44And it's not because she's, you know, a bad dog or anything.
12:46She's just quite a sensitive girl.
12:55When people knock at the door, she barks at the door.
12:57But what we're going to do is we're going to teach her an alternative behaviour.
13:01I have such a soft spot for that dog.
13:07Crumble.
13:08Great.
13:09Good job.
13:10Yes.
13:11From when I first met her, when she was really unsure, to spending time with her.
13:15And you can see how much love and affection she's got.
13:18Hello.
13:19Hello.
13:20Hello, baby.
13:21How are you?
13:23It genuinely, it makes me a little bit emotional thinking about the fact she's been here for
13:26three years.
13:27She loves you, Pete.
13:28Are you my best friend?
13:30Yeah, you're my best friend.
13:32Not one person, not one family has come and said, do you know what?
13:37I want to take a chance on that dog.
13:39And that is heartbreaking.
13:42Yes.
13:43Hi, Becca.
13:48She doesn't get practice at meeting new people, really.
13:53Because she's not getting those meets and stuff.
13:55So it's nice to be able to introduce her to, like, you and, you know, build that confidence in her.
14:00I love her.
14:01I really do love her.
14:03Like, I've got goosebumps.
14:06How am I doing, ladies?
14:08Good.
14:09Missed a spot over there.
14:10Oh, sorry.
14:11The patience has finally paid off.
14:13And now I've earned her trust, Crumble is really coming out of her shell.
14:17Keeping your warm.
14:22I'll be there keeping your warm.
14:24Are you sitting on my foot?
14:25Are you sitting on my foot?
14:27I've got to stop doing that voice.
14:29I can't help.
14:30I've got a Crumble voice.
14:31I've got a Crumble voice.
14:33Yeah.
14:34Oh, he's so nice.
14:35I'm genuinely obsessed with that.
14:36And it baffles me.
14:37It upsets me, the fact that she's still here.
14:40Yeah.
14:41She's institutionalised here.
14:42Like, that's all she's ever known.
14:43She doesn't really ever leave the gate.
14:46Crumble needs more time outside of kennels to help her find a home.
14:50So fostering could be her best shot.
14:53It's just finding someone who's willing to, you know, come and get to know her first.
14:57Let us do a few home visits.
14:58Like, we need to take the process a little bit slower than we would for any ordinary dog.
15:02So it's just finding people that are committed and happy to put the effort in.
15:07And so how do you go about kind of the fostering side of things then?
15:12So we'd have to sign you up as a foster carer and get you all...
15:18I mean, I didn't say me.
15:19I mean me.
15:20I mean me.
15:21I know who you're meaning.
15:22I'm obsessed with her.
15:23I'm obsessed.
15:24I'm obsessed.
15:25I'm obsessed.
15:26No.
15:27What are you thinking, Pete?
15:28You've got two dogs of your own already.
15:31Hopefully, a stray who's recently arrived is exactly what I need to distract me.
15:38Hello, guys.
15:39You all right?
15:40Who is this?
15:41This is Jay.
15:42He's just come in to us here at Dog's Trust.
15:45Oh, look at that.
15:46Hi, Jay.
15:47He's a few years old.
15:49He's not middle-aged, although he does look a little bit of an older dog.
15:52And he's just got a slight little underbite with his teeth.
15:55Slight.
15:56I'll tell you what, though.
15:58It gives him loads of character.
16:00He looks like an old man.
16:02Yeah, he does look a little bit older, bless him.
16:04Oh, he's too cute.
16:05He is great here, and he's been a lovely boy with us today.
16:08Oh, you're so cute.
16:09I mean, based on the way he is with people and being handled now, we don't know his backstory,
16:13but as a kind of stray, the chances are he's probably been in a home before.
16:17I would say most likely.
16:18So it might make, kind of, the prospect of rehoming him a lot, lot easier.
16:22Jay was moved to Basildon from another centre who had noticed something of concern.
16:27The previous rescue found that he had what's called an enlarged prostate.
16:32That is a little bit unusual.
16:34Yeah.
16:35It's not something we tend to see often in male dogs.
16:37So what would an enlarged prostate be caused by?
16:40Some neutered male dogs use a lot of testosterone.
16:43OK.
16:44So you can get a benign enlargement to the prostate, which gets resolved when he gets castrated.
16:49So if he's neutered, that should solve it if it's all fine.
16:53The other cause for Jay's issue could be a more serious one in the form of a tumour.
16:58OK, so if it's good news, you're going to take these nuts?
17:02That's it.
17:03You thought the underpipe was bad.
17:06The only way to determine the cause is a prostate exam.
17:10And vet Mark is the one to answer the call.
17:13See you later.
17:14Hello, Jay.
17:16Good boy.
17:18But I think we'll give you a little privacy on this one, mate.
17:21Good boy.
17:23Good boy.
17:25Good lad, well done, I'm sorry.
17:28Good boy.
17:29Good boy.
17:31OK.
17:33It looked like his prostate was a little bit enlarged, but most likely hormonal in cause.
17:39So by removing the testicles, removing his testosterone, in theory his prostate should revert back to normal.
17:45So I guess that's good news?
17:47Now what a hell of a year it's been.
17:50But Jay's rehoming will have to be put on hold.
17:53Keep on bluffing but I just came in.
17:56Up in Leeds, A-star student Bella, who I was convinced would be in a home by now, could have also run into a problem.
18:03Amy's noticed that since she arrived she's been drinking.
18:07Just have a little drink.
18:08Have a little drink.
18:09That's thirsty work, innit?
18:10And going to the loo more than normal.
18:12Lovely.
18:13So I'm taking her for a vet checkup with Nurse Vicky.
18:17Hello.
18:18Hello, Bella.
18:19Very excited Bella for you.
18:21Oh, hello.
18:22How is she?
18:23She's good as God.
18:24So I've been asked to bring Bella to see her to find out what's going on with her.
18:28Yeah, she's had a few issues.
18:29She's drinking an awful lot of water and wean an awful lot as well.
18:33So what could that be down to then?
18:35Erm, so it could be obviously the weather's a lot warmer at the moment so she could just be drinking more because of that.
18:40Yeah.
18:41Erm, diet comes into it as well.
18:43Dogs that have been fed on the dry food can drink a lot more.
18:46But there are things like diabetes.
18:47Oh really?
18:48That we need to check out as well.
18:49A symptom of that is drinking a lot and passing a lot of urine.
18:52So what tests will you do to find out?
18:54Well firstly we're going to start doing urine testing when she has her first wee of the day.
18:58Because her kidneys should be able to concentrate that urine overnight and if it's still really dilute then that means that there's something not happening correctly.
19:05And if it does end up being diabetes, that's going to make it a lot more difficult for her to be rehomed.
19:11She'll need a special home.
19:12Yeah.
19:13And there will be a cost involved.
19:14Oh puppy.
19:15You're so beautiful though.
19:18Yes you are.
19:19Until we know what the problem is, Bella can't go up for rehoming.
19:23Okay then, well I'm going to take her back.
19:25Okay.
19:26Alright.
19:27There is one thing.
19:28We do need to start getting the urine samples.
19:30So, if you could just, when she goes for a wee, if you could just try and hold it under.
19:34And see if you can collect any urine for us.
19:36You just want me to hover?
19:38Yeah.
19:39Hover while she hovers.
19:40I'm getting all the best jobs at the minute.
19:43I know.
19:44Yeah.
19:45It's lovely isn't it?
19:46Good girl Bella.
19:47There you go.
19:48Let's go to the toilet.
19:54Okay.
19:55Here we go.
19:57Let's go to the toilet.
19:59Shhh.
20:01Shhh.
20:02Shhh.
20:03Shhh.
20:04Does that help?
20:05Can you go to the toilet?
20:06No.
20:07We just want to play.
20:08Ready.
20:09Go.
20:10Go to the toilet.
20:12Ready.
20:13Go.
20:14Who wants to go for a toilet?
20:15You want to go for a toilet?
20:17Oh.
20:18Go, go, go.
20:23It's quite hard, if I'm honest with you.
20:26You're going to need to do that again, darling.
20:28Come on.
20:29Come on.
20:30We can go again.
20:31Have some water.
20:32No, don't drink there.
20:33Drink this one.
20:34Loads of water.
20:35Yeah.
20:36Come on.
20:37Come on.
20:38I think I've missed my chance here.
20:39Oh.
20:40Not quick enough.
20:41They're going to be so disappointed in me.
20:53They're never going to let me collect wee again.
20:54They're never going to let me collect wee again.
20:56In Leeds, Bella and the team are doing a really great job of showing me right up.
21:17There you go, Pete.
21:18That's how you do it.
21:20But I'm rising above it.
21:23And I'm going to get a quick update on how Bella's getting on.
21:26Oh, hi, Pete.
21:27How are you doing?
21:28How are you?
21:29Someone's happy to see you.
21:30Oh, yeah.
21:31You're so lovely.
21:32Oh, you're so nice.
21:34Look at this.
21:35You're doing lovely.
21:36Bella.
21:37Come here.
21:38Good girl.
21:39Mate, she looks incredible.
21:40She does, doesn't she?
21:41Just a little bit of timber.
21:42She has.
21:43She's lost over two kilos.
21:44Two kilos?
21:45Yeah.
21:46She's doing brilliantly.
21:47Oh, you're such a good girl.
21:48But what about that wean problem?
21:50So, did anyone manage to get a urine sample?
21:53Because it wasn't my finest hour, mate.
21:56What is the neck to it, Kev?
21:58Because I was on my hands and knees underneath.
21:59You were pretty quick.
22:00Not quick enough.
22:01Yeah.
22:02Maybe it's been an angle thing.
22:04Is it an angle?
22:05Yeah.
22:06Maybe that's what it was.
22:07Yes, actually, they did.
22:09They managed to get a urine sample and that was sent off for testing.
22:12Oh, boy.
22:13So, what's the next steps for Bella, then?
22:15They've been running a few tests on her.
22:17We've been monitoring her urine.
22:18She's coming in here, chilling out with me.
22:20And it means I can keep an eye on her a little bit closer
22:22and keep an eye on the whole water intake and urination.
22:26I mean, it's a shame because we kind of thought she was going to be in and out.
22:30She passed all the tests with flying colours originally, didn't she?
22:32She did.
22:33But we need to make sure that everything's okay medically
22:36before we put her up for homing.
22:38Off we go.
22:40Good girl.
22:41Once she goes up for homing, she'll be gone in a heartbeat.
22:44She's so good.
22:46Come on.
22:47Come on, Bella.
22:48The more I hang out with Bella, the more I see how she's going to be so easily rehomed.
22:56But it immediately makes me think about poor Crumble,
22:59who's been here in kennels for three long years
23:02because she's just a bit misunderstood.
23:04I've got to do something to help.
23:06Hello.
23:07Hi. Are you all right?
23:20I have got something to talk about.
23:24Oh, this looks formal.
23:26I'd like to foster.
23:28A foster, foster, foster?
23:30Yeah.
23:31So a formal, on the books, fosterer.
23:33Do you know who?
23:34I know you've been spending quite a lot of time with Crumble.
23:37Is it Crumble?
23:38Really?
23:39Yeah.
23:40Do you know what, like, in all seriousness,
23:41she's one of the dogs here that I think I am most happy around,
23:45but also makes me the saddest.
23:48Yeah.
23:49And like, I would like to spend a bit more time with her.
23:52Oh, that's really cute.
23:53That's really lovely.
23:54All right, so you'll need to sign up as a fosterer.
23:56Yeah.
23:57We'll do something called a home trial.
23:59The guys will bring her to you, make sure that she settles in okay,
24:02bring her back here again.
24:03And if all of that works, then we would go,
24:05yeah, that's great, let's do an overnight.
24:07So does that sound all right?
24:08Yeah, absolutely.
24:09Anything.
24:10It's high stakes for her.
24:12Yeah.
24:13It will help us to get her into a home.
24:14Yeah.
24:15You know, it will help show people that dogs like Crumble
24:18are still worth a shot.
24:20Whatever you need.
24:23Paperwork, Mr Wicks.
24:25Paperwork.
24:26She wears a muzzle, as you know, out and about.
24:27So it'll be making sure that you're comfortable putting her muzzle on and off.
24:30I'll wear one too, so she doesn't feel alone.
24:33Becky's going to help me learn how to put a muzzle on,
24:36something I haven't done before.
24:38And Crumble isn't the easiest to students.
24:41She has been quite a challenge to muzzle train.
24:44As a team, it's taken us probably about a year.
24:47She will walk in it now.
24:49So we're pretty much there, but it's still a slow process.
24:52Like, we can't just rush into it.
24:54Good girl, well done.
24:56So the scary part of it is not necessarily putting her nose into it,
24:58it's when it's fixed to her.
24:59It's when we do it on.
25:00Yeah.
25:01When it's clipped up, ready to go.
25:02Good.
25:03It's taken you a year to get her to this point.
25:05Yeah.
25:06She needs to be on lead and muzzled in public,
25:09because she's not aggressive or anything.
25:11But it's the jumping up, the being silly,
25:13which can sometimes be, you know, misinterpreted,
25:15but actually it's coming from a place of worry.
25:18It's primarily a signal for other dog walkers
25:20when they see a dog with a muzzle, I'll give them a bit of space.
25:23And she is a very strong dog.
25:25When she's scared, you know...
25:26Yeah.
25:27She has a lot to handle.
25:28Yeah, she is.
25:29But I love her.
25:30So if I give you that, I'll just get some more cheese.
25:32So what's the process?
25:33What do I...?
25:34I'll talk you through it.
25:35Right.
25:36So if you hold it out and say muzzle.
25:37Muzzle.
25:38He's a good girl.
25:40Yeah.
25:41Oh, you dropped the cheese.
25:42Did you even get that?
25:43No.
25:44It's quite hard to get it through there, isn't it?
25:45It is a bit, yeah.
25:46Crumble, muzzle.
25:47There you go.
25:48And then what do I do?
25:49Just feed her through the...
25:50Yeah, just a little bit.
25:51There you go, darling.
25:53Is that nice?
25:54Yeah.
25:55There you go.
25:56There you go.
25:57That's it.
25:58You've got it.
25:59Yeah.
26:00Muzzle.
26:01Good girl.
26:02There you go.
26:03You got it.
26:04Muzzle.
26:05Good girl.
26:06Oh, muzzle.
26:07She's doing it, yeah.
26:08There you go.
26:09I've got no cheese left.
26:10Little bit there.
26:11That's fine.
26:12Well done for a minute.
26:13Well done.
26:14Good girl.
26:15Well done.
26:16She has literally blown my brain.
26:17She's never even this good for me.
26:18I think she's gone.
26:19Es sort of getting it, yeah.
26:20She's gone.
26:21I think she's going to put it on my mind.
26:22I've got no cheese left.
26:23Little bit there.
26:24It's fine.
26:25I've got no tea left.
26:26But I've got no cheese left, a little bit there.
26:27she's never even this good for me there's a lot of processes that go into this and to do this build
26:31that relation before you can even foster is quite a lot isn't it yeah it is yeah so what are the next
26:35steps then so we need to do more of this and i just point where where you can do it while she's
26:41waiting there so that when we're not there you can you can manage everything i'm prepared to
26:47do whatever it takes to get crumble into foster with me but for now it's time to turn my attention
26:54to lovely old jay and his pesky prostate come on little man i'm bringing him to the external vets
27:02for an ultrasound and cover your ears jay possible castration i've tried to give jay a pep talk but
27:08at the minute he won't even look at me um i have a feeling he knows what's happening but i just need
27:13to give him some time you know hello hello i've got jay here lovely i'm nervous
27:19hello ladies hello jay's here for his ultrasound fantastic even though it's an uncomfortable
27:29procedure for any dog perfect what a good boy we're just going to put a little bit of gel
27:34on his tummy it's cold it is cold there we go jay once again proves that he's so relaxed at being
27:41handled good boy such a good boy all right jay says he's going to feel a tiny bit of pressure but
27:48nothing painful it's like a little tummy massage exactly yeah so jay's got an enlarged prostate yes
27:54what are we looking for what is normal and what is abnormal so that's the bladder and the bladder wall
27:59that you can just see come into focus here yeah prostates are glands that sit either side of the neck
28:04of the bladder and they're usually quite small and they should be symmetrical
28:08so this is one of the prostate glands here slightly larger than normal you can see a slightly
28:14speckled appearance so very tiny cystic areas but what we're looking for to differentiate is that any
28:20abscesses or tumors if amy does find an abscess or tumor then the cause of the enlargement could be more
28:27serious than hormonal and then that's the prostate but fairly symmetrical compared to the other side
28:34there's nothing that strikes me as is obviously abnormal so i think in this place it looks more
28:39like benign hyperplasia thankfully benign hyperplasia is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland
28:47in unneutered dogs good good news good jay good jay hey that's good news i think we will proceed with
28:56a castrate today no buddy oh no it's okay it'll be okay you're such a good boy though he's such a good
29:04boy he was just a little angel uh good news um is that his prostate is enlarged but it doesn't look
29:10like it's anything particularly abnormal now we've just got to worry about you having your nuts off
29:17and that's never fun is it no no they're gonna castrate him as planned um and i feel bad saying that
29:23i mean i know that's not good news because he's going to lose his nuts but it's better for him for
29:29now things look okay things look good happy jay happy jay and his happy jaw is anything we can do
29:37about that underbite no sadly not we can try and fix some of your problems but that's going to stay with
29:42you buddy i think it gives him character it's nice we'll keep him here and we'll get him ready for his
29:47anesthetic now i think i'm going to leave amy to it because after a few more muzzle training sessions
29:55with becky the team have decided it's time for the next step towards my potential foster so today i have
30:03a very special visitor crumble's coming for a little home visit to see if i can foster her for a little bit
30:10so um yeah i'm really excited this is just a practice run to make sure that being here with me
30:16isn't going to result in any negative reactions from crumble obviously we're quite high up it's a
30:21completely new environment but i'm over the moon that i've got an opportunity for her to to come and
30:27at least try this out i hope that we find out a little bit more about crumble so that we can
30:33potentially find a forever home for her because she deserves it i'm obsessed with her good girl wait a
30:39second my dogs are not here they've gone to nanny's for the night which they're very happy about
30:53hello hello puppy oh straight here come in how are we all good how are you yeah good do you want us to
31:01take our shoes off don't be so silly welcome home this way thank you crumb where are we make yourselves
31:12comfortable hello puppy how are you i've cleared some of the stuff that might get broken we put blankets
31:23on the sofas because they're white yeah but this is home yeah you brought your own bed that's her
31:32little uh safety mat to limit those negative reactions to stress crumble's been trained to
31:38take herself away to her safety mat whenever she's feeling overwhelmed so what what do you normally do
31:43on these kind of house visits um so basically it is to get a bit of a bit of an idea on how she's going
31:49to cope in this environment it's an assessment to see if there's anything that we need to put in
31:54place for you to foster her i feel under pressure for testing you yeah i've been this like a test
32:01i've never felt like this before okay so what's the first step then we'll let her off so she can
32:07figure everything out even though we've spent months of training getting crumbled to trust me
32:13we'll see if she likes my home if it hasn't worked this could be over before it's begun
32:18i'll put the baby gate up so she can't get to the bedrooms there's water down over there
32:24very thirsty so thirsty big day it's a big day isn't it sometimes when we do home visits the
32:30dogs kind of just end up sticking to us and are not confident enough to to go and explore
32:36oh you can smell my dogs she's like she goes straight over there that's eric's bed
32:42the thing is a lot of the time people got this idea of what a perfect dog is
32:46and that's why dogs like crumb will never get an opportunity yeah definitely it's nice to see
32:52it outside of kennels yeah there's a perfect dog in there once you get past kind of you know her
32:59initial behaviors and fears really then what you've got is a real beautiful little soul
33:04picture what do you reckon look out here nice yeah good girlie pretty bare but this little outside
33:17space no perfect i mean in terms of of you know how you think she's dealt with this and how you think
33:23she's feeling does she seem fairly comfortable to you guys she's done really really well yeah i'm so
33:28surprised how well she's done what's the verdict have i passed what do you reckon i don't know i'm not
33:34sure yeah don't do that to me yeah so does that mean i'm going to be out of foster i think so yeah
33:43yeah crumble you're going to come and stay with me yeah what a relief finally i get to show this dog
33:52just how special she is so when are we doing it as soon as possible really all right next couple of
33:57days yeah i'm getting a little bit of crumble time in leeds bella's results are back come on bella
34:11let's have a look at you and john has got some great news quite happy with her weight looks
34:17good body condition looks good and all of the tests that we've done on her have come up negative
34:22that's brilliant then so no worries on the diabetes front no worries on the diabetes she's a dog that
34:28drinks more than normal and therefore urinates rather more than normal but it is the norm for her
34:34so there's no reason why she can't go up for homie that's great get your way home get you home now
34:40yes and i know it won't take long for this a star student to find somewhere special
34:47this it keeps on getting better i sing forever
34:56i'm back in basildon to see how my old mate jay is getting on since his surgery
35:01there you go puppy good boy hopefully he's talking to me now he's looking good um so what are you going
35:09to be looking for today then here well what we're going to do is we're going to just double check his
35:13prostate so it's in a few weeks since his surgery now so we'll be hopeful to see that there might
35:20be some changes to us prostate already but he's been a very good boy he's used to his exams now he's
35:25very chill yeah so okay i don't know if you want me to just take over with the holding for the
35:31yes what is it you can keep your lovely relationship you've got going on there is this this isn't going
35:36to be fun i'm just going to give you a little pectal it'll be over in a minute all right it's not going
35:41to change anything yeah i can already hear the news but no friction just boop no right back are you
35:46right to give me a hand so i mean you're just going it is what it is it is what it is just with the one
35:55finger just checking just having a little check making sure there's nothing wrong good all right
35:59here we go three two one good boy good boy such a good boy well done and what are you kind of feeling
36:07for there we're checking for any kind of unusual swelling i do feel it's a little bit reduced
36:11compared to that first exam before his castration but for today yeah i'm pretty pleased actually all
36:17right all right darling well there we go oh look that see that was all done
36:28happy days let's come then shall we buddy should we get out of here see you later guys
36:33see you later thank you good boy and he's going straight into the arms of the bowler family hello
36:39guys how are you fine thank you who were looking for a calm companion to help teach their anxious
36:45dog some new tricks you've already got a dog have you we certainly have yeah the cover poo she used to
36:50be scared of dogs oh really but i think having another dog will help with that just kind of give
36:55a little bit of confidence you're basically getting a dog for your dog yeah so this is you lily yeah
37:02i want all of the dogs amazing well you couldn't get a more well-behaved dog to make the perfect
37:08addition to their family he's all yours guys yeah they seem like a really really lovely family
37:14that is the reason you kind of you do all this sort of stuff for them kind of happy moments where
37:19you know he's going to be loved you know he's going to have a great home come on jay
37:22and i've been told as predicted up in leeds at a star student bella bagged some a star new owners
37:33in record time kim and phil from york
37:43back at my home in east london i've got crumble safety map ready and waiting because the big day
37:48has finally arrived i'm um genuinely quite nervous now because it's home time for a little bit for
37:57crumble today the home visit went well which means she's coming to stay with me for a little bit
38:05helping crumble get used to a life outside of kennels is going to be crucial to her finding her forever
38:11home hello hey hello darling how are you coming hello this way this way yeah and to make her feel
38:21at home becky and jordan have brought some of her favorite things from the kennel there's a couple
38:27of toys from last time i know matt yeah she's just got a couple of harder toys in case she
38:32answers a chew on anything lovely ah nice oh another toy yeah she's happy now she's happy now obviously
38:39she needs to wear her muzzle yeah as well when you take her out do you know how to do it all
38:43we've done all that with everything ready it's time for the girls to say goodbye you're gonna have
38:49the best time on your holidays yeah she is be a good girl let us know how you get on and we'll
38:55leave you to it unless you never see us again on a kidnapper maybe time to be brave crumble
39:03there've been changes in this house things you don't know about in this family just checking out
39:09the view darling yeah you're such a good girl
39:20watching the telly we haven't decided what to watch yet we keep um we keep arguing about that
39:25yeah yeah i know look at that one ear sticking up where's the other ear huh where's the other ear
39:39yeah i know but when you love someone so this is an example of what crumble does anytime you stand
39:46anywhere just sits between your legs it wants to be as close to you as possible but you can go anywhere
39:53what are you doing here
40:03it don't make sense but nevertheless you gotta believe us
40:09it's all for the hello darling hey yay this is beautiful to wake up to ah yes good morning good
40:17morning hello baby
40:23having just a small amount of time alone with crumble in a safe quiet space her anxieties just melt away
40:31and i'm feeling confident about the next step
40:33when you love someone you're doing such a good job yes you are you're doing such a good job come on then
40:42so we're just out me and crumble having a little walk showing her the sights
40:48come on puppy please go oh this is delightful from where i first met her it's been months
40:55of work and patience for her to be able to trust me enough for for her to come and see me at home
41:08i know darling come on then crumble oh you've been such a good girl
41:14i think it just goes to show that it doesn't matter what a dog's behaviors are if you put in the work
41:19then any dog can be amazing having a little exploring with babe this is exciting oh it's so nice to see you
41:28out in the world but i've got dogs of my own so crumble stay with me can't be forever i really hope that
41:36someone just comes and falls in love with her like i did she hasn't had her happy ending
41:44yeah but as i've come to learn from spending three amazing years here it's hard whenever you see an
41:55animal is potentially not doing great not every dog's story is straightforward long-term prognosis
42:02it's not very good not every rescue is a smooth one but one thing is for certain i tried by bringing
42:10them here you've done the right thing thank you no matter how tough the challenges are no dog deserves
42:17to be like these animals are just amazing and no one here will ever give up on them
42:32oh boy are you excited and though every time a dog leaves there's another one just arriving
42:48you know now they're fully fully safe this is the beginning and this is the start from this moment
42:53onwards and i can't wait to do it all again
43:02oh
43:06oh
43:23no and i can't count that high
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