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The.Yorkshire.Vet.S22E04
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00:01Across Yorkshire's Moors and Dales, the world's most famous vets set the benchmark for animal
00:07care. And James Herriot's legacy lives on. His former trainee, Peter Wright,
00:16all my life I've enjoyed doing this, has been a Yorkshire vet for over 40 years.
00:23There we are. How are you doing me old mate? Peter's old partner, Julian Norton,
00:28not quite the same as operated in theatre, is it? I know. Now has two practices. I don't want to
00:34let him go. One of them in the town where Herriot worked, surrounded by the North Yorkshire landscape
00:40he loved. Everything that you can see all across there is Yorkshire. And in the foothills of the
00:46Pennines. That's a Hollywood smile. A new generation of town and country vets also uphold the Herriot
00:54ethos. I'm just going to have a feel a bit deeper inside to see what we've got. The teams are
00:58united
01:00and always determined to hit their target.
01:06Has there help animals of all shapes? It's trying to grow an extra pair of legs. Sizes,
01:11Hendo gorgeous. Types. Cats. And temperaments. No, don't be nasty. It's definitely not
01:20glamorous. Cut that mucus out. But it's varied. So we've actually found gold, literally found gold.
01:26It's rarely easy. You've won Mr. Wet t-shirt. But they continue the Herriot tradition. It's
01:32alive. Treating all creatures. It's moving. I can't believe it. Great.
01:39You're my right little bird. And small. How are we happening? Yay.
01:42Yay. The darkness and the light. A relationship that's always fascinated scientists
02:03and inspired poets. These intertwined symbols of hope and life. Despair.
02:18Or even death. And on a night shift, when a Yorkshire vet hears about lives on the line,
02:28there might need to be a rage against the dying of the light.
02:35At the Huddersfield Practices Farm Animal Centre, Shona's bracing herself after an emergency call.
02:46It's about eight o'clock at night. I'm on call and we've got a sheep farmer coming down with what's
02:51probably going to be a caesarean. I've got everything ready and then we'll crack on. Speed is of the essence.
02:58Helen and her daughter Karen have just arrived. Right, pop us in there until the right,
03:04where the black box is. With the ewe who's struggling in labour. Right, so one's too big.
03:10Yeah. Lamb's coming backwards. Right, OK. I'll just put my wellies on. We knew she'd been messing about,
03:18getting up and down. We'd been inside but couldn't figure anything earlier on. She's not really
03:25progressing with anything. It ain't ever gonna come out, it's coming backwards. And then it's like,
03:31we've given her enough time, more time than she would have done if she'd have had a natural bear.
03:38And we've decided it's the vet job. We'll do it legs a little bit. We'll go that way.
03:44We'll have a look. Come on, lost. We need to do it legs. Good girl. Right, let's get you cooked
03:49up,
03:49ready. Has she been straining a lot or not much? Not that much, really, has she? Right.
03:58We know that she's in labour. We know from Karen having a feel that everything is too small.
04:03I'm not gonna go in and have another feel because that's just more trauma inside there. There's no
04:07point in me doing that. I know that Karen knows what she's doing. She's had calcium. She's had
04:12everything else we can do, so it's definitely straight in for the cesarean. Right. Is it the first
04:18time you've had the vet this year? Yeah. There's nine left that's got twins in. This is a twin.
04:26Ideally, the quicker you can get the lambs out, the better, really, the more chance of survival, usually.
04:31OK, you all right at your end, Karen? Yeah. We just want to get everything done as efficiently as possible.
04:36Minimal stress to the sheep, minimal stress to the lambs.
04:41Oh, there's plenty, isn't there? Like, I think we need a bigger hug. Sorry, girl.
04:48Sadie. Good girl.
04:55Good lady. This uterus is full of a lot of fluid. So I'm just trying to... It's just making it
05:00a little
05:01bit more awkward than normal to get hold of anything. So I can't tell if it is that it's a
05:07big lamb yet
05:08because there's just so much fluid around it. It might be because not much water bags come out the
05:13back end. But it might be because there's something abnormal going on in here. Hopefully it's the former.
05:26What?
05:26When you work at a Yorkshire vet practice... Would you like one of these?
05:30..you end up thinking deeply about animals.
05:34And in Wetherby, Bev and Claire are feeling spiritual.
05:39So, Bev, what's your spirit animal?
05:42I'd like to be a Lippitzana horse. A what?
05:45A Lippitzana. They're beautiful. They're white. OK.
05:49And they have special schools in Austria. OK.
05:52Where they literally have them all trained. Oh, really? Yes.
05:56And while Bev sees herself as a well-groomed white horse...
06:00..they're the ones that do the, like, gymnastics, almost. Yes.
06:03Claire feels like a wild thing. What would you think?
06:07Hmm. I think I'd probably be something a bit more feral.
06:13I'd be a bear. A bear.
06:15I'd get to hibernate all winter. That would be so good.
06:19What do you think Julian would be? Oh. Oh, I don't know.
06:23He'd be a squirrel, maybe. That would be a squirrel.
06:28What would Lucy be? She'd be a Spaniel.
06:31Yeah, absolutely a Spaniel. Yeah, Lucy would be a Spaniel.
06:36With their spirit animals decided... Can you walk?
06:40..Julian and Lucy have a real Spaniel to deal with.
06:44Oh!
06:45Let me go!
06:47..a white Spaniel called Ghost.
06:50You suit your name. Don't see many this colour, do you?
06:53Yeah. Three-year-old Ghost has a potentially life-threatening problem.
06:58His owners are worried they've seen something swollen and big in his abdomen
07:02and they've literally seen it sticking out through the bulge under his skin there.
07:06We think it's a tumour on the spleen.
07:09We see splenic growth quite often in dogs.
07:13It's one of the more common tumours. They vary. Some of them are highly cancerous and spread.
07:21Ghost's owner Ryan has a nervous waiting store.
07:24He's only young, so you don't expect at this age it comes at a bit of a shock
07:27when you hear a mass inside them. We're worried, but we're hopeful.
07:31But the Vets will be able to sight him out.
07:35Oh, yeah.
07:39What's it there look?
07:41God, that is massive. There's no wonder they saw that.
07:44Hard as well.
07:45Generally, the more aggressive cancers we see in older dogs,
07:48so that makes it rather unusual.
07:50But we'll see, hopefully, if something that we can easily remedy.
07:56Julian's asked Vet Nat for some help.
07:58Nat is our resident expert scanner, so we're just going to get an expert's view.
08:06Do you want to do the lights off?
08:08Yeah, let's turn them off.
08:14It's quite irregular. What do you think it is?
08:17This is lump with, like, this mottle sort of patchy.
08:23Generally, it doesn't look recognisable as anything else organ-wise.
08:28Because the spleen would typically be on the other side.
08:31Yeah, so that's the head of your spleen, up on that side.
08:34And then if we follow it, it does kind of sit.
08:38It should, at some point, join up with the lump.
08:41If it is part of the spleen.
08:46There's an odd thing with this lump,
08:48because whilst it's very obvious to feel and to see through the skin,
08:51it's not quite in the right position for a splenic mass.
08:55Which raises the question, is it something else?
08:57It could be on the liver.
08:59Now, if it is a cancerous growth on the liver,
09:01then that makes it altogether more complicated.
09:04They don't think it's on the liver, do you?
09:09The liver also looks fine.
09:12I guess it could be in the intestines, do you think?
09:15It's hard, isn't it?
09:16This might be a bit of a...
09:19open the box and see what's...
09:21present is inside.
09:23With the benefit of modern imaging,
09:25we can get a really good idea, in most cases, what we're dealing with,
09:28but this seems to be a little bit of a...
09:31a strange one.
09:36Coming up...
09:37This is not an easy one.
09:38In the C-section, Shona doesn't like Plan B.
09:42The worst case scenario on these is that I have to cut them open,
09:44with the uterus still inside the abdomen.
09:47And Peter meets the green's calf, Frosty...
09:49What are you going to do? Turn it into snow?
09:51..who's a bit of a hothead.
09:53He's a bit feisty.
09:54He takes off to the owner then, does he?
09:56Oh-hoo!
10:05At the Huddersfield Practices Farm Animal Centre...
10:08It's the head end of the lamb that I'm trying to pull up,
10:11and that's always harder to get a hold of.
10:13Shona's performing an emergency caesarean on Helen and Karen's ewe.
10:18Study! Good girl.
10:20..to try and save the first-time mum's twins.
10:23We knew there was something wrong, so we thought we'd better get here fast,
10:26and try and help the lives of the two lambs and the ewe.
10:30Well, the worst case scenario on these is that I have to cut them open,
10:33with the uterus still inside the abdomen.
10:36Now, we try not to do that,
10:37because we don't want any of the fluid that's in there turned up in the abdomen,
10:42ideally, because it can end up causing an infection.
10:46So that's why it's quite important that we try and get the uterus out.
10:50This is not an easy one.
10:52Right, we've got it somewhere near.
10:54Can you grab its legs?
10:57Well, OK, that's one.
11:04Right, you all right for being a second?
11:12Got it?
11:13Yeah.
11:18There's a little bit of fluid there, and that's what we're just trying to clear out.
11:25The squeezing of the normal birth process actually
11:30stimulates them to get wanting to move, wanting to breathe, wanting to go.
11:33And so it's really important, if they've not had that squeeze,
11:37give them lots of vigorous rubbing.
11:38Good, strong lambs, aren't they?
11:40You happy?
11:41Yeah, for the first time.
11:43You made the right decision.
11:43Yeah, yeah, made the right decision.
11:46Saves three lives, doesn't it?
11:48Definitely.
11:53Just concentrating on getting mum stitched back together.
11:56Are you talking to him, lady?
11:59That's a good sign.
12:02She's got a lamb at the front of her.
12:03She's giving that a good...
12:06..a good bit of loving, so she doesn't seem too bothered by the stitching.
12:11Hello.
12:12You're noisy.
12:14You are.
12:16They're up and they're eager, that's what they want.
12:19It's not so often they're this sprightly, is it, this quickly?
12:21No.
12:23The lambs are really big, like, good-sized lambs for twins,
12:26and especially for a first-time mum.
12:28Really good as well to see the mum loving the lambs so much.
12:31Yeah, please.
12:33She's done a good job.
12:36Just take the lamb and it'll follow.
12:40Yeah, one, two, three.
12:45Good girl.
12:48What's up?
12:50It's, er, 20 past time we were in bed.
12:55We've been up since half-past five.
12:58It's half-past nine.
13:00Yeah, long days.
13:01Get a break when we go to bed.
13:04And back up again early in the morning.
13:06Safe journey back.
13:07Well, there's no more lambing when we get back.
13:12It's good to have got that one underway, got everything sorted.
13:16Two live lambs, mum, packed off back home.
13:19It's that waiting game now of just wondering when the phone's next going to ring.
13:30Most good sheep farmers need a good sheepdog.
13:34Awake.
13:36Goodbye.
13:37Are we going to see Peter?
13:39And in Kirby Moorside, Peter's friends, Abby and Trevor...
13:43Sit down. Sit.
13:46Goodbye.
13:47...have brought their newest four-legged workmate to see him.
13:51Abby.
13:51Now then, Peter.
13:52How are you?
13:53Come on.
13:54We're going to see Peter.
13:56And who's this, Abby?
13:57Moss.
13:58Moss.
13:58Moss has just turned one.
14:01This one's just training at the minute.
14:04Ah, right.
14:04Let's have a look at you.
14:05See?
14:07It smells in here, isn't it?
14:08To cut it as a successful sheepdog.
14:11Well, he looks fit to me.
14:13Yeah.
14:13Then you do a booster.
14:16He'll need a sound temperament.
14:18Don't worry, Moodles.
14:19I don't like them either.
14:20Now then, I'll just pop the seat back of your neck.
14:23Good lad.
14:24Your dad's got here.
14:25Along with speed, agility and stamina.
14:28There we are.
14:30Good boy.
14:32Well done.
14:32As well as intelligence.
14:35Is he showing promise?
14:36Yeah.
14:37Is he?
14:37Is he?
14:38He's got the eye.
14:39Which he's already displaying enough of.
14:41I've still been listening to them big ears.
14:43Yeah.
14:44They're like satellite dishes, aren't they?
14:48To know when he's being insulted.
14:50Hey.
14:51He's just signed papers.
14:52Very good.
14:54Excellent.
14:55Well, it's nice to see you.
15:04Over in Wetherby, Julian and the team are puzzled
15:08by Ghost the Spaniel's mysterious lump.
15:11I think it might be something totally abnormal.
15:14With scans inconclusive.
15:16It's hard.
15:17It's a hard, hard thing.
15:20Julian and Lucy are preparing for surgery.
15:23It's weird because it's just so prominent there.
15:27I've literally, like, never seen anything like it.
15:30It's, like, not movable at all.
15:32With all explorers for surgery, you know,
15:34we can tell much more accurately with our eyes
15:37what we're dealing with.
15:38So, once they're in there, we'll know for sure.
15:42Are we ready?
15:44I'm ready. Are you ready?
15:45Ready.
15:46Patient ready?
15:47Patient ready.
15:51It's relatively close to the surface and an abdominal mass.
15:56Usually, by this time, would have sunk in into the abdomen.
16:01Do you want me to put the head torch down?
16:03Can you see enough?
16:03I can feel the spleen.
16:06It's definitely not the spleen.
16:07It's actually attached to the body wall.
16:10So, that's why it's so hard.
16:11That's why it's not dipping in.
16:13But it's all above my hand there,
16:15so it's actually in the muscle layer.
16:19Does it feel as big inside?
16:21Yeah.
16:22But I can't take it out because there's been no abdominal wall left.
16:25So, we've discovered that it's actually totally encapsulated within the muscle wall.
16:32It's not in the abdominal cavity itself.
16:34So, I suspect this is going to be a reaction to some kind of foreign body or some infection in
16:43the muscle.
16:44We'll take some samples just to check.
16:46Nat is taking the samples.
16:49Have you picked your targets?
16:52I can't feel it.
16:53So, is that central?
16:54Yeah.
17:03So, really, the main thing I'm looking for is if this is an infectious cause,
17:09in which case you get a lot of a white blood cell called neutrophils,
17:15which like to hang out in abscesses.
17:19Anything good?
17:20Sure.
17:20The good news of the bird is, but loads neutrophils.
17:23Excellent.
17:24So, there might be a foreign body in the middle of your dog's lump.
17:26Yeah.
17:27Well, I thought so, but I'm hoping that it'll work its way out.
17:30So, it seems ghost's lump is down to something strange that shouldn't be there.
17:35I couldn't see like a fern playing on the sand of a decent size.
17:41It's going to be tiny.
17:42Something like a grasshead or a piece of a stick or a bit of a kebab stick.
17:50At least we now know where it is and that it's not an abdominal mass.
17:55We're going to treat with some antibiotics and that should shrink it down.
18:00So, if we do need to investigate further, if it's a lot smaller,
18:04it'll be easy to know exactly where to cut.
18:07For the moment, it's a bit of a reprieve for ghosts.
18:12So, with this mystery almost, if not completely solved,
18:17it's a question of whether medicine will give ghosts a new lease of life.
18:21I suppose this spectra of illness will hang over ghosts for a bit longer.
18:40It's a good long calf.
18:46It is a good long calf, Steve. Yeah, it has a good frame.
18:49They're good calves. They can't falter.
18:51I'm pleased she's settling in well for you.
18:54And that's fair praise, indeed, coming from Mrs Green.
18:57Hi.
18:57Fair praise.
19:00But today, Frosty has an appointment that could cause a meltdown.
19:05You don't know what's coming last.
19:07He's going to lose the arms.
19:10But he needs his arms off.
19:12It is a bit of a dangerous job.
19:15And Peter's going to have to keep his cool.
19:20The problem with Frosty is now that the horns have developed
19:24to such an extent that it's not possible just to burn the buds out.
19:28We're going to have to saw the horns off first
19:30before we burn the tissue that forms the horns to grow.
19:35So, slightly more tricky.
19:37And we'll need a little bit more cooperation from Frosty.
19:41Let's hope so.
19:44Ah, Mrs Green.
19:46Hi, Stranker.
19:47You've got a job for me with Frosty, I understand.
19:49Is that right?
19:50Yeah, but what are you going to do? Turn him into snow?
19:55I think he's one that slipped through net, isn't he?
19:58Yeah, he did.
19:59He slipped through net and he needs his taken off.
20:01Yeah, otherwise he'll bully the others wanting.
20:04He's bullying us now.
20:06Is he really? Don't worry.
20:07Is he? Is he a bully?
20:08Ah, he's a big bully.
20:12He's a bit feisty.
20:13Is he?
20:13He takes after the owner then, does he?
20:18Well, if he's a little bit tricky to hold...
20:20Yeah, he is.
20:21Well, I think we'll sedate him, which luck is a painkiller as well, James.
20:24Yeah.
20:25So, it'll kill two birds with one stone.
20:26Yeah, he couldn't knock one of us over.
20:29Is that sort of thing?
20:30Right.
20:31Well, we're not having any of that going on.
20:33This is a respectable house.
20:34Now, let's make sure we get this right.
20:38We'll see how we do.
20:39Right.
20:40Now, I'm now going to try and get this, er, this onto him.
20:48Right, strong, can we?
20:50Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
20:52Are you sure you will remain, yeah?
20:54I do, yeah.
20:59Yes, I think we're going to have a bit of fun here, Jean, aren't we?
21:06Coming up...
21:06Hello, Mrs. Conveniently in the corner.
21:09Shola's sheep seems spooked.
21:11Steady, steady, steady.
21:12Does Julian's ghost story end with no more fears?
21:16There's a photo that just comes through.
21:19Oh, God.
21:20While Matt and Rohin hit the trail of the legendary tale...
21:24This story has just blown my mind beyond any expectation of what I thought I would discover.
21:28...of their town's friendly neighbourhood tiger.
21:31She never harmed anyone.
21:32She caused some alarm.
21:34Yeah.
21:35West Yorkshire instead of Indonesia.
21:37Yeah, exactly, yes.
21:45It's a couple of weeks since Shona performed an emergency caesarean
21:49on Helen and Karen's ewe during a night shift.
21:54She's quite a young sheep, so the lambs were quite big for her to deliver.
21:59Hopefully, the lambs are looking good.
22:01I'm hoping that Mum looks good.
22:03She should be eating well, hopefully not losing weight
22:05and hopefully no signs of infection at that caesarean wound.
22:10Hello, grafters.
22:11Hello, there. Hello.
22:13Are you surviving lambing?
22:15Well, you've picked a dry day today.
22:17Yeah, it's not so bad today.
22:19So, how's she been doing since the surgery?
22:21Been really well, yeah.
22:22Has she?
22:22Yeah.
22:23One of the best ones we've had.
22:25Oh, right, OK.
22:25Yeah, yeah.
22:26So, did she take to the lambs, OK?
22:28Cos I was a bit worried about her with her being a first-time...
22:30She loves them to bits, yeah.
22:31Good, yeah.
22:32Do you think she's going to let us catch her and take these stitches out?
22:37Hello, you.
22:38What are you wanting?
22:41Hello, Mrs Conveniently in the Corner.
22:43I'm going to let her go on her.
22:45You're lost.
22:47Steady, steady, steady.
22:49So, looks really good just from looking at her across the pen.
22:54Stitches are all intact.
22:56Skin is healing nice.
22:58She'll get these stitches out.
23:00And then you shouldn't have to fuss over her anymore.
23:02She can go out with the others.
23:06Right, guys, you can let her go.
23:07Ooh, he's released.
23:11Straight to her lambs.
23:12Looks good, doesn't it?
23:15Oh, good, she can have some more next year then, can't she?
23:20You've done a good job, Shona.
23:22Thanks.
23:23I try.
23:24One of my friends came up and she says,
23:25ooh, who's done stitching on that?
23:27She said, it's really good.
23:28I do like my stitching.
23:31Gotham trousers need stitching.
23:35With Mum and her lambs doing well,
23:43they can head out with the rest of Helen and Karen's flock.
23:48Come on, lambs.
23:57They look great.
23:59It's nice seeing them running around the field.
24:02She's an absolutely fantastic mum.
24:04She's looking for them the minute that they've gone,
24:06feeding them really well.
24:08And they've grown really well as well.
24:09So they're a credit to her.
24:10They look awesome.
24:11Thank you very much, Shona.
24:13Nice sack of lambs and sheep.
24:14You're welcome.
24:15You're welcome.
24:16Anytime.
24:16You know, day all night.
24:18I'll be there.
24:20Bye.
24:29At the practice in Wetherby, it's a month since Julian and Lucy operated on Ghost,
24:35the spaniel with a mysterious lump.
24:37Look, there's a photo that's just come through.
24:39Which they decided to treat with antibiotics.
24:42Oh, God.
24:43The lump's completely gone.
24:45That'd be surprising because it was massive, wasn't it?
24:47Mm.
24:47After originally suspecting it was cancerous.
24:50His wound looks good as well.
24:52The wound looks okay.
24:53It's a bit bumpy, but not too bad.
24:56So it's just antibiotics work then?
24:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:59That's good.
25:00That was massive.
25:01I was thinking, I wonder how that's going to go.
25:03Because we thought we might have to go back in, didn't we?
25:06Yeah, I'm glad we didn't do anything more dramatic at the time.
25:10But, yeah, totally mended.
25:12Job's a good one.
25:13It does look good.
25:15Another life save, Lucy.
25:18Hopefully he's much happier now.
25:21And Ghost is definitely in good spirits.
25:24Good boys.
25:25Out for his walk with Ryan.
25:28Good boys.
25:30He's been really good.
25:31His recovery was really good.
25:32The lump went down pretty quick with the antibiotics.
25:35It cleared it up.
25:37It's not come back at all.
25:38So we're happy, really.
25:41Ghosty, get on.
25:42Good boy.
25:46We were very worried about him.
25:48Obviously, you hear the word cancer.
25:50You just automatically think the worst.
25:52We're just happy that he's all right now.
25:56Come on, then.
25:57Ghosty, here.
25:59I've lived in Yorkshire all my life.
26:00We just love coming out and having a good old walk in the countryside around here,
26:04especially when the nights are like this.
26:06Absolutely glorious.
26:07So many more to come.
26:10Ghosty, come here.
26:11Good boy.
26:17Over in Thirsk at the Greens farm.
26:20Are you cruising for a bruising?
26:22Peter's struggling to get to grips with Frosty the calf.
26:27Nearly.
26:29Nearly.
26:30Whose horns he needs to remove.
26:33Do you want me in?
26:35I think I might be able to manage you once I get going.
26:38Famous last words.
26:39But we might be able to...
26:42Right.
26:43Got him.
26:44Now we've got you.
26:45I can hold him if you...
26:47Whoa, whoa, whoa.
26:48Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
26:49What kind of time?
26:49Are you going to put him through here?
26:51I've got to just tie it round there.
26:53Then I'm going to just give him a sedative thing when I get that fastened round over there.
26:57Right, if you just hold me that, Mrs Green.
26:59Thank you very much.
27:02Right.
27:03I'll pop this into his bottom.
27:05Now, I'm going to let that take effect for a short while now.
27:08How long have I been here?
27:09So far, so good.
27:11It's Frosty nil, Peter one at the moment.
27:14I think he knows with you, Steve.
27:15Now he's met his master.
27:17He's standing quite quietly.
27:19He's not bad, really.
27:21I'm just making sure this is nicely numbed.
27:25It's quietened him down, hasn't it?
27:27I think it's Mr Green.
27:28He's bossing him from the other side.
27:30Just a little bit of a haircut now.
27:32No, thank you.
27:33I've just had one.
27:34It cost me 20 quid.
27:36You've been done.
27:37I know I was done.
27:38I was like Dick Turpin.
27:40You wore a mask when he grabbed me.
27:45Now, he's got his painkiller and we've also numbed the sight as well,
27:49but this noise will upset him a little bit.
27:51Do you want me?
27:52No, we're all right, Jane, thanks.
27:57It's very important that those horns are removed.
28:00Right, that's one side done.
28:03They will become a lethal weapon as Frosty gets older.
28:07Just burning off the tissue now that causes the horn to regrow,
28:10so this'll stop any regrowth.
28:12We've got that nicely burnt now.
28:15That shouldn't be any more trouble, so I'm happy with that.
28:18That's it.
28:19Yeah, good jump, Peter.
28:20It's looking grand, Steve.
28:22Aye.
28:24I've got him pinned.
28:30That's it.
28:32One's bleeding a little more with Chattels.
28:36I think we're sorted.
28:37Well, you've done a grand job, Steve.
28:39I'm out of here, man.
28:41You're going to give him bloody credit, are you?
28:44I certainly am.
28:45I certainly am.
28:47Champion.
28:48Thank you, Jane.
28:49Thank you for supervising.
28:51It was very good of you.
28:52You did a grand job of it.
28:54Do we get paid, Pete?
28:56Well, supervisors, we all know, we did all the graft, didn't we, Steve?
29:28No, we are, we did.
29:30Oh, aye.
29:31They served a much bigger cat on a trip to a wildlife park with Exotic's lover, Matt.
29:36We're loving this.
29:39You're all right, aren't you, kid?
29:41I never thought I'd be feeding a tiger.
29:43I bet.
29:44Would you want this one sitting on your lap on a Sunday afternoon?
29:47You wouldn't, would you?
29:49She'd crush you.
29:52But back in the 1940s, in Holmfirth, near Huddersfield,
29:58a tiger was very much a loving family pet.
30:03And as Matt and Rohin both live in the area,
30:07Matt wants to educate his colleague about the legendary tale.
30:11Today, I've brought Rohin to explore the story of the Holmfirth tiger.
30:16I've recently read a book from the library.
30:19All the locations are around here.
30:22I know nothing about the story, so I'm really intrigued to find out more about it.
30:26Someone who can help there is local historian Lawrence,
30:30who oversees a library display dedicated to Fenella,
30:34the tiger who befriended a little girl called Rosamund.
30:39How did Rosamund come across Fenella in the first place?
30:43Her mother and her aunt and her grandparents were in the circus in South Africa.
30:51Fenella was one of two cubs that needed a home,
30:55and they took in these two cubs and cared for them.
30:58Sadly, one of the cubs died.
31:00This was around the outbreak of the Second World War, 1939.
31:04Right.
31:04And they decided they would bring Fenella, still a cub, back to the UK.
31:11What an amazing story.
31:13Absolutely.
31:13So she very much became part of the family.
31:15Is that right?
31:16Yeah.
31:17That's right.
31:20She never harmed anyone.
31:21She caused some alarm at different times.
31:24I couldn't imagine that.
31:25The local community, the local council was a bit concerned about what was going on.
31:29But Fenella never caused any harm.
31:31She just lived peacefully, happily.
31:34That's incredible.
31:34For, I think, about 11 years.
31:38So we're very proud of this.
31:40This is a mosaic that was done by local children, children at the primary school,
31:44and basically celebrates the Fenella story.
31:48Who'd have thought it, eh?
31:49Who'd have thought, I know.
31:52West Yorkshire instead of Indonesia.
31:53West Yorkshire, yeah, yeah.
31:54Exactly, yes.
31:55No, it's quite remarkable.
31:58Matt and Rohin are now very much on the tiger trail.
32:03This story has just blown my mind beyond any expectation of what I thought I would discover.
32:07It's fascinating, isn't it?
32:08It really is.
32:09And as Rosamond still lives in Homeforth, where she grew up with the biggest cat in town,
32:14they want to track her down.
32:19Still to come.
32:21Fresh air.
32:23I've been promoted this morning to head gate, boy.
32:26Come on!
32:27A serious stench.
32:28Oh, my Christ.
32:30There's a bad smell in the waiting room.
32:32It's gone right the way through to the back.
32:34And 80 years on.
32:36I'd like to show you something that I've not really shown many people.
32:39The little girl whose tiger came for much more than tea.
32:43We've got a cine film of my mum on the field, wrestling.
32:47You can see her, she's going, come on, if you like wrestling.
32:57At the practice in Wetherby, Tom's just arrived with his spaniel Daisy,
33:02who's had a litter of puppies.
33:04Oh, it's your babies!
33:06How long are they?
33:08Two weeks tomorrow.
33:09But the reason she needs to see Julian is much less sweet.
33:13No, don't do that there.
33:15I've just made a bit of a mess on the floor.
33:17Oh, my Christ.
33:19There's a bit of an aroma over here.
33:20I do apologise.
33:24There's a bad smell in the waiting room.
33:27Is this my next patient?
33:29Yeah, you might be able to guess by the smell of what's going on.
33:32There's an aroma that's walking through the practice.
33:33It's gone right the way through to the back.
33:36Have we got diarrhoea?
33:37Yeah.
33:38It really does smell, doesn't it?
33:40Come through.
33:43Let's get some spray, shall we?
33:45Choose a nice form.
33:47Oh, well.
33:47No, it's always a bit dangerous putting things up there when there's...
33:51What's just happened has just happened,
33:53because it sometimes makes things shoot out.
33:58It's probably a bacterial infection, because the temperature's 39.5 nearly,
34:04so I think we should start her on some antibiotics.
34:07It's good that she's bright, though.
34:08That's good.
34:08But if you don't treat it vigorously, it won't go away and it'll get worse.
34:13Erm, good.
34:14All right.
34:15Put her back in the car and then she can deposit all of your waiting room again.
34:21It would be worse if it's on your gear sticker, won't it?
34:25Cheerio.
34:26Cheers.
34:26Cheers.
34:28With the waiting room definitely not smelling as fresh as a daisy...
34:32You're on the way to do it.
34:35Lucy is on a mission.
34:37Just smell that.
34:39Where's the purple goblin?
34:40Oh, sweet bean citrus.
34:41That's like a candle.
34:42To find the perfect aromatic antidote.
34:45Oh, that's nice.
34:46I know, I'd wear that.
34:49Stop it.
34:50Fuck into it.
34:51It's not perfume.
34:56Yeah, but it isn't perfume, it's...
34:58It's a room spray.
34:59Room spray.
34:59I think you need the berry one.
35:01There's a lavender one as well, I think.
35:03I don't like that one.
35:04Do you not?
35:05It smells like...
35:07Do you know when you go to a public toilet,
35:09the spray they're put in public toilets?
35:11Oh, it's because it makes you smell nice.
35:12That's horrible.
35:13I don't like it.
35:14Sorry.
35:15Unfortunately, even the carefully selected bouquet...
35:18What is it? We've got a cucumber.
35:20Cucumber.
35:20It doesn't make things smell fabulous,
35:23but it smells a little bit bitter.
35:24Toc, toc.
35:24Can't compete with Daisy number two.
35:27If I'm honest, it doesn't really quite cut through
35:30the terrible stench of fetid diarrhoea, but hey-ho.
35:37Christ.
35:47Near Huddersfield, Matt and Rohin are learning about the legendary Holmfirth tiger.
35:53It was a perfect day for it.
35:56It's a perfect day for it.
35:57I think it's just a little bit of a girl called Rosamond in the 1940s.
36:02And like Matt and Rohin, Rosamond still lives in Holmfirth.
36:07Hi, Rosamond.
36:07Hello.
36:08I'm Matthew.
36:09Nice to meet you.
36:10How are you?
36:10And this is my colleague, Rohin.
36:11Nice to meet you.
36:12I'm so excited to find out about this tiger.
36:14I'm blown away.
36:16Well, this is the house, because it's only a small house.
36:20There was a hut at the back.
36:22Yeah.
36:22And my grandfather built what we used to call a run.
36:25As far as I know, she was a Sumatran tiger.
36:27They're supposed to be the most ferocious type of tiger there are.
36:30Well, not the smallest, but the most ferocious.
36:33Thing is, when I was born, Nella was already in the house.
36:37So it wasn't unusual for me.
36:39It was just part of the routine, I guess, wasn't it?
36:41It was just part of our family.
36:43I think if she'd have been younger, it might have been more dangerous,
36:45because she was very boisterous.
36:47But by the time she was eight, she was much calmer, much more ladylike.
36:50But she just accepted me.
36:51That's half the thing, isn't it?
36:52That magic of that, like, bombs from day one, wasn't it?
36:55Yeah.
36:56She was very friendly to everyone.
36:59But, you know, you always had to be with her and watch her,
37:02because she was a tiger.
37:05This used to be a field.
37:06Right.
37:07And this was Ferala's exercising grounds?
37:09One of them, mate.
37:10One of.
37:10If she wasn't going through a long walk, she'd come and exercise here.
37:14How would she be walking these sort of semi-public places?
37:17If she was walking with my mum, she'd walk on the lead.
37:21But if there was no-one around, she'd let her off the lead.
37:26Wow.
37:27I just can't imagine.
37:28That's amazing.
37:29Yeah.
37:30Wow.
37:37We got a cine film that my grandfather took of my mum on the field wrestling.
37:43You can see her.
37:44She'd go, come on, if you like wrestling.
37:46It just blows my mind, the whole story.
37:48For such a powerful animal to live amongst people in a community like this
37:52and be so friendly, it's amazing.
37:59Children from this school, as you see the logos on the side of the building,
38:03they used to come out and stroke Fenella.
38:05My grandfather, he brought the tiger up, had my mum hold the lead,
38:10and he walked her up and down and all the children came out and they all patted her.
38:15That is awesome.
38:18As well as the memories, Rosamund has plenty of mementos.
38:23I'd like to show you something that I've not really shown many people.
38:27Yeah.
38:27That is amazing.
38:28So this was her collar when she was a baby and this is what she grew into.
38:32That's huge, isn't it? Look at the size of that.
38:33So good, is that.
38:35Bit bigger than your standard cat collar that we see.
38:38And the workmanship on it as well, you can tell it's from a bygone era, isn't it?
38:41Look at that.
38:42I just thought, seeing your vets, you might be interested in this.
38:46When her whiskers fell off, my mum used to put them into a little box.
38:50Tiny little gentle whiskers, you know, little cats.
38:53Whereas this is a real solid piece of...
38:55It's substantial, isn't it?
38:56It really puts in perspective how powerful they really are.
38:59Now we're quite lucky and I think a lot of children have been to zoos and seen tigers,
39:03but I imagine in those days when most people had never encountered these animals
39:07until they'd met Fenella, is that right?
39:09Even when I was at school, people would think she was a liar.
39:13People hadn't seen photographs or videos or television or anything.
39:16There was no documentaries and no awareness as there is now.
39:20Fenella died in 1950, age 10.
39:24Was Fenella buried?
39:27Yes. Yeah, yeah.
39:28She's buried up the road in someone's garden.
39:31But I don't know exactly where it is.
39:33I was about to ask, where have I been about?
39:34I don't know, my family never told me.
39:36I think he wanted to keep it a secret and just as a memento.
39:41Oh, Rosalyn, that is so, that is ace.
39:43That's amazing.
39:44Thank you, that is absolutely incredible.
39:47You have to, thank you.
39:48That's so nice.
39:49That is ace, that is going to go everywhere, that is so cool.
39:54What a terrific way to end a fantastic day.
39:57I'm never going to forget everything I've learned here.
39:59It's a remarkable piece of history that we're very lucky to have on our doorstep.
40:03Well, thank you very, very much.
40:10Also steeped in rich history is the Greens Farm in Thirsk.
40:14Oh, you're beautiful, aren't you?
40:17How they're reaching together.
40:18Where Peter recently de-horned their six-month-old calf, Frosty.
40:23I just popped in today just to see how Frosty's getting on.
40:26And we've got the hens there.
40:28We've got one or two cats strolling about.
40:30So really, everybody wants to be outside.
40:33And it's time Frosty was as well.
40:36Morning.
40:37Hey, stranger.
40:39How are you?
40:40All right.
40:41Frosty's no worse for her all day, is she?
40:44She's fit and raring to go.
40:45She'll be a trouble cause if she's one of the days that likes to be out anywhere.
40:51She'll get out if she could.
40:52Bit like a loner, eh?
40:54Yeah.
40:58Is that right, Steve?
41:00I'll tell you what, the weather has suddenly taken a turn for the better, hasn't it?
41:07It has. Yeah.
41:08You know, the size these are now, love them to go and join their mates, won't they?
41:11Yeah, well, can you give an open hand?
41:13Ah, of course I can.
41:14Shall I be gate, boy?
41:18Come on!
41:19Come on, then.
41:20Come on.
41:21Come on!
41:23We're letting Frosty and the other two younger cows out now to join their mates out here.
41:28Yeah!
41:29Hey!
41:31Hey!
41:31I've been promoted this morning to head gate boy.
41:34Here comes our party now.
41:36Come on!
41:37Yeah!
41:38Yeah!
41:39Hey!
41:40Hey!
41:41Come on!
41:42Come on!
41:44On the ornament!
41:45There you go, children.
41:47Are you having second thoughts, Frosty?
41:50Freedom?
41:51Freedom, Frosty!
41:53Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
41:56That's a wonderful sight, isn't it?
41:58They're out now doing what they do best.
42:01Their heads will be down grazing shortly.
42:03It's a nice sight, isn't it?
42:05It's a lovely sight, Jean, isn't it?
42:06Makes farming all worthwhile, doesn't it?
42:09You're absolutely right, Jean.
42:10It was the right time to take the horns off Frosty, wasn't it?
42:13Just before she came out.
42:14Just right, just right, Peter.
42:15And she's no worse for having it done.
42:18And she won't be able to use them now to catch her mates with them.
42:21No, you did it so well, Peter, it hardly knew.
42:25She didn't even knew, did she?
42:29Well, it's lovely to see that, and I'm glad I did my job well.
42:32Thank you for your helping, Hans, sir.
42:34You're very welcome.
42:35I will give you a bar of chocolate.
42:36That's lovely.
42:37Well, I feel as if I've earned it this morning.
42:40Headgate, boy.
42:41Are you sure?
42:41Nice to see you, Mrs Green.
42:43Thank you very much.
42:44Bye, Pete!
42:45See you, Jean, sir, Steve!
42:48It's always a pleasure to come and see Steve and Jean.
42:51And today, the sun's shining.
42:53Where could you possibly be that makes you feel better
42:56than seeing these cattle turned out, enjoying themselves?
43:00Mr and Mrs Green have gone in now to put their feet up
43:03and all's well in the world.
43:33We'll be here to see you.
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