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The.Yorkshire.Vet.S22E06
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00:01Across Yorkshire's Moors and Dales, the world's most famous vets set the benchmark for animal care.
00:08And James Herriot's legacy lives on.
00:13His former trainee, Peter Wright...
00:16All my life, I've enjoyed doing this.
00:18...has been a Yorkshire vet for over 40 years.
00:22There we are. How are you doing, my old mate?
00:25Peter's old partner, Julian Norton...
00:28Not quite the same as operated in theatre, is it?
00:30I know.
00:31Now has two practices.
00:33I don't want to let him go.
00:35One of them in the town where Herriot worked, surrounded by the North Yorkshire landscape he loved.
00:41Everything that you can see all across there is Yorkshire.
00:44And in the foothills of the Pennines...
00:47That's a Hollywood smile.
00:48...a new generation of town and country vets also uphold the Herriot ethos.
00:54I'm just going to have a feel a bit deeper inside to see what we've got.
00:56The teams are united...
00:59Oh!
01:00...and always determined to hit their target.
01:03Yay!
01:05Yes!
01:06...has there help animals of all shapes...
01:09It's trying to grow an extra pair of legs.
01:11...sizes...
01:12Hello, God, yes.
01:13...types...
01:14Catch!
01:15...and temperaments.
01:17No, don't be nasty.
01:18It's definitely not glamorous.
01:21Cut that mucus out.
01:22...but it's varied.
01:23So we've actually found gold.
01:25Literally found gold.
01:26It's rarely easy.
01:27You've won Mr. Wet T-shirt.
01:29...but they continue the Herriot tradition.
01:32It's alive.
01:33Treating all creatures...
01:34It's moving.
01:35I can't believe it.
01:37...great...
01:39You're all right, little bird.
01:40...and small.
01:41How are we happening?
01:42Yay!
01:42Yay!
01:54While Yorkshire's countryside feels vast and free...
01:59...it's subtly shaped by man-made boundaries.
02:07Walls of stone crafted with care.
02:12Fences wandering across meadows.
02:17Full of gentle purpose.
02:21While there is safe passage for those who need it...
02:24...these lines are drawn to guide.
02:27To protect.
02:33But Lady Luck...
02:36...is able to find her way into any field.
02:41Not far from the North Yorkshire coast...
02:44...one-year-old pony Sparkles...
02:47...has given her owner Keris a nasty shock.
02:50I found her in the field with this...
02:53...and I think she might have run into the fence.
02:58Heading straight over...
03:00...Peter wishes he could cross the walls, fences and edges.
03:05I don't know any more details...
03:07...other than the cut is quite nasty...
03:08...and she would like me there as soon as possible.
03:12And in these situations...
03:14...we often say as veterinary surgeons...
03:16...we just need a magic carpet really...
03:18...to whisk you off there as soon as you can possibly get there.
03:20So I just hope we can do something...
03:23...and I get to see this pony.
03:26I am a little bit worried.
03:28Erm, yeah.
03:29We'll have to just wait and see what happens.
03:31See how she goes.
03:32Here it is.
03:40Hello.
03:40Hello, are you alright?
03:41Bye.
03:43Do you know...
03:44...horses and ponies will always try...
03:45...and do the maximum amount of damage...
03:47...to themselves as they possibly can.
03:48Yep.
03:49Tell me about it.
03:52Right, let's have a look.
03:53See what we can do.
03:55How old is she?
03:57A year old.
03:57Good girl.
04:03Flaps are not good.
04:04No.
04:05If you just stitch that flap up again...
04:08It's just going to pop off again, isn't it?
04:09It's going to break down.
04:11I'm just working out...
04:13...how to...
04:13...we're going to put her back together again.
04:16Are you clipping an iron since I am?
04:19Erm...
04:19I think what I'm going to do...
04:21...I'm going to sedate her.
04:22Yep.
04:23But I'd like to be...
04:24...organised first.
04:25Yep.
04:25So I could do with a bucket of...
04:27...nice clean warm water.
04:29Right.
04:29If that's possible.
04:30Shall we work here?
04:31I can move these lot...
04:32...out of the way...
04:33...if that helps.
04:35It would.
04:36Yep.
04:37Very good.
04:39Although Sparkles need space from her four-legged friends...
04:43Where's your friends left you?
04:44Huh?
04:45...she does have some extra support.
04:48Keris' daughter Isla has just come home from school.
04:52Is she yours?
04:53Yeah.
04:53Are you going to pay the bill?
04:55No.
04:55I don't have any money.
04:57Well, that's a good a raise, doesn't it?
05:00That's it.
05:01Right now.
05:02Let's have a quick listen before we start...
05:04...and just check her heart.
05:05Okay.
05:07That's lovely.
05:09Right.
05:11Now we'll see if we can get this into her.
05:14Just cover her right this side...
05:16...and then she doesn't see me faffing about.
05:18All right.
05:19That's it.
05:19That's Grant.
05:20Good girl.
05:21That's a good girl.
05:22That's it now.
05:23Good girl.
05:24Right, we're in now.
05:25We're in.
05:25Good girl, you're all right.
05:27Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.
05:30There's a good girl.
05:31Good girl.
05:31Whoa.
05:32Whoa.
05:34What's over?
05:35He's dead.
05:35He's dead.
05:36Right, she should go a bit sleepy now.
05:37All been well.
05:39My concern is the shape of the wound.
05:42It's in a pretty difficult place...
05:44...because it's just in the...
05:45...in the crook of the elbow, if you like...
05:48...to the lower portion of the flap.
05:49It's not going to have a blood supply coming down.
05:52So there's a lot of ifs and buts at the moment...
05:54...and we'll get going and see what we can do.
06:05Over in Huddersfield, Jane has rostered the practice...
06:09...with her rescue staffie Jess, who's suddenly become unwell.
06:13She's six and a half.
06:15We got her when she was nine months old...
06:17...from someone that were abusing her.
06:20She's a really good dog.
06:22So I'm quite anxious.
06:24It's quite urgent at the moment.
06:26Rohin is seeing Jess as a priority case.
06:29You're a good girl.
06:31You're a lovely dog, aren't you?
06:32Right.
06:34What sort of signs have you noticed?
06:36Because she's in season, I did notice...
06:38...she was losing more blood than normal.
06:40Right.
06:41And it were a different colour.
06:42Right.
06:42She was drinking excessive amounts of water...
06:45OK.
06:45...and also urinating a lot.
06:48OK.
06:48So I brought her in to see you.
06:52So her...
06:52...over there, it's really swollen.
06:55It's dripping a little bit of blood.
06:57You can see it's all down her legs...
06:58...and it's just...
06:59...it's a lot more blood that's been passed...
07:02...than would typically happen with her...
07:03...just being in season normally.
07:05I think when we get that collection of signs...
07:07...it just raises a few concerns...
07:10...that it can quite commonly be linked to something...
07:12...called pyometra, meaning infection of the uterus.
07:14It causes them to drink a lot.
07:15They become really lethargic.
07:17But if there is an infection in the uterus...
07:19...then the best thing we can do...
07:21...is actually do a surgery to remove it.
07:23OK.
07:24What would be good is if we can do a little scan...
07:26...and that can just check exactly what's going on.
07:28But if there is a pyometra then...
07:30...then time can be of the essence.
07:32They can become quite poorly if we wait a long time...
07:34...with this sort of thing.
07:35And I realise it's a lot for you to take in all at once...
07:37...all this information.
07:39But whatever we're going to do...
07:40...it's because it's in her best interest, isn't it?
07:43Right, I know you want to stay with mum...
07:45...but I'll look after her and I'll update you...
07:47...as soon as we've got more information, OK?
07:49No worries.
07:50OK, thank you.
07:51Come on then, Jess.
07:52So this is one of the first steps in diagnosing pyometra...
07:56...and diagnosing infection of the uterus.
07:58We need to do a scan and see what everything looks like there.
08:02You can see parts of the uterus where it looks almost cystic.
08:06It just looks sort of a bit thickened and irregular.
08:09That's not your normal appearance of a uterus.
08:14So I've just taken a little slide of that fluid.
08:17We're going to quickly analyse that on the microscope...
08:19...and then from that point we've got to make a decision...
08:22...because it's one you really don't want to get wrong.
08:27We're seeing here it's absolutely full of white blood cells...
08:32...and you can even see bacteria as well.
08:34So it means even though visually it doesn't look like pus...
08:38...that is actually full of infection.
08:41And from what we know now from both the picture there...
08:44...and what we've seen on the scan...
08:45...is that Jess does have pyometra.
08:47So it means that she needs an operation to remove the uterus.
08:51Oh, so nice.
08:52There is always a risk when you do this kind of surgery...
08:55...of bleeding or spreading infection through the abdomen.
08:58But in this case we need to treat it as an emergency.
09:01There's a good girl.
09:04And I say, right, we'll go through.
09:10Coming up...
09:11I'm just going to try and alter the shape of this wool somewhat now.
09:14Peter's feeling the pressure because of a worried young pony owner.
09:18It's not nice, especially knowing that she's going to come home...
09:21...and see the situation that's going on.
09:23And Julian faces a fleece issue with a young sheep.
09:27So what's the problem then?
09:28Rhubarb is losing his wool.
09:31He's going bald.
09:32Yes.
09:33Can he get to the bottom of the premature balding?
09:36He wouldn't be able to survive a winter without his wool.
09:46A mile from the North Yorkshire coast...
09:49Yeah, I think it's working already.
09:51Yeah.
09:52Yeah, that's definitely kicked in.
09:53Peter's sedated Keris and Isla May's pony sparkles ahead of field surgery.
09:59After she cut her leg badly on a fence.
10:02Oh, God.
10:04I'm going to put some local anaesthetic in to numb it all.
10:06Yeah.
10:07I've never had one skin itself like this.
10:10I know that.
10:11But...
10:12Yeah, I think it is the worst one we've had.
10:15Definitely.
10:16Good girl.
10:18Fortunately, the structures underneath here are all intact.
10:23I'm just going to try and alter the shape of this wool somewhat now.
10:27So I'm actually going to take this flap off here.
10:32As you see, the skin, there's no sensation.
10:34There's no nerve supply to it.
10:37There's no blood supply to it.
10:39So it's pretty useless really.
10:42Keris' dad, Sid, is also a concerned granddad.
10:45Isla, were you worried when you heard about sparkles?
10:49Yeah.
10:49Did you want to come straight home and mend her?
10:53Yeah.
10:55It's not nice, especially knowing that she's going to come home
10:58and kind of see the situation that's going on.
11:02But she deals with stuff really well, I think,
11:04because she's always been brought up around these kind of things.
11:07You can see we've altered the shape of the wound
11:09to make it into a linear type shape.
11:13And that gives us a reasonable chance for this to heal.
11:16It's going quite well, really.
11:18I'm quite pleased with how it's coming together.
11:21Yeah.
11:22And budding vet Isla May seems pleased too.
11:26Why do you want to be a vet?
11:27Because I want to help animals.
11:29Do you know?
11:30Yeah.
11:31That's a very good answer.
11:32And I think you'd be very good at it,
11:34because I think you're very clever.
11:36They've got me a vet doctor thing.
11:39Have you?
11:40I have it too, like the dog and the cat,
11:43but then the dog set it.
11:44Well, if you'd had a horse one,
11:46you wouldn't have needed me today, would you?
11:47Yeah.
11:52Well, we've got our stitches in there.
11:54I'm just going to tie that up a little.
11:57It doesn't look pretty at the moment,
11:59but it gives us our best chance
12:01of this wound staying together.
12:03It's come together nice.
12:05You'll call those big, ugly sutures.
12:07But, you know, the main thing is we get it to hold.
12:11Yeah.
12:13Good girl.
12:14Can we give Sparkle a big dose to start with
12:17for the first couple of days?
12:18So one a day for two days,
12:19and then cut down to half a sashi a day after that.
12:22Very good.
12:23Thank you very much.
12:25Before Peter leaves,
12:26animal lover Isla has someone else for him to meet.
12:30I'll tell you what,
12:31I bet you won't be doing that in a few months' time,
12:34will you?
12:35I don't know.
12:36What do you know? I'll do.
12:37He's going to get really big.
12:39I bet you you won't be.
12:41She's lovely.
12:43Nice to see you.
12:44See you later.
12:47Yeah, it could go one of two ways.
12:50She can either pull it back open again within a day,
12:52or she can be all right.
12:57I'm just hoping that with rest,
12:59keeping everything crossed,
13:00that ultimately we'll do okay.
13:03And I'm sure Isla May, Curse's daughter,
13:06will be in touch with her veterinary skills,
13:08and she'll soon let me know if she's not happy.
13:11She certainly is a force to be reckoned with.
13:16I'll do it.
13:17I'll do it.
13:18I'll do it.
13:18I'll do it.
13:20I'll do it.
13:21At the practice in Huddersfield...
13:23How's it going, Leah?
13:24Good.
13:24Rohin and Leah are about to remove Jess the Staffie's badly infected uterus.
13:29Has she been stable?
13:30She's been absolutely fine.
13:32You happy if I started her then?
13:32I'm ready to go.
13:34Yep.
13:38Oh, wow.
13:39It is big.
13:40Look at that.
13:42It's probably double the size the uterus normally would be,
13:46and no doubt within that it's going to be infected.
13:50I wasn't expecting it to be this large.
13:53So this is a crucial bit.
13:54Tying off the ovaries is where we need to be very meticulous,
13:57so otherwise it can bleed and it can't go very wrong.
14:00It can be life-threatening if it goes wrong.
14:02I think this is one of the reasons why we're really pushed
14:04to have them neutered at a younger age
14:06so it doesn't develop into the pyometra.
14:09We've seen some bad ones.
14:11I think with the size of that uterus,
14:14it certainly wasn't going to get better just with medical treatment
14:17and I think if we'd waited over the weekend,
14:19she could have become really poorly.
14:23You can see the size of that artery there,
14:25which is pulsing away.
14:26I can feel it pulsing under my finger.
14:28So that's where we really need to make sure it doesn't bleed.
14:31We've got a little minor bleed up here.
14:33Every time anything's bleeding, we've got to tie it off.
14:36It kind of makes you cringe
14:37when you think that you're relying on a tiny bit of suture
14:40to stop all that bleeding,
14:42but it is the case that if it's on there properly,
14:45it will do its job and she'll be fine.
14:47Not to overdramatise it,
14:49but it's a bit like diffusing a bomb or something.
14:51There, I got it.
14:54The whole uterus is now lying there,
14:57so doing a final few ligatures here to stop the bleeding
15:01and then I'm going to cut this out.
15:04There it is.
15:06It's a huge, horrible, nasty, infected uterus,
15:09so she'll be happy that's gone.
15:11Right, that's all good.
15:13We'll just get it closed up now.
15:16So we're going to sew it together
15:17and keep all that effective material away.
15:22Right, we're all stitched up now,
15:24so we can get it woken up and so far so good, isn't it, Leah?
15:27It is.
15:28That is a huge uterus.
15:29It's got to be at least two to three times the size.
15:32It normally would be in a dog of a weight,
15:33so I'm sure that was causing a lot of discomfort.
15:37That's gone pretty well so far
15:39and I'm happy in this case we've made the right call
15:41because with that cystic infected uterus,
15:43the longer we waited, it was a bit of a ticking time bomb.
15:46So now it's out, she should start to feel better.
15:49We can't quite fully relax just yet.
15:51We need to be really careful in the next few days
15:53to make sure she bounces back well.
15:55Come on, sweetheart.
15:57But it's so far so good.
15:58She's just the sweetest dog and the nicest temperament.
16:01And as it stands, I think we're doing okay.
16:10Over in Wetherby, they're talking art.
16:14Wait, have you seen my tutorial before?
16:16No.
16:17Frank's body art.
16:18It's quite a good dance.
16:20It's a jumping fox.
16:21Fox?
16:22A jumping fox.
16:23That took, like, three hours.
16:25What?
16:26But Lucy and Julian have nothing to declare.
16:29That looks like my varicose veins, Frank.
16:32I don't know what I'd get.
16:35It's thinking of one image that sums up everything.
16:38Yeah.
16:38That you're not going to change your mind over.
16:42Spam.
16:43I could get a tiny spam on my arm or something.
16:46You don't get tired of it.
16:46You don't get tired of a kind of a spang in your arm or something.
16:48Oh, no, I don't get tired of that.
16:49Yourself.
16:51My dad's got one on his bum.
16:53On his bum?
16:53A Rolling Stones tongue.
16:56Really?
16:56What made him do that?
16:57How do you know this?
16:58Well, if he does a loony, you can see a tongue.
17:00Oh, God.
17:01Someone did one, like, a tribute to the nan,
17:04and it said angle instead of angel on it.
17:06And I was just like...
17:08And I went to school with her and I thought,
17:10do you know that says angle and not angel?
17:13Didn't have a clue.
17:14Gran, you are an absolute angle.
17:16Gran, you are such an angle.
17:18Now, that's pretty obtuse.
17:27When Julian's sheep-loving client Grace got a tattoo...
17:31It's nearly there.
17:32..she had no doubts over the subject.
17:34Merlin was my first sheep.
17:38I love him beyond description.
17:41He's just such a special character.
17:44He has changed my life.
17:48Sheepy sheepies!
17:50Merlin and his pals are therapy sheep.
17:53Right, Merlin, look.
17:55This is you.
17:56Because I love you so much.
17:58For people of all ages.
18:00Is everybody excited?
18:02Yeah!
18:03Including visiting school children.
18:05Feels like clouds.
18:07They're really nuts.
18:09Come on, Merlin!
18:10Let me on the go!
18:11Let me!
18:14And Grace recently welcomed a new addition to her flock.
18:19So this is Rhubarb.
18:21I absolutely love this little lamb.
18:23He's so cute.
18:24And he follows me around like a dog.
18:28Rhubarb might be as nice as pie,
18:30but Grace has noticed something unusual happening to his fleece.
18:34Rhubarb is losing his wool.
18:37He's got two patches of missing wool on his neck.
18:40I'm most worried about him ending up completely with no wool whatsoever.
18:44And he wouldn't be able to survive a winter without his wool.
18:48And then if he spreads whatever it is to the others
18:51and then everybody goes bald, that could be a problem.
18:54So that's why we have asked for Julian to come
18:59and hopefully find out what's wrong with you.
19:04Morning, Grace.
19:06How are you doing? All right?
19:07Yes.
19:08Who is this? A new one?
19:09This is Rhubarb. Isn't he cute?
19:11Hello, Rhubarb. Are you all right?
19:14So what's the problem then?
19:15He's going bald.
19:16Yes.
19:17He used to have loads of really big curls,
19:20like this gorgeous, really cute round curl there.
19:22Yeah.
19:23So all that's gone.
19:24Yesterday I noticed that there.
19:26Is he rubbing it on, like, fence posts or...?
19:29Oh, no.
19:29He doesn't...
19:30He's not itching himself anywhere.
19:33Right, let's have kind of a look.
19:35So he's not quite as tame as the other ones by the looks of it.
19:39Can you keep him a bit like that and then he's still?
19:42Because I won't be able to examine him if he wants to stay still.
19:45Stay there.
19:47Come on, stand still.
19:50I've got him.
19:52This is interesting, isn't it?
19:54Well, that's one word for it.
19:59Coming up...
20:00It's rather nice, really.
20:03You've got the old flying pass.
20:05Peter turns wildlife rescue volunteer.
20:08Can you manage from there?
20:09Mind the step.
20:11Of course.
20:13Plus two vets...
20:14OK.
20:15...and one poorly tortoise.
20:17I'm just cleaning up the side of his neck now, which is where I'm going to make my incision to
20:21get that stomach tube in.
20:22No, no, no, no, no. Keep that mouth open.
20:32Near Leeds.
20:33And where's the other bit, did he say?
20:35On the other side.
20:36Julian's trying to work out why Grace's new therapy sheep rhubarb is losing wool.
20:41I think it's something called Dermatophilus congelensis.
20:46What does that mean?
20:47Well, that's its fancy name, but the simple name is lumpy wool.
20:52Oh, OK.
20:54It's a type of dermatitis that sheep can get on the top part of the body, and it's to do
21:00with...
21:00If wetness gets into the fleece and down to the skin...
21:04Right.
21:04..it causes an infection, and firstly it makes the wool go lumpy, as the name suggests,
21:10and then it makes it fall out because the follicles are damaged.
21:14You see some sheep that are outside, and when it's been raining...
21:17Could it end up losing a lot of wool?
21:20It can spread, and the clumps get bigger, and they can spread all around.
21:24Is it something that the others could catch?
21:26It can be infectious, but because they're covered in wool, it doesn't usually go from one to another.
21:32It responds to antibiotics, and it responds to bathing it with iodine.
21:38OK.
21:39Just to rub on.
21:40OK.
21:41Are you all right just to hold on to him just now?
21:44I'm more worried than I've was before, because I'm worrying, will it get worse,
21:49and then will it go to all the others, and will then everybody end up being covered in wool?
21:54Old batches, oh dear. Poor rhubarb.
21:57You're going to have to stand still.
22:00Right.
22:00This is a long-nacting antibiotic, and it's very good against this particular bacteria,
22:06but the bathing is also helpful.
22:08It can get quite messy, so...
22:12Oh, God!
22:13Come to here.
22:15Do you want me to do it?
22:16Yes.
22:17You've obviously got a better knack than me.
22:20Come on, sheep.
22:21All right.
22:22So just give it a good rub like that.
22:25Should have put my waterproof trousers on, because it's going to mess up my new jeans.
22:29It looks like he's been at the false tan, and it's not very even.
22:34Oh, rhubarb, he looks so silly.
22:37Whoops.
22:38I think that'll do.
22:39You can let him go, Grace, if you fancy now.
22:44It can be quite nasty, it can be quite extensive, it can be quite painful to touch,
22:48but luckily this does respond very well to treatment,
22:50so what I've done today should set rhubarb on the right path to recovery.
22:55Very good.
22:56I'll leave you to your zen sheep.
22:58Cheerio.
22:59Bye.
22:59Nice to see you again. Bye.
23:00Bye, sheep.
23:02I'm very stressed, because I'm a bit of a worrier, especially when it comes to my sheep.
23:14Over in Huddersfield...
23:16Come on, Jess.
23:17Jane and her son, Dan, have come to the practice with Jess the Staffie.
23:21Good girl.
23:21..a month after Rohin performed life-saving surgery
23:25to remove her infected uterus.
23:27I realised how serious it was and that we could lose her.
23:31I felt a little bit ignorant to the situation myself, actually,
23:33so it's a bit of an eye-opener, really.
23:37I'm hoping Rohin says everything's fine.
23:39She looks like she's back to normal, but I'm not too sure.
23:42We'll get an expert opinion on that.
23:45There was a lot for her to recover from there.
23:47There is a bit of a nervous weight.
23:49There is a risk you can get infection even after the procedure itself.
23:52And, obviously, a risk that the wound doesn't heal very nicely.
23:55So, I'm really hoping today we haven't got any of those negative things.
24:01Hi, guys. How are you?
24:02Would you like to come through with Jess?
24:03OK.
24:04Not again.
24:05Aw.
24:06Come on.
24:07Bless her.
24:10Hey, Jess.
24:12Did she see him quite poorly for the first few days afterwards?
24:15Yeah, she was quite lethargic, really.
24:18Right.
24:18Yeah.
24:19Yeah, you can understand it.
24:20It's a big surgery to go through, isn't it?
24:22Yeah.
24:22Looking at her now, is she just back to her normal self again?
24:24Yeah, she is, yeah.
24:24Completely back to normal.
24:26She's normal.
24:27Yeah.
24:27Yeah.
24:30I think that's healed remarkably fast.
24:32I mean, that scar, amazingly, it's been a few weeks,
24:35but it's already starting to fade.
24:36You can't feel any abnormal swellings or signs of infection or anything there.
24:40Yeah.
24:41It should mean, from this point, you know, she wants to run around and play
24:44and everything she normally does, there should be nothing holding her back
24:46from being able to do that.
24:47When she can have just a normal lifespan after this, if we didn't intervene,
24:51I think she could have been in real trouble, couldn't she?
24:53Yeah, she could, yeah.
24:53So, she should be cured forever.
24:57Well, thank you.
24:58No, thank you.
24:59Yeah.
24:59Thanks for saving me, dog.
25:00No, she's happy.
25:02Right.
25:02All the best, guys, anyway.
25:04Thank you very much.
25:06No worries.
25:07Bye.
25:07See you later.
25:07Bye.
25:15A lover of all creatures, tame and wild.
25:19After helping a pony not far from the North Yorkshire coast,
25:24Peter's paying a visit to the nearby Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary.
25:28Hello, sweetheart.
25:30Oh, you messy pup.
25:31Yeah.
25:32Which, for founder Alex, has been a labour of love for 16 years.
25:37That's the grass.
25:38Oh, yes.
25:40We get here around 3,000 wildlife casualties every year.
25:44About 70% of those are birds.
25:46Pigeons, birds of prey, seabirds, which we get a lot of on the coastline.
25:50So, it's quite a large centre now with nearly 200 volunteers that help run it.
25:56There's one thing I do know about wildlife centres generally.
25:59They could always do an extra pair of hands.
26:02Always had a bit of a passion for trying to rehabilitate birds.
26:06And if I can make a difference to any animal, particularly a bird here today,
26:12then it'll be an afternoon well spent.
26:16Hello.
26:17Hello there.
26:18Alex.
26:18Hi.
26:18Nice to see you.
26:19Nice to meet you.
26:20You must be working about 24 hours a day.
26:22I do work a lot.
26:23Yeah.
26:24But that's kind of how a wildlife rescue centre of this size is going to be.
26:29Of course, rehabilitating is not an easy job.
26:31No.
26:32It's a very time-consuming job, I know that.
26:34Yes.
26:35Every release that you manage to get through out successfully just makes it all worthwhile.
26:39Getting them well so they can survive back in the wild, which is where they need to be.
26:44Yeah.
26:44So, this is our main rehabilitation room.
26:48These little chaps look hungry to me. They sound hungry.
26:50So, these guys are the last of the house martins we've got for the season.
26:56We want some food.
26:56So, these guys should be releasable in about a week's time.
27:00How do you know when they're ready?
27:01Once they're eating and pecking on their own.
27:04And it's also the length of the feathers.
27:07So, there's a certain length of feathers that will allow them to fly.
27:11All right, lovely.
27:12So, we've got a bit of work outside now and we're going to head outside to see our owls.
27:16Owls?
27:17Owls, yep.
27:18Lead on.
27:18All right, lovely.
27:19Lead on.
27:22So, this is the tawny flight.
27:24We try to keep it quite natural and wild for them, which just sort of helps in their rehabilitation journey.
27:31But, with wildness comes quite a bit of maintenance.
27:36So, we just need to clear the pathway here.
27:40Yeah.
27:40It's rather nice, really.
27:42Can you have the owls flying past?
27:46Yeah, absolutely.
27:47And that's what's cheering when you're telling me, you know, that these are going to be released soon.
27:51Oh, yeah.
27:51I must have been on the occasions that I have been able to release them.
27:57Good luck.
27:58When you see them fly off, it just makes your heart leap of joy, doesn't it?
28:02Oh!
28:04You never realised, but I was your friend.
28:08And Peter might be in for another high.
28:10We're going to take a pair of swans for release down at the River Estes.
28:14Really?
28:15Who's the pair of swans?
28:15Yes.
28:16Yeah, a male and a female.
28:17They're ready for release.
28:18Wow.
28:19Well, that's something else to look forward to.
28:21Okay.
28:21Great, lovely.
28:23So, they both came here because they ended up straying into another pair's territory.
28:30And both of them got very badly beaten up by the resident pair of swans.
28:36So, they've come here for just a couple of weeks, just to sort of rest and recover.
28:40But they're ready to go now.
28:41Which is a case of first catch your patient.
28:43It is.
28:44Well, I'm going to watch them.
28:45Okay.
28:53Whoa, that was very impressive.
28:56Here we go, darling.
28:57Here we are.
28:59All right.
29:03Right.
29:04So, one net.
29:05Yeah.
29:06So, we've got one arms there.
29:08Yeah.
29:08And then arm around both wings there.
29:11Yeah.
29:13There we go, guys.
29:16We'll be back out onto the river soon.
29:18Lovely.
29:25Here we are.
29:26Well, this looks a nice place.
29:28I took mine there.
29:29All right.
29:30So, this one's really keen to get out now.
29:31Yeah, I can see that.
29:35A couple of other swans have joined us to see what we're doing.
29:38Oh, are you?
29:38Yeah.
29:38We've got a couple of well wishes.
29:40Come on, sweetheart.
29:40You as well.
29:42Sitting back down.
29:43Sitting back down.
29:43Mind the step.
29:45There we go.
29:46There we are.
29:47Lovely.
29:47Oh, lovely.
29:49So, do you see the head bobbing that they're doing there?
29:52That's a good thing.
29:53Okay.
29:53So, they're sort of accepting these two swans here.
29:56Oh, excellent.
29:57It's almost like a welcoming party.
29:58Yeah.
30:01That's a lovely sight.
30:02A lovely sight.
30:04Good way to end the day.
30:05It is.
30:06As they go off into the sunset.
30:08Not quite army now, but as good as.
30:20At the animal hospital in Huddersfield, Tim and Jill are waiting with their beloved rescue
30:27tortoise, Taut, who recently has really slowed down.
30:33He goes for long periods of not eating, and he's not really passing anything.
30:40So, we know that he's poorly.
30:43We're absolutely worried about him.
30:46We're really soft, and we absolutely love him.
30:48It's just, yeah, it's very hard.
30:51He was such a character, and in the last six months really, he stopped being that character.
30:58He used to walk a mile, mile and a half a day.
31:01He walked up to the pub with us.
31:03He was so active.
31:04Trying to keep tabs on him was almost impossible.
31:07With refreshments at his local, the last thing on Taut's mind these days.
31:12We'll just take you through the back, and we'll have a look at him for you.
31:16Matt has a plan.
31:19We'll see you soon.
31:20Okay.
31:21We're concerned there might be a partial blockage in there.
31:24We're concerned there might be a liver issue.
31:26But ultimately, we need to get him eating, and we need to get his metabolism going again.
31:30So, we're fitting a stomach tube today, so that we can feed him through that.
31:36For the fiddly job, Matt has some help from David.
31:40Right, Dave.
31:41This is the plan.
31:43Who'll be paid in tortoise tips.
31:46We have got a family tortoise called Speedy, that we believe is about 60 or 70 years old.
31:51And it's been passed through the family.
31:54Nice and sedated.
31:56He says.
31:57He says.
31:58And I do want to make sure that I'm up-to-date with my tortoise skills,
32:02because you never know when Speedy's going to need it.
32:04I'm just cleaning up the side of his neck now,
32:06which is where I'm going to make my incision to get that stomach tube in.
32:09Right then, David.
32:10If you can just hold him, and just hold him here like that.
32:15What we have to do is do what we call a retrograde positioning of the stomach tube.
32:19I'm making a incision down onto the forceps here, and I put the stomach tube in,
32:23feed it through with our forceps, double it back on itself and push it down into the stomach.
32:27So it's just keeping him nice and still for this initial bit.
32:33No, you little...
32:34No, no, no, no, no, keep that mouth open.
32:36Don't, don't you dare, don't you dare, don't you dare.
32:39Put that tube in place there, let's just carry him through to x-ray.
32:43And just put him on his front.
32:47Matt's just positioning taut for the x-ray now,
32:49and that's obviously just going to check the position of the tube,
32:52so we make sure we're putting the food in the right spot.
32:54Right, let's go then.
32:55Let's go.
32:59All right, I'm in the right spot there,
33:01so we're just going to get that stitched in now.
33:05Right, taut, let's get this stitched in.
33:07Slow and steady, and generally, you win the race.
33:13Right, Dave, can I help you secure this in place?
33:15So we need to tape out the way so he doesn't get his legs there.
33:18Yeah, all is well, and we're quite nicely attached there,
33:21so taut is done.
33:23Thanks very much for showing me how to do that.
33:27No worries.
33:27I appreciate it, I hope taut does well.
33:29Me too.
33:29Thank you for your assistance.
33:30He says thank you even though it doesn't show his appreciation.
33:33Maybe when he wakes up a little bit.
33:35I'll leave you to it.
33:36Thank you very much, David.
33:37Get his reversal, get him to bed.
33:38Cheers, Matt.
33:38Come on, taut.
33:40Through that tube, he's going to be receiving his medication,
33:43which is very similar to the human laxative.
33:45That helps to flush any obstructions that are there,
33:48but it also provides support for the liver,
33:49so we've got two birds in one stone there.
33:52So as soon as his weight starts to go back up
33:54and he's eating normally,
33:55hopefully we can take the tube out.
34:00Still to come...
34:01Oh, hey!
34:03...sheep therapy...
34:04It's so calming just touching them, isn't it?
34:06...and sheep pottery.
34:07Hello.
34:08We're making pottery versions of you.
34:12...and his sparkles shining.
34:14I'm interested to see how things are going, really,
34:16because it was quite a nasty wound, that.
34:17It was, yeah.
34:18It was sparkles, eh?
34:21Yeah.
34:23Yeah.
34:23Yeah.
34:23Yeah.
34:24Yeah.
34:37Yeah.
34:40Yeah.
34:42You were going to wander around Cat Ward, eh, Chief?
34:44It was outside, walking around.
34:46Oh, excellent.
34:46Came in.
34:47So a month ago, Matt fitted a tube to treat and feed him.
34:52So, how's he been?
34:54Um, after he pulled his feeding tube out, he did start to go to the toilet a lot.
34:59He's been very active.
35:00Yeah.
35:01So, walking almost like normal.
35:03Oh, up and down the road.
35:04Getting up, but he's not eating a lot.
35:06No.
35:06So, that's our only concern at the moment.
35:09So, let's see what we're like on the weight front top.
35:12Come here.
35:13Kindly.
35:13It still feels okay.
35:16Now, it's saying he's 685, which is obviously quite a big drop from 735.
35:23Would you expect this as a natural aftermath of that type of environment, of that type of symptoms?
35:30Oh, definitely, yeah.
35:31It's a slow process.
35:33I'll get him.
35:34I'll get him.
35:34You're going back in.
35:35There we go.
35:36Here we go.
35:37Excellent.
35:38Excellent stuff.
35:39Right.
35:40We'll get there with him.
35:41We'll get there.
35:41Look at that.
35:42You couldn't get any type of environment.
35:43You wouldn't even know the tortoise in there.
35:45You're joking.
35:47All right.
35:48Thanks a lot, guys.
35:49Cheers.
35:49We'll see you soon.
35:50Bye.
35:50Bye.
35:50Bye.
35:52I'm really pleased with how Tort's looking.
35:54He's lost a little bit of weight, but in every other aspect, he's a healthy, normal tortoise
35:58and doing really quite well.
36:00I'd like to see his weight remain the same, so we're just going to keep an eye on that over
36:03the
36:03next few weeks, and hopefully he'll start to eat a bit more.
36:08I think he's been a bit dehydrated, and I think that's what's caused part of the impaction
36:12that he's got.
36:13So I've also told Tim and Jill to bathe him.
36:17Come on, Tort.
36:18And they've got a powder to put in, which is like bathing in an energy drink, so he can
36:22drink it, and hopefully that'll also help clear things up.
36:27And a few weeks later, the plan is working, with Tort loving bath time.
36:35We bath him every day now.
36:37Since we've done this, his weight's gone up from 650 to 780 in the space of about eight
36:44weeks.
36:44He really likes just having the water of his shell.
36:49And we only use it for pastry very infrequently.
36:52So, no, this is his own brush.
36:55It's not used for any human consumption.
36:57But they do have some sensitivity in the shell.
37:01They do.
37:01And he likes it.
37:03And I see it like an idiot doing it for him every day.
37:07We were convinced that the poor thing was going to die.
37:09But now, he really is back to his best.
37:14There he is, poking head out.
37:16Having a good time.
37:19He knows what he wants, and he goes for it.
37:22He controls the house.
37:24He wanders the house all day to go where he wants.
37:27His appetite is, at the moment, bigger than it's ever been.
37:31His main eating time is when we sit down for dinner at about seven o'clock.
37:36He comes out and eats a huge amount.
37:39And the fact that he's eating so much just lets us know that he is really, really healthy.
37:44Thanks to Matt.
37:46He's recovered.
37:47He's back.
37:48He's brilliant.
38:00Near Leeds.
38:01Come on, sheepies, sheepies.
38:04Rhubarb, the latest addition to Grace's flock, has finished his treatment for lumpy wool.
38:12Lumps of wool were coming out of his body.
38:14So, Julian gave him an antibiotic injection, and I had to use iodine every day to clean all of the
38:21nasty bits.
38:22So, poor rhubarb, he was covered in yellow, and I had yellow hands.
38:26But, fortunately, he's doing really well, and the wool's grown back lovely, and no more has dropped out.
38:33So, I'm very relieved.
38:35So, a fully recovered rhubarb can start learning the ropes as a therapy sheep.
38:40Welcome to my crazy field.
38:43In Grace's latest group session.
38:45So, today, everybody, what we're going to do is get in tune with your inner child and just have some
38:50fun.
38:51We're going to sit down, greet the sheep to start with.
38:54Right, Merlin, you're going to come across and do your Merlin face.
38:58Oh, hello.
38:59Oh, hi.
39:00So, this is Merlin.
39:02Hello, you.
39:07Is this normal that you stand here like this?
39:10No.
39:11Merlin is magic.
39:12Why is he happy to do this?
39:13Well, he is the most amazing therapy sheep ever.
39:18So, Rhubarb is the little boy who's hiding under the table.
39:22He's only a baby.
39:23He's in training to become a therapy sheep.
39:25Come on, Rhubarb.
39:27Come on.
39:27You come and say hello to everybody.
39:29This is Rhubarb.
39:30Oh, hi.
39:32So, this is really good for Rhubarb to get used to meeting people.
39:36Such a lovely colouring, haven't you? A lovely face.
39:41So, is it triggering your inner child to feel these sheep?
39:46Do you feel more childish and free and fun?
39:49Yes.
39:50Surprisingly calm.
39:51It's so calming just touching them, isn't it?
39:56Everybody's met the sheep, so we're now ready for the next stage.
39:59Right, you can...
40:00Yep, I'll go set up.
40:02And although things aren't quite so relaxing when preparing for a pottery class...
40:07Get, no!
40:10It's like having kids, isn't it?
40:11Rhubarb is an enthusiastic model.
40:14Hello.
40:15Look.
40:16We're making pottery versions of you.
40:22And there's no sign of any lumpy wool.
40:25That must be so satisfying.
40:27Very, very satisfying.
40:30It was really fun to make a rhubarb.
40:33So, it's definitely a memory of rhubarb for the rest of my life.
40:37He's a very special little sheep.
40:46Near the North Yorkshire coast...
40:48OK.
40:50Peter's back to see Keris' ponies Sparkles, who suffered a nasty leg injury on a fence a month ago.
40:58Those sort of wounds, they don't heal very well at all due to a lack of blood supply.
41:03The Sushas were under a bit of tension, and I'm just hoping that she's gone on OK.
41:09With horses and ponies, you can never tell.
41:15How Keris?
41:16Hello, are you all right?
41:17Yeah, I'm interested to see how things are going, really, because it was quite a nasty wound, that.
41:20It was, yeah.
41:21But it sparkles, eh?
41:23It's doing really good, actually.
41:25Good.
41:26Much to my surprise.
41:29As that scab starts to settle down and drop off, I'll just put a little bit of oil on there.
41:35Baby oil.
41:36Yeah.
41:36Just to keep it supple.
41:38Yeah.
41:38And that'll encourage further healing as the scab drops off.
41:42There's going to be virtually no scarring there at all, ultimately, which is great.
41:45So, we aren't going to spoil Sparkles Beauty, and I was just wondering what Isla May thought of it.
41:54Well, Isla, do you think it's a good job or a bad job?
41:58A good job.
41:59Oh, thank you.
42:00Well, coming from you, that means a lot.
42:02Do you know why?
42:03Why?
42:03Because I know you're a woman that speaks her mind.
42:05You know, if you thought it was poor, you'd soon say, well, you haven't done a very good job of
42:09that, wouldn't you?
42:10Yeah, you would definitely do.
42:11I know you would.
42:12Are we going to take her out?
42:13Yeah.
42:13Do you think she'll be happier outside?
42:15Yeah.
42:15Yeah.
42:21Good girl.
42:25Good girl.
42:25Come on, off you go.
42:26Good girl.
42:29She's off.
42:30She's off.
42:34Lovely to see her out there, isn't it?
42:36It is.
42:36She's thinking about enjoying herself.
42:38How there should be.
42:39Yeah.
42:39How there should be.
42:41Thank you, Peter.
42:43Well, you're very welcome, Myla, and I hope you keep out of mischief now and you stop her hurting herself
42:49any more.
42:49Okay.
42:50And then I won't have to come then, will I?
42:52Yeah.
42:52Lovely.
42:52Lovely.
42:53Well, good luck with her.
42:55Keep her in good condition, weren't you?
42:57I thought you would.
42:58Nice to see you.
42:59Nice to see you again.
43:00All right, I guess we have to come again.
43:00I'm fine.
43:01I'm fine.
43:05I'll go.
43:06Go, go, go.
43:07Go, go, go.
43:17Go, go, go, go.
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