- 2 weeks ago
Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs - Season 14 Episode 2 - Season 14, Episode 2
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00:03Every dog and cat at Battersea is moving towards the same goal.
00:08Yes, baby!
00:09They're forever home.
00:11Oh, she's straight in there, look at that.
00:13Just move on and drive your destination.
00:19This week, a stunning staffie has a very serious operation.
00:24I hope she's going to be all right.
00:25There's some unexpected news for a springy Spaniel.
00:28It's really quite unusual for a dog of his age.
00:31This is crazy!
00:32And a stressed-out boy puts his nose to good use.
00:36Well done!
00:48Everyone works their socks off in this place.
00:51Good girl!
00:53You're fine!
00:55Hi, Sue!
00:56But perhaps nowhere's busier than intake, which processes around 2,000 dogs a year as they
01:03arrive on site.
01:04Hi, I'm called for Battersea.
01:06You left us a message?
01:07The team here liaise closely with local councils and stray dogs collected by wardens...
01:12Oh, goodness!
01:13We are excited!
01:15...now account for over a third of all intakes.
01:18Good girl!
01:22Today, I'm welcoming three strays with behaviourist, Beth.
01:26Oh, here they are.
01:28First off the van is a young, canny Corso.
01:31Hello, darling!
01:33Oh, my gosh.
01:35Yeah.
01:35Oh, a little wine.
01:36It's absolutely beautiful.
01:38It's okay.
01:39Shall we go inside, darling?
01:41Our first job is to look for a microchip, but over a third of strays are unchipped.
01:47No chip?
01:48No, he doesn't.
01:49Each dog is weighed so the team can monitor their weight loss or gain whilst on site.
01:5423.3.
01:5623.3 it is.
01:58Then it's over to Vet Henry for a vaccination.
02:02Have you had all your vaccines?
02:05Then I get the best job in the world, giving them a name.
02:09I'm going to name him after everybody's favourite vet.
02:12Let's call him Henry.
02:14See you, Henry.
02:16There you go.
02:16Welcome to Battersea.
02:18Now we need to christen our next arrival.
02:21Off we come.
02:21A lovely Jack Russell.
02:24I was thinking Linda.
02:26We can go with Linda.
02:27Why not?
02:28Linda approves.
02:29Right, Linda, you need your vaccination.
02:32Well done, Linda.
02:33That's you done.
02:35And finally, it's time to welcome the last dog on the van.
02:39Hello, darling.
02:40A gorgeous springer spaniel.
02:43Just a little bit nervous, but in a sweet way.
02:46What a lovely dog.
02:47It can be a lot for a stray arriving at a new place.
02:50Right, Alison.
02:51He's a little bit nervous.
02:52I can see that.
02:53Maybe if we step back ever so slightly.
02:55Yeah.
02:55With lots of new sounds, sights and smells.
02:58I can see that tail tucked under, so I can see.
03:00Very nervous.
03:02But there's still a job to do.
03:03So our next challenge is the weigh-in.
03:06Let's get him on the scales.
03:07Oh, I know.
03:08Is it a bit stressy?
03:10Spinning like this can be due to stress.
03:13There it is.
03:1316-9.
03:15And it's important to get him over to the vet team.
03:18He's been found wherever he was found.
03:20Popped into a potentially stressful kennel environment.
03:23And then come here and meet a bunch more strangers
03:24that have been put in the van.
03:25So it's a lot.
03:26It's that, like, adding one thing on top of the other.
03:28The number of stray dogs in the UK was in decline,
03:31but has been steadily rising again since 2021,
03:34with the pandemic and the cost of living crisis amongst the causes.
03:39But he's dealing with this really well, isn't he?
03:42Isn't he sweet?
03:42Yeah, yeah.
03:44I'm already starting to fall for this one.
03:46Can I call him Samuel?
03:48Samuel.
03:48Samuel, yeah.
03:49Distinguished.
03:50But really his full name is Samuel Hammond.
03:53Samuel Hammond.
03:53Yeah.
03:54Does he have a title?
03:55Master.
03:56Master.
03:57Master.
03:57Okay.
03:57Master.
03:58Samuel Hammond.
04:02While some dogs like Samuel arrive as strays,
04:05others are handed in by owners who can no longer look after them.
04:10Staffy Amber is here because serious problems with her ears
04:13have become too difficult to manage.
04:18The vet team have already had to operate on her right ear.
04:21And I want to find out more from Vet Laura.
04:25Oh.
04:26Hi there.
04:27Hi there.
04:28So, this is Amber.
04:29She's a six-year-old Staffy.
04:32She is absolutely gorgeous, isn't she?
04:35So, this is where she's had surgery on one of her ears,
04:38and we're getting her ready for her second surgery.
04:41It's called a TICA.
04:42It stands for Total Ear Canal Ablation.
04:46TICA surgery is a complex operation which involves removing the entire ear canal from a dog's head.
04:53In a little bit of a sad case, she was given in to us by her previous owner.
04:59Right.
04:59She's clearly been looked after.
05:01Yeah.
05:01But her ear problems have just been missed.
05:05Staffies have narrow, muscular ear canals, which can make them hard to check.
05:10So, she's probably had a lifetime of ear infections that just nobody's got on top of.
05:17It can be easy to miss ear infections, and if they aren't controlled, they can cause intense pain and have
05:24lasting effects.
05:25What it's resulted in is that both ear canals are just now damaged beyond repair.
05:31That is really, really sad.
05:34Why did you not do both ears at the same time?
05:37Because you're operating really close to structures in the face, you can do some damage if you don't take your
05:43time and you're not careful.
05:45So, what does that mean for her hearing?
05:48She can still feel vibrations.
05:50Right.
05:50I'd describe it as similar to underwater.
05:53So, muffled hearing.
05:55Following the TICA surgery, specialists understand Amber's experience of the world will sound something like this.
06:02Oh, this is adorable.
06:04Are we friends?
06:05Yes, we can be friends.
06:06And that will continue for the rest of her life.
06:11I can't believe the amount that this dog has been through.
06:14You can have as much as you want, I've told, because you are recovering from an operation.
06:19Yeah.
06:20Having managed one major surgery already, I'm just praying Amber gets through the second one just fine.
06:31The three stray dogs I welcome to sight are settling in well.
06:36Now come on in and sit right down and make yourself at home.
06:42Linda.
06:43Good girl.
06:44And Henry are on the way to finding their forever homes.
06:48Are you going to see it?
06:49Yeah.
06:49As they're wrong.
06:51And I've even managed to start building bonds with Samuel the Spaniel.
06:54Make yourself at home.
06:56Do you want to come and have a cuddle?
06:57Come on then.
06:58And he loves a cuddle as well.
06:59You don't like a cuddle, don't you?
07:01Good boy.
07:01Is that nice, my darling?
07:04Well, you don't seem stressed today.
07:06But there's an update from Behaviourist G.
07:09So, our vets have noticed that he has some issue with his legs.
07:14Tomorrow he's having an x-ray.
07:17OK, so there's a bit of an issue with his walking then.
07:20When he turns around, I can actually see bold action going on at the back of his legs.
07:24We need to find out what that is, don't we?
07:27Yes.
07:27So, vet Vincent has been closely monitoring Samuel's walk.
07:32And if we come back, he's definitely got an unusual way of walking, but he seems to be pretty happy.
07:39And he's then taken to have x-rays.
07:42A few days later, my favourite boy and I are waiting to find out just how serious the situation is.
07:50As soon as we did the x-rays, we were quite surprised to see that he's actually got the legs
07:56of, like, an 18-year-old.
07:58He's got some terrible arthritic damage in both the knees.
08:03And he's so young.
08:04So young, and he's actually walking surprisingly well, considering.
08:09Staff estimates Samuel is only six years old.
08:12But what they can't tell is how long he's been living with this condition.
08:16He's probably broken both ligaments in his knees in the past, and they've just been sort of knocking around on
08:25each other and causing that damage at an accelerated rate.
08:28So he's just been living with this and carrying on?
08:31Exactly. He must have some different types of muscles that he's strengthened.
08:35Dogs often learn to adapt to life with pain, building muscle and scar tissue to compensate for injured parts of
08:42their bodies.
08:43What are we going to have to do about it?
08:46Theoretically, there are surgeries that we can do to stabilise the knees, but what we can't change is what damage
08:53has been done already.
08:55So even if we can do a surgery, it's not always the right thing to do for them.
08:59I'm really praying that there's an alternative option here for poor Samuel.
09:03So we have popped him on some pain relief, and we're just sort of gradually increasing his exercise to strengthen
09:09very specific muscles in the back end.
09:13So Samuel might avoid surgery if he can just build up enough strength to show us he can handle this.
09:20Aw, poor thing.
09:25There are all kinds of solutions when dogs face a challenge.
09:30And over in Kennels, a new arrival is struggling to settle.
09:34I just don't know what to do with myself.
09:38Scout is a three-year-old. Well, we're not sure what he is.
09:43The team suspect he has a bit of gundog in him and a bit of pointer.
09:47Both highly intelligent working breeds.
09:50But one thing's very clear.
09:53This brainy boy is not enjoying kennel life.
09:58New stressy boy, eh?
10:00Behaviourist Ella is trying to keep him amused.
10:03Hello, Ella. How you doing?
10:05Hi, Alison. I'm good.
10:05Tell me about Scout.
10:07He came to us because his previous owners had a change in personal circumstances.
10:11He's quite stressed.
10:13Probably because of, like, his mix of breeds.
10:15And quite often these sorts of dogs do struggle in kennels.
10:19Do they? Just because they're so smart and sometimes we struggle to keep up with the stimulation needed.
10:24So what can we do to keep him busy?
10:27He's caught a whiff of something over there.
10:29Something smells very good.
10:30All he likes is sniffies.
10:31Yeah.
10:33Because Scout is showing signs he's a clever clogs, he should respond well to specific training tasks.
10:39So the first thing we're going to do, search games.
10:42So we make it fun for the dog and they want to keep doing it.
10:45How do you feel about slobbery tennis balls?
10:47Oh, I love it. The best.
10:49He's really slobbery.
10:52Look at him, he's like, he's focused in.
10:54He's ready to go.
10:56And then what, go and hide it?
10:58Yeah.
10:58Search games not only give Scout's brain a workout, they also give him a very clear reward when he finds
11:05his favourite slobber-covered ball.
11:07Where is he?
11:08Find it.
11:09So straight away, he's nose down sniffing.
11:11Yay!
11:12Yay!
11:12Good boy!
11:14Good boy!
11:15Look at the tile whacking.
11:17He was quite methodical in how he searched.
11:20You see, he started right at the beginning here.
11:22He did.
11:22And went all the way along the rows of plants until he found it at the end.
11:25Because sniffing and searching is a deeply ingrained breed trait for Scout, it's not only fun work for him.
11:32Yay!
11:33It can also reduce his heart rate and anxiety.
11:36We know he likes playing the game.
11:38Yeah.
11:38We're going to up it to the next level.
11:40We'll start to pair him to an odour as well.
11:42Really?
11:44Looks like you've got some more work ahead of you, Scout.
11:47Good job, buddy!
11:48Oh, he enjoyed that, didn't he?
11:50And maybe you'll give that poor tennis ball a break.
12:00It's time for Amber to have her second major operation on her ears.
12:06She's spent the morning being prepped for surgery.
12:11And now I'm keen to get an update from Vet Laura.
12:15I'm a little bit nervous because this is a huge operation and it can go wrong.
12:20I'm just going to leave them to it, so I'm going to stand outside today.
12:24How's Amber getting on?
12:25She's getting on okay.
12:27We're about an hour into the procedure so far.
12:30And this is going to take about three to four hours?
12:31Yeah.
12:32We're at the stage where it's quite difficult.
12:34They're near a lot of blood vessels and nerves.
12:36You're removing that infected and chronically damaged ear canal and you're closing the ear up.
12:42So she'll still look like she has two ears, but she won't have the ear canal itself.
12:46I did have a peek through the window and it looked so intricate and there was a lot going on.
12:52The facial nerves are really close to the operating site.
12:55Right.
12:55So there is risk that if you knock one, some animals wake up and they might not blink for a
13:00few hours.
13:01Oh my gosh.
13:01Just because that's one of the nerves that goes to the eye.
13:04Ten to twenty percent of teak operations end with some level of facial paralysis.
13:11I mean this poor doggy.
13:13She's been through so much.
13:14Yeah.
13:14But she's always like so, such a lovely girl.
13:17She's so happy.
13:17Yeah.
13:18But once she's had both of these procedures, we're looking at no ear infections ever again.
13:25We're going to leave them to it.
13:26Let them get on with this because we want Amber to be okay.
13:30I hope she's going to be alright.
13:39Since his x-ray results, lovely Samuel has been on pain medication.
13:44Here we go.
13:45Good boy.
13:45And the team have put him on a physio program, doing extra walks and physical games.
13:52Find it.
13:54Straight in there.
13:55To build up his muscles as much as possible.
13:58Well done baby.
13:59Taking care of business.
14:02It's all great.
14:03Taking care of business.
14:05Working overtime.
14:08He's now off the medication.
14:11So, will he need a very serious operation on those dodgy knees?
14:15Or has his physio work helped enough that he can manage on his own?
14:20Hello darling.
14:21How are you doing?
14:22Good boy.
14:23Hello.
14:24Hello Sophie.
14:25So, it's lovely that we've got the behaviourists and we've got the vet team together.
14:29What are we actually looking out for today?
14:31So, today we're going to see how he runs and walks and see how he does without the pain relief.
14:36The thing is, he seems so happy.
14:38It's like, will we ever know if he's ever in any pain?
14:40We'll see how his gait is and see if there's any kind of limping.
14:44He could potentially like whine or kind of make a little noise.
14:47What I try and look for behaviour wise is if he tries to avoid doing anything.
14:51Does he avoid trying to climb up on things?
14:54That might tell us that there's some sort of pain that's still happening there.
14:57Sure.
14:58Okay.
14:58Fred, over to you.
14:59All right.
15:00Let's do this.
15:00I'm going to do a little circuit.
15:02You ready?
15:02You've got to watch his legs.
15:04Come on Samuel.
15:06I know you can do this.
15:07Come on, come on, come on.
15:08We've got a job to do.
15:09Both Fred and Sophie are looking at every single physical move.
15:14Kind of see how his legs are going.
15:16For the slightest hint of pain.
15:18Sometimes they can kind of bite to the painful limb if it's uncomfortable.
15:22Oh, I really hope Samuel's moving comfortably enough.
15:26So as you can see, he likes to jump up.
15:28He loves to jump up, doesn't he?
15:30Specific exercises don't just build muscle.
15:33They also release endorphins, the body's natural painkillers.
15:39Look at that tail.
15:40All I can see is happiness.
15:42Can't see any dropping of the legs.
15:44No, not at all.
15:45From that, that would be kind of indication for me that he's not in pain,
15:48which is really, really good.
15:49Sophie, that's great news.
15:51You can see he's very active with him jumping up and down.
15:54We try and not let him do it too much,
15:56because that might put a lot of strain on his knees.
15:58But actually the fact that he's wanting to do it
16:00is actually quite a good time for him as well.
16:03Has he just kind of learnt to live with this condition?
16:06Yeah, I'd say so.
16:07I think he's just kind of learnt how to walk on his legs
16:10that is suitable for him.
16:11Yes.
16:11He's just adapted, really.
16:13OK, million-dollar question.
16:15How soon can he go home?
16:17Well, now after today we've done his mobility check,
16:19which we can say is all fine.
16:21He can now go to be rehomed.
16:23Oh, this is great news!
16:26You're going home, babes!
16:28You're going home!
16:31Well done, Samuel.
16:35Another dog hoping to impress the staff is three-year-old Scout,
16:39who's been stressed in kennels.
16:43The team have been pushing this brainy boy even harder.
16:47Are you ready to work? Yeah.
16:48Teaching him to identify very strong smells,
16:52such as the Plantex-strapped catnip.
16:54You can see the catnip inside,
16:56and he should be able to smell that.
16:58The next challenge...
16:59Yes!
17:00Good, that was a nice one.
17:02..is to see if he can find toys using his nose alone.
17:06Yes, it's awesome!
17:08We've got the box of toys here.
17:10Yeah.
17:11So this has all got the scent of catnip on.
17:13Ella's going to place the strong-smelling toy out of sight.
17:17We're going to pretend to place it here.
17:19We're going to pop it over here.
17:21So can Scout sniff his way there?
17:24When you're ready, such.
17:27Sniffing is a dog's primary way to explore.
17:30That tail is wagging,
17:32as they have millions more scent receptors than us humans.
17:36Oh, yeah!
17:38Good boy!
17:39Well done!
17:42Are you ready? What's this?
17:44Although Scout clearly has a knack for this,
17:46at age three, he's already too old to get a job as a sniffer dog.
17:50He's got it! I know he's got it!
17:52Yes! Good boy, Scout!
17:54You got the cover as well?
17:55Good job!
17:57But the work we're doing is perfect to help him.
18:01I'm going in.
18:02Yep, that looks good.
18:04Touch.
18:05Believe it or not,
18:06ten to twenty minutes of nose action like this can be as stimulating as a one-hour walk.
18:13Yeah!
18:15Good boy!
18:16Look out!
18:17So clever!
18:19I don't know about you.
18:20I know I find when I use my brain more than I physically exercise, I'm way more tired.
18:25So true.
18:25So, yeah, hopefully he's going to go back to his kennel and he's going to have a good nap now.
18:28Oh, well done, Ella. High five.
18:30Well done.
18:31Smashed it.
18:31Good on you, Scout.
18:33While you wait for your new home, you deserve a proper rest.
18:38While it's good news for Scout, over in the paddocks, I'm hoping for the same for gorgeous Amber.
18:45How are you?
18:48Good.
18:48We're very good.
18:49Oh, you've got Beth and Vet Laura today.
18:50You're so lucky.
18:52You wouldn't think that she's just been through a massive operation, would you?
18:56She's doing incredibly well.
18:57We're just keeping an eye on the wound at the moment and monitoring her pain, but she's very, very happy.
19:04Amber's hearing has been affected by the operation, but she can still hear muffled sounds.
19:09And behaviourist Beth has been teaching her sign language.
19:13I can do a paw.
19:14Oh, yes.
19:16You're on the paw, paw.
19:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:18She's like that. Give me my food now.
19:19Yeah, yeah.
19:20She likes a snack.
19:21Yes.
19:22Research shows that most dogs respond significantly better to visual rather than verbal commands.
19:29So there's no reason Amber's lack of hearing should hold her back.
19:34So should we start to do a wait?
19:36Teaching Amber a wait will be especially important so her new owners can take her out on walks safely.
19:42We'll sit.
19:43So whatever position they can hold easily, she's going to do a sit or a dog.
19:47And I'll start just like moving her foot.
19:49Good girl.
19:51So that can become bigger, obviously.
19:53Yeah.
19:54To teach a dog with hearing difficulties, hand movements have to be extremely clear and consistent.
20:01Got the food?
20:03Wait.
20:05Wait.
20:07Wait.
20:09Good girl.
20:11Yeah.
20:12That was so good.
20:14She's so genius.
20:16Not only is this wonder dog taking two huge operations in her stride, it looks like she can handle anything.
20:23She's recovered so well, hasn't she?
20:25Once we get over the last few days of her recovery, she should be ready for rehoming.
20:29That's unbelievable.
20:32Yeah.
20:33A little love.
20:34We don't need any more food.
20:36Just love.
20:38Yeah.
20:41And weeks later, love is freely available in North London, where Amber has settled into
20:47her forever home, with long-term Battersea staff member Jenny.
20:51It feels like she's been here for ages.
20:54Because she's just settled so quickly.
20:56She's got most of her hair back, and her ears are really, really good.
21:01The surgery sites are healed perfectly.
21:06And Amber's hearing certainly isn't going to hold her back.
21:09The one I've waited for.
21:11It doesn't seem to be causing her any issues, I don't think.
21:25And over in Hertfordshire, it's a similar tale, a waggly tale that is, for Samuel, who's found a home with
21:35Jack and Kerry.
21:36Yeah.
21:37Good boy.
21:38It feels like we've had him since a puppy.
21:42He has become part of the furniture, as you can tell, with the sofa.
21:47Come on.
21:48Good boy.
21:50And it looks like Samuel's going to be getting exactly the right amount of steps in.
21:55We go on shorter walks, more frequent walks.
21:57Good boy.
21:57Come on.
21:58This is usually what happens after a nice walk.
22:00Isn't it, mate?
22:01Isn't it?
22:02Sorry.
22:03Sorry to disturb you.
22:04Sorry.
22:05We are aware that he may have issues in the future, but that's fine.
22:09If he needs anything, it will be sorted.
22:13We love Samuel.
22:14So, too much.
22:16With our whole hearts.
22:18Good on you, Samuel.
22:19You deserve it.
22:35So, again, I'm going to bow on you.
22:36I'm going to pray, I'm going to pray for you.
22:46And finally, everyone's going to be here.
22:47You're going to pray for me, baby.
22:47And finally.
22:47And finally, I'm going to pray for you today.
22:49You
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