(upbeat music) (birds chirping) - [Christopher] In the heart of glorious North Yorkshire lies the quaint market town of Thirsk.

Here, the world's most famous vet, James Herriot, lived, worked, and wrote his best selling books.

His former surgery and home are now a museum.

But his practice lives on nearby.

(phone ringing) - Good morning, Skeldale Veterinary Center!

- We still feel that we've got that Herriot ethos.

You know, a mixture of different type of animals.

You feel like you're part of the community rather than just being a professional who just does his job and goes home.

That's a beauty.

The miracle of life!

- [Christopher] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire vet.

- [Julian] It's a great place to be.

I don't think I'd want to be working or living anywhere else really.

(laughing) - [Christopher] Julian runs the practice alongside partner and former Herriot trainee Peter Wright.

- [Peter] I want to put me top on.

I'm not quite as well toned as he is.

(all laughing) - [Christopher] Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team.

- [Nurse] I found a bit of chicken under all these feathers.

Hi, toots.

Oh, hello!

- [Christopher] They treat animals of all shapes, (both laughing) sizes, types and temperaments.

- [Julian] Whoa!

(laughs) (birds squawking) - [Christopher] It's definitely not glamorous but it's varied.

- [Peter] This is a fine chap.

- Not the biggest testicles, though.

- [Peter] No, maybe not.

(all laughing) - [Christopher] It's rarely easy.

(dog growls) - [Nurse] Naughty!

- [Christopher] As the Yorkshire vet carries on the Herriot tradition of looking after all creatures great and small.

(cheery music) (birds chirping) (light upbeat music) As summer warms the splendid Yorkshire scenery, Mother Nature breathes new life into the landscape and her creatures.

(duck quacking) It's a busy time for the staff at Skeldale.

(dog barking) (upbeat music) For Julian, it's an early start.

- There's a cow that's quite heavily in calf and the family's worried because it's abdomen suddenly started distending with gas which is something that's called bloat.

It can be really serious, so we always treat this kind of thing fairly urgently.

In some cases you need to relieve the pressure as a matter of great urgency.

- [Christopher] Semi-retired farmer's John and Wendy have a few cows left that are just for breeding.

Heavily pregnant Bluebell is one of them, but she's got a problem with wind.

- [John] Go on.

- She's quite heavily in calf.

It felt like it was turning to start with but then I realized that she was blown up.

- [John] She was just stood, failing away, grazing, content, but she was very tight to the side, blowing up like.

- [Julian] I'll have a word.

Blimey, I see what you mean.

She's pretty blown up, isn't she?

- [John] She was all right this morning.

- [Julian] When is she due to calf?

- Maybe a week I think.

- That's the bulge.

That's all gas in there, like a barrage balloon.

(Bluebell mooing) How'd you manage to get her in the crush with that amount of distention?

It's a big calf so that'll be pressing on her abdomen as well.

I can feel it moving so it's still all right in there.

If you don't get it out they can die, so.

(Bluebell mooing) (thoughtful music) Right, I'll just get my tackle.

I'm going to put a long plastic tube with a sharp point on in through the skin into the rumen.

I'll make a little nick in the skin and then all that gas will come rushing out.

That should solve the problem.

- [Christopher] As Bluebell is prepared for her pressure release valve, there are potential hazards.

- It should be just gas that comes out.

Occasionally you get what is called a frothy bloat.

In which case, you get caught in stinking foam.

But it's tight enough so it's probably gas.

I'm just gonna clean the area and then put a little bit of local anesthetic in to numb the skin.

(Bluebell bellowing) Underneath here is the rumen which is the second stomach, the main bit.

I'm just making a little nick through the skin there.

(Bluebell mooing) So you push it through into the rumen.

It's like a corkscrew on this device that means that you can twist it in and it stays in place.

There we are.

(air hissing) That noise she made was probably just feeling a bit of relief I think as the pressure was taken out.

(air hissing) That's better.

And it's pretty smelly.

- It stinks.

- Can you smell it from there?

(laughs) Pretty terrible smell, isn't it?

Well, I mean that's taken a lot of pressure off.

What I'll do, I'll put some stitches in just to fasten it in.

It'll allow gas to dissipate out and she shouldn't really blow up anymore now.

I think once she's calved then she'll be out of the woods at that point.

(gentle music) She looks a lot better actually, doesn't she?

- [John] Now that do seem to do any hurt on other cattle, though it won't hurt her, no.

- [Julian] Good.

- [Christopher] The next few days will be much more comfortable as Bluebell gets closer to the birth of her calf.

(sheep bleating) (cheerful music) All around Thirsk, this year's lambs are growing and filling the fields and moors.

(sheep bleating) Two orphan lambs, Jupiter and Juno, have been adopted by a local family.

(thoughtful music) Peter Wright normally sees lambs on the farm but today they're coming to him.

- This morning we've got Jupiter coming in and Juno, two pet lambs.

And these are lambs which, for one reason or another, have been reared with a bottle.

And then literally they'll become pets.

- [Christopher] Jupiter's condition is causing chaos in the family.

- [Peter] Lambs are castrated at birth by putting a rubber ring on the scrotum.

Hopefully with two testicles enclosed.

Occasionally, we find that one testicle hasn't descended properly and we're left with a testicle.

- [Christopher] Sorry, Jupiter, it's just gotta go.

- [Anna] Excuse me.

- [Tricia] The reason he's going to be castrated is because he's acting like most males where Juno is getting to an age where she can be mated.

He's also mounting her regularly and not giving her any peace.

It's mostly to do with the fact that he is quite aggressive to other people.

He does run up to them and have a go at them.

Hopefully, that will just reduce his testosterone and get him back to being a normal passive sheep again.

(sheep bleating) - I hope what will happen when he comes home, that he'll calm down and stop butting me all the time.

(sheep bleating) - [Tricia] They're both going in together to the vet's because they've never been separated.

And I think for recovery and stress factor and everything through surgery, I think it's a lot better for them.

(upbeat music) All right.

What have we got here?

Would you know Jupiter?

Jupiter's come for his castration this morning.

- [Nurse] So which is- - This is Jupiter.

- [Nurse] Jupiter?

- [Tricia] Yeah, he's developing horns.

If they can stay together apart from the op.

- Yeah, yeah.

- That'd be brilliant.

- That's grand.

- Thank you.

- Brilliant.

- I can hear them bleating through there.

So they're a bit of separation anxiety going on for us as well as the sheep, I think.

- I just want him to come back safe and sound.

(sheep bleating) (announcer chattering) - [Christopher] Coming up, Peter gets an emergency call.

- Hello, Ruth!

- [Christopher] As Bluebell finally goes into labor.

- Disaster.

A cesarean.

- Oh no!

- I've got to go and help Ruth do a Caesar at the Peckitt's.

- [Christopher] Julian operates on a rabbit with a complicated leg injury.

- It's always very fiddly operating down in this part of the leg.

Especially in smaller animals that we deal with and rabbits, you know, the bones are pretty tiny down there.

(sheep bleating) - [Peter] There's our testicle there.

- [Christopher] And Jupiter the lamb's going for the chop.

(sheep bleating) (gentle music) While the vale of York and her creatures bask in summer sunshine, the Yorkshire Vet got a full waiting room.

- We've got Ethyl the Rabbit.

She's got an injured leg.

Her heartbeat's racing a lot so I'm just hoping that she's gonna be okay.

So I love her to bits.

She's been a fun family pet for seven years so I'm just hoping that she's going to be okay.

- [Christopher] Pet rabbits have an average lifespan of eight to 12 years.

- [Julian] Hello, sorry to keep you.

- [Christopher] And at seven, Ethyl's an old lady.

- [Julian] Are you all right, Ethyl?

- She's got a poor leg and she's not hopping properly.

And when she's out, I've had her in the run, she's just kind of dragging it with her.

- [Julian] Do you want to just pop her down just to see how she, on the floor maybe to see how she moves.

- [Owner] She just kind of drags it along.

- [Julian] And you don't know of any accident that's happened?

- [Owner] No.

(dramatic music) - All right, let's have a look at you.

I just wonder whether this might be broken down here.

Feels fairly stable, but it's painful there and it moves out to one side.

I don't want to push it too much but I just wonder if we should maybe get an x-ray of that and see what's happened.

It's painful there isn't it, look when I move it like that.

Right, putting you back in your box for now.

Are you all right to leave her with us for, well, for about an hour maybe?

- Yeah, sure.

- And then we'll do it after surgery and then I'll give you a ring, let you know what we've got.

- That's absolutely fine, thank you.

See you later.

- Right then, Ethyl, you stay in there.

We'll fold you in.

- Thanks very much.

- Okay?

- Bye.

- Cheerio!

Speak to you later on.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] A rabbit's leg has many minute bones and structures.

An x-ray should reveal what's wrong with Ethyl.

- I think this rabbit's luxated its calcaneocuboid joint.

This is the equivalent of our heel bone.

The tendon down the back of the leg attaches to it.

It needs to be attached to the lower part of the leg.

And there's a big gap there.

These two bones should be connected together very firmly by ligaments.

Ethyl's disrupted these ligaments.

So we need to repair it.

(gentle music) (birds chirping) (upbeat music) - [Peter] That's it, that's great.

- [Christopher] Peter's prepping Jupiter, the pet lamb for a life-changing operation.

(sheep bleating) - Now there's our testicle there.

It has grown a lot in the last two or three weeks.

(sheep bleat) His friend isn't very happy because he's been left.

I mean, these two have grown up together so far.

So she's shouting for her mate.

He'll be back shortly.

A little bit of local anesthetic now into the testicle itself.

That's great.

We'll leave that a few minutes now to take effect.

(sheep bleating) - [Christopher] The op's about to change him from a testosterone-fueled butt head to a creature, well, as gentle as a lamb.

- [Peter] Just down because he might just feel some sort of sensation when I go through the skin.

- [Christopher] As the op goes on, Jupiter becomes a bit more sheepish.

(sheep bleating) - [Peter] All right, Jupiter.

What would happen normally, he would just go off as a fat lamb.

He would go, a bloke curious as Jupiter would go for lamb chops.

But him with the home that he's got, Jupiter is more of a pet.

And he'll have a life of luxury.

We'll just pop this in your bum, Jupiter.

And then we're done.

Right, back to bed, my old friend.

- [Christopher] Now that Jupiter has had the chop, he needs a bit of recovery time before being reunited with Juno.

- Jupiter will get over it very quickly.

His testosterone level will drop so he won't want to butt his owner and he won't want to get amorous with the ladies in the flock.

- [Woman] Hello darling!

Come on, sweetheart.

- [Christopher] From now on their friendship's purely platonic.

- All right.

- It's all right, now.

That's fine.

- [Christopher] Skeldale's patients are sitting tight (dog barking) and waiting to be seen.

Nurse Zoe is preparing for the next visitor.

And there's a new arrival, a stray cat.

- [Zoe] Are you going to have some babies soon?

(cat meows) No, not you!

You're not having any.

- [Christopher] The staff have put the word out and Sylvia has taken a call.

- Abigail Wilson on the phone, thinks it might be hers.

- It's all right, Sylvie.

What information has she given about it?

- She said it's male and entire.

- [Zoe] No, it's not, it's female and very pregnant.

- Oh.

(Zoe laughs) - The black and white one?

- Yes.

- Hello!

I'm sorry, it's female and it's pregnant.

So it's definitely not your cat.

(both laughing) Sorry.

(laugh) - [Zoe] It don't think you can get any more opposite than that.

"It's male and entire!"

No, it's female and pregnant.

(dog scratching) (cat meows) (dog barking) (pleasant music) (people chattering) - [Christopher] Julian is preparing Ethyl for surgery.

- We'll put a pin down and into this bone and probably this one as well if we can.

And that'll basically fuse the bones together and they need to be rigid to allow the leg to move like that.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Rabbit injuries like this actually heal quite well.

Surprisingly so given the forces that they subject their legs to with the jumping.

It's always a very fiddly operating down in this part of the leg.

Especially in the smaller animals that we deal with and rabbits, you know, the bones are pretty tiny down there.

That's the last of the calcaneus there.

That gap on the x-rays, that bit in there.

So that bone there needs to be miles away from where it is now.

All right, can you help us remove those, they're very thin pins.

This is the pin going in now.

This is actually going up the calcaneus first of all.

And out the top.

So far so good.

It's fiddly.

(suspenseful music) Aha, excellent!

That's perfect.

I've just managed to get the two bones that have become separated, I've managed to get them lined up.

And more importantly I've managed to get the pin in the right place.

The joint there, that's mostly together.

We'll get an x-ray midway through.

It's all right!

So you can see that it's quite a big pin.

It's going into both the bones that we need.

So that's pretty good.

All right, if you come and help us now with those choppers.

Thanks.

Excellent, that's really good.

It's actually went better than I was expecting.

And it's now nice and stable and properly aligned.

So assuming we get over the rest of the anesthetic and then the bones heal together okay I think they'll be every chance that Ethyl'll be able to use this leg with some degree of function.

And more importantly without any discomfort.

Because it was obviously very painful before.

[Christopher] Julian seizes the opportunity to give Ethyl a quick manicure.

- It's always easy to clip a rabbit's nails when they're asleep.

One of the components of the anesthetic is ketamine which does have a hallucinogenic kind of effect.

So we're not completely sure what a rabbit's thinking about when they're waking up from his anesthetics.

So hopefully when you'll wake up you'll be feeling good.

(bright music) - [Christopher] Peter has been called out to vaccinate one of the practice's more unusual creatures.

- [Peter] I wasn't expecting to see a lady of this size, though.

(bird chattering) - [Owner] Better be talking about the pig.

(both laughing) Tell you what, Peter, she weighs some.

- Yeah.

Oh gosh.

Right.

And I've got to ask, house trained, is she obviously- - Completely.

- Is she?

- Dog flap.

In and out.

- Really?

I've got to say, she looks very happy with life.

And what does Eva think.

- Not a lot, she runs away from her.

- All right, okay.

Now be very brave.

For the sookie, be very brave.

(pig squeals) All done!

We're all done!

The nasty brute.

- [Bird] Hello!

- Are you very impressed by what I'm saying?

I don't think so.

I don't think that's anything to do with me, is it?

- Hello!

- Come on!

Oh, what is- - [Peter] And she manages to go out the cat flap.

- [Owner] Clever girl.

- [Peter] She's very happy, very content.

(pig moaning) (Peter laughs) (bright playful music) (bright music) Hello, how are you doing?

Are you all right?

- [Christopher] It's the end of a hectic week for Peter and Julian.

But they're already making plans for the week ahead.

- [Receptionist] I'll ring her again now.

- Think we can do it for 11 o'clock.

- [Receptionist] I'll have a look, love.

Right.

- Yeah.

That's if you can get him back.

(soothing music) - [Christopher] As the sun sets and dusk falls one of Skeldale's vets is on call.

And tonight, it's Julian's turn.

- [Julian] When you're working a weekend, Friday nights always the worst because you'll be driving through towns and normal people are sitting in the pub.

Chatting with their mates and kind of beginning to wind down after the week.

And it's always the worst time I think, Friday night.

(engine puttering) - [Christopher] Before Julian managed to reach home, he's heading back to an emergency.

(bright music) - [Julian] Got a message from Humphrey's owner Mr. Stapleton Humphrey's a little pug who has been suffering from ongoing problems really with his breathing and repeated chest infections.

But he's got worse today and it sounds quite serious.

He's really struggling.

So he's coming down fairly urgently from what I gather, so he should be here any minute I think.

(doorbell ringing) What's that?

Oh, right.

Anyway, we'll see what he's like when he gets in.

Oh, Humphrey, that's not very nice, is it?

- [Mr. Stapleton] Afraid he's not all right.

He's in a right state with himself.

- [Julian] Humphrey, what's up mate?

Has he got a lot worse today than he has been?

- He's started two hours ago and it's been absolutely relentless.

He can't breathe, he can't eat.

If you do give him anything to eat it comes straight back.

- All right.

His chest sounds fairly terrible, doesn't it.

Is he on antibiotics as well?

- [Owner] Yes.

He went off again a bit yesterday and it just got worse again.

- [Mr. Stapleton] But this is a lot worse than he was last time.

- [Julian] All right.

I think what we need to do I think we need to do a barium swallow.

I wonder whether he might have a megaesophagus.

- [Mr. Stapleton] What does that mean?

- [Man] Can't swallow properly.

- Well, there's something stopping it from going down.

'Cause whatever you give him, including medication, just comes straight back.

- What can happen is instead of that all going down into the stomach some of it comes back up and gets inhaled into his lungs.

- Yeah.

- And it causes like with old people who can't swallow, aspiration pneumonia.

Particularly if he's regurgitating food and if he's struggling to eat.

- [Mr. Stapleton] I mean he has lost a lot of weight.

- [Julian] I'll just, I haven't seen him in a long time.

- [Mr. Stapleton] He's tiny compared to how he used to be.

- He looks it, doesn't he, yeah.

Right, well we'll do that now I think if that's all right?

- Yeah, that's fine.

- We'll need to somehow get him to swallow some barium.

Are you all right doing it?

Do you want to just have a seat for five minutes or so?

- Yeah.

- Yep.

- And I'll get some x-rays done and then I'll give you a shout when we've done that.

Hey, you're all right?

He says, "I'm gonna sneeze on you this time."

(gentle music) You're a good boy, aren't you?

(bright music) - [Christopher] Still to come.

- Good boy, Humphrey.

Told you it was nicer than it looks.

- [Christopher] Things get messy with our adorable, sickly pooch.

- Humphrey, you've been sick everywhere!

Stay there.

All in a days work, this.

- [Ruth] I've had a feel inside.

It's too tight, it's not gonna come so it's gonna have to come out the side door, I'm afraid.

- [Christopher] And Bluebell's labor becomes a matter of life or death.

- (panting) We might get it out.

We might do.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] At Skeldale, Humphrey the pug is having a barium meal prepared by vet Julian.

He needs to x-ray his stomach to see why he isn't keeping anything down.

- This is barium sulfate which is a powder that shows up on a x-ray.

We're going to mix it with his food.

Humphrey looks like he's interested in eating it.

And it allows us to see the outline of his esophagus as it's going in.

And then we'll take an x-ray quite soon.

(Humphrey sniffs) Good boy, Humphrey.

Told you it was nicer than it looks.

Looks like butterscotch Angel Delight.

But it doesn't taste like butterscotch Angel now look at that, yum.

It's going to be messy, but there we are.

Good boy, that's good, innit it.

Oh, we used to eat Angel Delight everyday at university in our house.

It was the favorite.

You're going for this, Humphrey.

Good boy.

When dogs have megaesophagus it makes it quite difficult for them to swallow.

So you've got to feed them with the food elevated off the ground.

I'm suspicious this is what the problem is with Humphrey.

Very unusual eating style.

Right.

Now don't be sick!

This is just what I had in mind when I went home this evening.

Half past seven, still haven't had any tea.

All right.

(laughs) You're hungry, shush.

(gentle music) Humphrey, you've been sick everywhere!

Stay there.

All in a day's work, this.

He'll soon clean up.

But it's important that he gets the barium sulfate through his throat to get the x-rays done.

I'm making it worse, I'm spreading it everywhere.

The barium that we've just given him in this rather messy way will show up on the x-ray and that will highlight if there's any problem with the position of his esophagus.

All right, Humphrey, you've got to be good now, okay?

You've got to lie down.

Humphrey, no, lie still!

Humphrey, lie still.

No, stay there, stay there!

Stay there!

- It was yesterday he started (huffing) like that, and it was like that.

That's coming back, I know it is.

Straight away I knew it was and he wouldn't eat from his bowl.

Well, for him not to eat from his bowl is just like unheard of.

Because he's the first and if anybody gets in the way, he's like (growling).

- [Julian] Here we are.

Not the best x-ray in the world.

In fact, a bad x-ray.

He wasn't keen on staying still but then swallowed it and then regurgitated most of it.

So I know we can give him barium mixed in a more of a liquified fashion by a tube.

Which I'm gonna try and get him to swallow.

This will be more messy I'm afraid.

I'm sorry, Humph, this isn't gonna be very nice but it's gonna be good for you.

Swallow, good boy.

Oh, well done, Humphrey.

Told you it was gonna be messy.

All we need is one syringe full.

(upbeat music) Excellent.

Yeah.

All over my trousers.

All right, head up, head up, head up.

We'll keep his head up and that will go down his esophagus hopefully.

Excuse for a cuddle.

Messy dog.

If I hold you up like that you shouldn't regurgitate anything.

Good boy.

Good boy, (indistinct).

(machine whirring) Whee!

We have an x-ray and we have a diagnosis.

Humphrey, this is your lungs.

Do you want to stay there, Humphrey.

Just for a minute.

- Well, do you?

- Exactly yeah.

That's him laying on his side.

And the esophagus comes in here.

This white stuff here is where the barium's going.

The outline of the esophagus is wide here.

Much wider than it should be.

- Right.

- [Julian] And that's very wide.

And that should be- (Humphrey vomiting) - [Mr. Stapleton] Oh dear.

- [All] Don't eat it!

- The main problem's the regurgitating food.

And then also going down into his lungs and causing pneumonia.

You also get these holes here where there are little patches of ulceration on his esophagus.

So you get the same kind of thing as with indigestion or heartburn.

That kind of esophagitis because fluid from the stomach also spills out into there.

- [Mr. Stapleton] Straight.

- Yeah.

This is a fairly serious problem.

But it's manageable with various medications and modifications with the way that he's fed.

Then we should be able to get him almost back to normal.

- [Mr. Stapleton] So the poor little pug is is a mess with himself.

- That's a good way of summing it up, yeah.

- He's just not a happy chappie.

- [Julian] Horrible stuff.

- [Christopher] For Humphrey, it's a diet of antibiotics and plain food for a while.

- [Julian] He's cute isn't he?

- [Mr. Stapleton] He's such a lovely dog.

- Yeah, once we've got this sorted he'll be back to how he was.

- Yeah, I don't think you'll have any problems with him because I think he'll be asleep.

That's if you're not gonna throw up on me.

- Anyway.

- Well thanks again.

- [Julian] Casual look over his shoulder as he walks out the door.

- [Christopher] For Julian, the evening is gone.

And he needs to leave the practice tidy for the next visitor.

(bright music) (upbeat music) (rooster crowing) A new day and a new challenge.

And for Peter a very slippery customer.

(both laughing) - Come on.

- You little beggar.

We see a few ferrets.

I think it's a northern thing more so than a southern thing.

Some of us have ferrets, some of us have whippets, some of us have flat caps and some of us have pigeons.

Some love them all.

- One more, Dex, one more.

- We do our own thing up in the north and I certainly wouldn't swap it for the south.

(laughs) Right.

- Come on then, Ethyl.

- [Christopher] And Dexter's age old enemy, Ethyl the rabbit, should be hopping around again after her surgery.

- Fold that up.

Don't want Ethyl jumping out of the box and doing her other leg, all right.

She's made a spectacular recovery from- - [Owner] Fabulous.

- [Julian] Everything that happened yesterday.

She's doing really well.

Try not to let her do too much running around.

- [Owner] Yeah.

- There's about fiver or six stitches in there.

It's a lot to go through for any rabbit but especially one that's this age.

- Yeah, that's pretty, thank you all so much.

- Okay, no problem.

You'll stay in there, don't jump out again.

- Don't jump out.

- All right.

- Thank you ever so much.

- Okay.

- Thanks.

- Thanks and see you next week.

- Bye, you too.

With rabbits when they break a leg you kind of assume that the worst is gonna happen.

So it's just really good to have her coming home.

- Yeah, Ethyl was a great character and really nice to treat her and it's nice to see that she's doing so well at this early stage.

- Bye!

- Bye!

(playful music) - [Christopher] Earlier we met testosterone-loaded tot Jupiter bouncing off Tricia's walls.

He went under the knife with Peter.

(suspenseful music) (sheep bleating) (upbeat music) Now, he's safely back at home with Thomas and Anna.

But is he behaving?

- [Tricia] Jupiter has now stopped butting Thomas especially.

Thomas seemed to get the full brunt of it all.

She's excited, it's nice for them to go for a walk.

- He used to just butt me all the time.

And that's good that he doesn't do that anymore so I can cuddle him.

(ducks quacking) - [Anna] I prefer spending time with Jupiter now that he doesn't butt anymore.

- Since his operation he's a lot calmer.

He's not being aggressive anymore.

He's just full of life, full of character, little sheep.

He's the epitome of a naughty sheep.

- [Anna] I like taking them for walks because it's always very eventful and you don't know what's gonna happen.

- He's still very cheeky but that doesn't matter that much.

- He's now not interested in mounting Juno.

Everything has gone back to normal which is lovely.

So yeah, no more aggression which is fantastic.

Happy animals, happy people.

(upbeat music) (horse neighing) (sheep bleating) Come on.

(announcer chattering) - [Christopher] On a rare afternoon out with vet Sarah at the Hamilton Horse Show, Peter's still on call.

- [Peter] Some of these horse boxes are magnificent, eh?

- My first flat wasn't that big.

(Peter laughs) - You look at those ponies, though.

How would you pick them out.

Would you want to be a judge in there?

- No.

Look how hard she's concentrating, bless her.

(laughs) - [Peter] Here we are, Mr. Binks.

- [Christopher] The vets are very much part of the community and it's not long before they meet old friends.

- [Sarah] They're getting so big!

That last time I saw them they weren't all that big.

(cellphone rings) - Hello, Lou.

- [Sarah] Mr. Popular you see.

- [Peter] All right then, Ruth.

Okay, bye bye.

- Oh, my.

- What's wrong then?

- Disaster.

- [Sarah] Oh no, what's happened?

- Caesarian.

- [Sarah] Oh no!

- I've got to go in and help Ruth do a Caesar at the Peckitt's.

I'm going to have to go.

Okay, well I'll go and do some work.

You can enjoy yourself, Sarah.

- I will.

I will.

I won't enjoy myself too much.

(gentle music) - There you are out enjoying yourself just having a leisurely walk around, a very pleasant show.

And you get called by the vet on duty to say that she's got a cesarean and it's better to have two people there to deliver the calf.

- [Christopher] A week ago, Julian was called to Bluebell, a cow in calf.

She was suffering from bloat, so Julian fitted a device to relieve the pressure and intense pain.

(air hissing) (Bluebell mooing) (bright music) - [Wendy] She's just been calving a bit too long this morning I needed to give her help.

So I called the vet over.

- [Christopher] Bluebell's been in labor for eight hours.

And Vet Ruth Cowie has decided she needs a cesarean.

- Initially when I had a feel inside the legs were to feel quite small but once we've had a tug with the jack on everything's engaged within the pelvis.

It's too tight, it's not gonna come so it's gonna have to come out the side door I'm afraid.

- [Peter] Is it like an elephant?

- [Wendy] She's trying to get it out but it won't come out.

- [Peter] Can I have somewhere where I can strip off because I'll have to take all this gear off.

- [Christopher] First, Bluebell needs sedating.

(Bluebell mooing) - [John] She's wild.

- [Peter] Let's put you here as well.

Put you in.

- [John] Hush hush.

Hush.

- [Wendy] Can we line up.

- [Ruth] Did you see that?

- [Peter] Yeah.

We'll just give her a chance to settle down.

- [Wendy] She's still gassing out of it, Peter.

- Yeah, it's not ideal.

Surprised there's any room for any gas in there, Wendy.

(Bluebell mooing) (bright upbeat music) Oh!

Are you all right?

Hang on, hang on.

- The local burns when it goes in.

I've had local anesthetic injected into my leg myself and it is, oh, it's hell.

I can almost excuse some bad behavior when we're doing local anesthetic.

- Careful, Ruth.

I think it should be okay.

You!

She can kick higher than Lionel Blair.

I don't know whether I would have stood like this.

I think I'd have wanted to kick as well.

(Bluebell mooing) Oh!

- [John] Are you all right?

- [Peter] Where has she got you, Ruth?

- [Ruth] Time to sift through all the gobbins that's in front of it and grab onto the calf's hock.

It's fatty inside so I'm just trying to get everything away from it.

- [Christopher] Peter knows from experience that time is critical.

- [Peter] Let's have a go.

(gentle music) It's a big one.

We might get it out, we might do.

- [Christopher] Pressure is now on for a safe delivery.

(upbeat music) - [Julian] I'm off work this afternoon.

The weather was quite decent and it's school holiday, so Ann and our kids, we've come out mountain biking.

We've got quite a lot of work pressure in terms of the hours that we work and particularly on call.

So when I do get a chance to be off work it's just nice to get out and do something that completely, you know, gets you away from the kind of pressures that we're up against on a daily basis.

My wife's a vet and she works long hours as well.

We do have a fair bit of veterinary chat, I suppose, over the breakfast table which perhaps wouldn't be everybody's idea of fun.

But the trick really is to make the most of every opportunity that you get.

- Julian has got an enormous amount of energy.

His job, his sport.

Everything he does, he does with an enormous amount of enthusiasm.

The free time is mostly taken up at sporting events.

It has to be said.

Julian is heavily into his triathlons.

And the children are both very sporty.

So we do spend most weekends either standing by a hockey field or standing by a lake or in a hot sweltering swimming pool.

- We're really lucky to be in such a beautiful area as this where within a matter of 15 minutes we can be you know right out on the edge of the moors.

It's just a really nice way to get away from it all.

And when the scenery is as beautiful as this and the facilities are great, it's wonderful, really, on a day like today.

(gentle music) (thoughtful music) - [Christopher] At the Pickett's farm, vets Peter and Ruth are struggling to save both Bluebell and her unborn calf.

(Peter groan) - [Peter] Lift on this one, Chris.

- [Christopher] Everyone mucks in, including the Pickett's son.

- [Peter] Is that better?

(Bluebell mooing) (Peter grunting) - [Ruth] Oh!

That's (indistinct).

What a backside!

- [Peter] It's coming!

- [Ruth] Bloody hell, that wasn't coming out the back end!

- [Peter] Whoa.

It's almost.

- [Ruth] Oh, you're going!

Good!

- Come on.

- Go!

(gentle music) - [Peter] Come on!

Shall I work on him a bit, Ruth?

Are you all right there?

- [Ruth] Yeah.

- [Peter] Massive calf.

There's no way that he could have been born naturally.

Good bovine calf is ready for market next week!

(chuckles) (cow mooing) - [Wendy] Wow, look at the devil!

- You know with people with misbehaving animals, it's so much a kick you know.

- [John] Yeah.

(Peter chuckles) - [Peter] Well done, love.

- [Wendy] We'd have never have got this calf before.

- [Peter] Whoa.

- Would we?

- An elephant wouldn't have calved that!

I wouldn't have been here if it might have been a bit smaller.

- [John] You're right there, Peter.

I don't think what a calf it will be.

- [Peter] No.

- We're very lucky, Peter.

- [Peter] Yeah, she wasn't lost cause, was she lassies, was she?

- [John] No.

- [Peter] It was a case of going first and got into me working clothes.

I would have come straight in, I thought, well if I come straight in, no trousers on.

- [Ruth] (laughs) What?

- No!

- Bloody hell!

- I shouldn't have said that.

that's too much information, innit it.

- Are you not sweating like a pig?

- Well I am a little warm.

(Ruth laughing) (people chattering) 'Cause if you want glamour you don't join the veterinary profession, do you?

(laughing) - Look, she's quiet now that she- - [Peter] More relaxed than she was an hour ago, innit she?

- [John] Yeah surely.

- [Peter] Well you look a bit tired here now, lass.

Ruth worked very efficiently.

Nearly there, John, now.

(bright music) Lovely!

This calf, because of it's body size, isn't able to stand just at the moment.

By tomorrow, he'll be on his feet.

The important thing is get some colostrum in to start with.

That's a healthy suck.

When the cows let off, as well, she'll lick him and that helps to stimulate them as well.

Then they'll bond together and with a bit of luck by morning, he'll be sucking himself.

Tell you what, John, you haven't wasted much of that have you?

- [John] No.

- (laughing) He's had a good drink now.

Yeah, that's lovely.

Hey, hey, hey.

(laughing) Hey, hey!

(laughs) That's it!

- (groans) My god, look at him!

He's grown since we took him out of there!

(bright music) - You want rid of us, don't you?

You do!

You want rid of us, don't you do you, eh?

Yes, you don't like me at all.

I think when we get out the way I think she'll settle down and she'll pay attention to her calf then.

The motherly maternal instinct, she'll bring him around.

She's treading really carefully around him.

That's it, what a lovely sight.

Very rewarding just watching that.

It's fantastic.

(Bluebell mooing) (gentle music) - [Christopher] Next time on "The Yorkshire Vet."

- The catching of the goat is often the biggest challenge in these kind of jobs.

- [Christopher] Julian is called out to a local petting farm to stop an injured animal suffering.

- Oh dear.

He's a belligerent goat, isn't he.

- Horses will always find something to injure themselves on.

- [Christopher] For a horse with a leg wound, the future could be bleak.

- [Peter] The problem with these wounds is you don't know cutting into what structures are affected.

- [Julian] Looked to me as if people were coming from miles away.

- [Christopher] And the vets enjoy a rare day out at the Yorkshire Show.

- Oh, I would yes, please!

Well we both would, wouldn't we, I think?

- Yeah!

- Are you a gin drinker?

- [Peter] Yeah, I love gin.

- [Julian] That is very nice, isn't it?

(cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (no audio)