(no audio) (no audio) (bright music) - [Christopher] In the heart of glorious North Yorkshire lies the quaint market town of Thirsk.

(bright music continues) 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.

(telephone rings) - Good morning, Skeldale Veterinary Centre.

- The practice is the original Herriot practice and that brings with it a certain feeling of responsibility that we're carrying on that Herriot tradition, treating animals of all types and sizes.

(gate banging) - Oh.

- [Christopher] Julian Norton is The Yorkshire Vet.

- Aha.

Coming to work in the morning we're never quite sure what's gonna happen and it's a great place to work.

I think it's the best job in the world.

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

- There's no better site anywhere.

I've been doing it for 35 years now and I'll still never get bored of it.

It's what it's all about really.

- [Christopher] Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team.

- She's a fast one.

- [Christopher] They treat animals of all shapes.

- Ah, you've got it, well done.

- [Christopher] Sizes, types.

- Oh, crikey, get off me.

- [Christopher] And temperaments.

(cat screeching) (pig squealing) - (indistinct) Bite you.

(indistinct) - [Christopher] It's definitely not glamorous.

- Ugh!

[Christopher] But it's varied.

- Well, that shouldn't be there.

- It isn't every day get a chance to cuddle an emu, is it?

- [Christopher] It's rarely easy (dog yelping) as The Yorkshire Vet carries on the Herriot tradition, treating all creatures, great and small.

(peaceful music) (bright music) The ends of winter's short days are streaked by vivid sunsets, sharpening this darkness of the dales and moors.

(bright music continues) As darkness falls, Julian's taking evening surgery and his night's about to get even longer.

- Yeah, I'm just looking for something for capturing a swan.

You have to be a bit careful with nets and things.

That's the obvious thing to use, but that can damage their feathers and the wings.

- [Christopher] The swan in need of rescue lives on a nearby fishing lake and has been spotted with an injury.

- What's this?

Aha, that might be all right.

Would a swan fit in there?

Let's take that as well.

Sarah knows more about this sort of thing than me, so I'll see what she thinks.

And I'll tell you what else we'll take, we'll take some leads.

- [Christopher] It's definitely a two person job and Head Nurse Sarah Ashbridge has a way with birds.

- Sarah, you'll know more about this than me.

I wondered whether we could capture the swan in this.

(Sarah laughs) Will that work?

- Well, we can try.

- [Julian] And then I thought- - I think let's take the cat net as well.

- So let's get going then.

(quizzical music) We just had a phone call from a lady who is based at a local lake that does fishing and things and they've got two black swans.

One of them's got a badly injured leg and it possibly has some fishing line around it.

I'm slightly anxious because we don't get to handle swans that often.

And the first job will be to try and capture the swan, which is not the bit that I'm looking forward to most.

'Cause swans are obviously quite dangerous.

They've got very powerful wings.

I'm led to believe that swans can break people's arms.

Don't know how true that is.

We'll see what we get when we get there.

- [Christopher] The people who rang the surgery are waiting for Julian and Sarah at the lake.

- Hi.

- Hi.

- [Julian] What have we got then?

What's the problem?

- [Mel] Black swans.

- [Julian] Yeah.

- I don't think I've ever seen a black swan before but, oh there they are.

Are they're just wild swans then?

They must be.

- [Mel] No, they bought them for the lodges.

- How deep is this lake?

- We don't have a clue.

- We don't really know which is the injured swan at the moment 'cause obviously their legs are underwater.

And it's also pitch black so we can't really see which is the affected one.

- There you go.

(quizzical music) - Careful, don't fall in.

Oh, you're going.

(water plashes) Ah, you've got it, well done.

You all right?

- Yeah.

- Brilliant.

Is this the right one?

'Cause if it's not- - Some wire.

- Is that the left?

Oh.

Look at that.

This always happens to me.

This has happened before.

Oh, look.

That's what's obviously causing the problem.

I think we're gonna have to take it back.

- Yeah.

- And knock it out together, 'cause it would be obviously curved and it'll have barbs on the end.

Right.

So excellent.

This is going very well so far, apart from my trousers, but that's not the worst thing.

Where's the van gone?

(quizzical music) Oh.

It's done it again.

You're squeezing it too hard, Sarah, it's all coming out.

Can we just envelope it in this nice, look at that, that's a massive blanket.

- [Christopher] But the swan's feet have grazed Sarah's arm.

- Let's have a look.

Oh gosh.

- Ooh.

(quizzical music) - Just its wings are there so just keep it squashed.

So far everything's going according to plan.

Apart from poor Sarah's arm being quite badly scratched.

Obviously swans tend to hang around in pairs so I'm guessing that the bird that's left behind will be feeling a bit bewildered and a bit, maybe anxious that it's best mate's been kidnapped.

I hadn't the plan in mind to send Sarah in a second time to get the other one to bring it for company.

But it's just nice to have identified the problem and managed to capture the bird so we can fix it.

Although that said, the problems aren't just over yet.

(quizzical music continues) - [Christopher] Coming up, new vet Haddie tackles a runaway patient.

(Haddie laughs) - She's a fast one.

- [Christopher] There's a tearful parting for a much-loved pet.

- It's just a horrible feeling dropping 'em off and leaving 'em, but it should be fine.

- [Christopher] And a lot more swanning around.

- It's like the Chuckle Brothers.

(Sarah laughs) (peaceful music) - [Christopher] Julian and Sarah are on their way back to the practice with an injured swan with a fish hook embedded in its leg.

- [Julian] That's what's obviously causing the problem.

(suspenseful music) - [Christopher] Having already suffered one injury, there's no chance of Sarah losing her grip again.

- [Julian] You look like you rode on an emu.

(Sarah laughs) - [Christopher] Back at the surgery they can properly assess the damage.

- We're just gonna give the swan some anesthetic.

Gonna give it gas.

Once anesthetized we'll be able to have a look at it's leg a little bit better.

I have handled swans previously.

They are very big and they are very strong.

If you're going to hold them, you've got to take them quickly and firmly.

They're beautiful animals but at the same time they can be extremely aggressive, as can be seen by that.

- [Julian] And there's me moaning about my trousers.

(Sarah laughs) (peaceful music) Is that where the end of it is?

- Think so, yeah.

That must be so extraordinarily painful.

(peaceful music continues) - [Julian] Feels really hot, doesn't it?

- [Sarah] Yeah, the whole limb is.

Poor little mite.

- [Julian] So obviously it goes in there and it looks like the other end's somewhere down there.

Gonna have to make a fairly reasonable size incision over there because there's a big hook on it and it goes right underneath.

So that's pus, isn't it, on the end of it?

- [Sarah] Yeah.

Do you want wire cutters and cut it out and pull it both ways?

- Yeah.

Good thinking.

You're on good form tonight, aren't you?

- You'd think I've done this before, wouldn't you?

- Yeah.

- So what we'll do here, we can cut this bottom bit off.

Normally use this for removing wires and pins from dog's legs, but that's saved as needing to cut through that big blood vessel that was underneath.

So whilst the hooks avoided that major artery that's going down the front of the leg, the one that we can see pulsating, it's obviously damaged a blood vessel nearby which is causing this continued low-level bleeding, so we're gonna carefully cauterize.

There, can you see?

- Mm.

(peaceful music continues) - That's it, now that's got it running.

Better get that closed up, I think quickly.

(peaceful music continues) We're just about done.

I think that's essentially probably the last stitch to go in there and it's gone really well.

We've obviously managed to get the hook out without too much trouble.

If we keep it in tonight and then try and let it go first thing in the morning.

It's very swollen is this leg.

So that's a dose of some antibiotics to take away any infection.

So we'll give another dose in the morning before we release it back into the lake.

- Don't wring his neck.

- No, I'm not going to do.

- You're going the wrong way wit his neck.

- Am I?

Yeah.

(Sarah chuckles) (bright music) Poor little swan's not gonna know what's happened, is it?

(bright music continues) - [Christopher] With the swan bedded down for the night, Sarah can finally tend to her battle scars.

- Now that is painful.

- So hopefully all being well, if it wakes up nicely and in a nice controlled way and doesn't damage itself tonight, then we'll take it back first thing in the morning back with his friends in the lake.

Oh there we are, look.

Beginning to wake up already.

Ah, look at that.

Oh, isn't that brilliant?

That's just so nice to be able to just save wildlife.

That would've been a bird in a lot of pain and now we've just fixed it, just like that.

Superb.

(bright music continues) - Right.

So, good night, sweetheart, bed time.

(bright music continues) (peaceful music) - [Christopher] It's an early start for new vet Haddie.

Today she's out in the drenched dales on a call-out.

As it's lambing season, her skills are in great demand.

- I'm just on my way to a farmer who has a sheep that's lambing that has been straining and has made no progress.

He's had a little feel himself and says that she's quite tight, so he's requested a vet with small hands.

So rather than sending Peter or one of the boys out, I've been sent out with my comparatively small hands.

The ewe will probably be quite tired now and there's a higher chance that the lamb might be dead, but we'll see what we get when we get there, really.

(sheep bleating) - Come on then, come on piggies.

- [Christopher] John Forsythe has already delivered his first few lambs.

He's been farming here for more than four decades.

- Yeah, I enjoy lambing, it's good.

Nice time of year.

Maybe not at three o'clock in the morning, sometimes you think it's not the best of jobs.

It's just something that you're born and bred to, doing it all my life.

(bright music) (dog barking) - [Haddie] Hey there.

- [Christopher] When it comes to handling patients, Haddie's sporting prowess comes in useful.

Fortunately she plays for Thirsk ladies rugby team.

(quizzical music) (Haddie laughs) - She's a fast one.

- [Christopher] She may have missed the first tackle but she's built up speed for the second time around.

- Yeah, the rugby playing does help with taking down sheep.

She's apparently a shearling, so she's only a young mum so she doesn't quite know what's what's going on probably.

(indistinct) - Well, if you hold that one up, I could feel her tight skin and I'll get three fingers in, you'll see, just couldn't like she's got any better.

See what mean?

She's just not- - Yeah, she's just not opened up properly.

- She not relaxed.

- No.

- Nose is there.

= Yeah, I notice there's one leg there for sure.

- Yeah.

(indistinct).

- Let me just see if it, I don't know darling.

It's whether we give her some more time to see if this is gonna open up.

- Well, she has opened up more.

You said you couldn't get your hand in at all early on.

So it's actually, she's- - I mean she's, yeah, where they don't open at all.

- Yeah.

- You know, like you said before, they don't open up at all.

So it may just a case of waiting a little bit longer.

I don't wanna, you know, rush in and do a caesarian if she is gonna- - No, no, no- - If she is gonna open up.

(peaceful music) (bright music) - [Christopher] The swan scooped up from the lake is recovering at the surgery after Julian took a fish hook out of it's leg.

- [Julian] What we'll do here, we can cut this bottom bit off.

It's obviously damaged a blood vessel nearby.

- [Christopher] After a night of solitary confinement it's missing its lifelong mate.

Once again, Head Nurse Sarah's at the ready.

- Yeah, looking forward to this morning.

It'd be nice to be back out and onto the lake where it belongs.

- Hello swannie.

How are you today?

- [Christopher] Anxiously awaiting the swan's return are Mel and her daughter Madison.

Although they made the emergency call, it turns out it was actually the swans themselves who asked for help.

- I just heard a tapping noise at the front door of the water mill and went out and the female one was tapping at the door holding her leg up.

So that's when I rang the vet and then came out and she had a big hook stuck in her leg, didn't she?

- Yeah.

- We could hear him crying last night, couldn't we?

Because she wasn't there 'cause obviously they're partner's for life and yeah, he was a bit upset she wasn't there.

Skeldale's obviously our local vet so that's why we rang them.

Didn't know who else to ring, to be fair, about a swan.

- That blanket should be good shouldn't it, 'cause it's nice and big?

Should we put another one around the top of yours?

Hi there, swannie.

Ah, looks a bit more feisty this morning.

Whoa, careful.

- Got it.

- Oh look at that, a swan expert.

Gonna be quite contaminated, the water.

If we can just put a little bit of Vaseline over the top, it's gonna keep it protected for a while so it doesn't immediately get infected with the dirty water.

It's like the Chuckle Brothers, isn't it?

(Sarah laughs) All right, the job is good and let's go.

- [Christopher] Though the swan's now in better shape, the journey back to the lake is adding to the bird's stress and there's no certainty it's mate will still be there.

- Swan is looking pretty good this morning.

It actually had a good night and the wound looked excellent.

The swelling's gone down on the leg already.

It's had a couple of doses of antibiotics 'cause wounds like that down on the leg, especially when the leg's gonna be submerged in water, really all the time, there's quite a chance of infection getting in, it's pretty muddy, dirty water.

I think really it'd be glad to get back with it's mate actually.

(bright music) - Doing really well, she's really feisty this morning, which is brilliant.

- Do you want me to?

- Just heard that her pal has disappeared off overnight so I'm just gonna put her where we've got her from last night and then hopefully they'll call for each other.

But we'll just hang around for a few minutes and just see how she settles.

I'll just pop her down on this path here 'cause we're not putting, oh, look, you see that?

- Oh yeah, look.

- He's there.

- Just watch yourselves.

(indistinct crosstalk) (quizzical music) (quizzical music continues) (Sarah and Julian laugh) Last night when we were up here in the dark in the wet and the cold, with a very subdued swan who was really unhappy, to have watched her out this morning in the sun, found her mate so quickly and they'll just swim off literally into the distance on this lake, without what seems to be a care in the world.

It's a fantastic feeling.

- Here we are with a swan and then I'll be back to the surgery any minute with a waiting room full of people and you know, it literally is as it says in the books, treating all creatures great and small.

- [Sarah] Ah.

So sweet, isn't it?

- [Julian] What a good way to start the morning.

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] While some animals are happiest in the wild, others have come to expect domestic bliss.

Lauren has three cats and a dog and they're all familiar faces at Skeldale.

- They've all been so many times they kinda like used to it now and as long as they come home in one piece they're absolutely fine.

You know, we're not having human babies and these are our fur babies.

So we've got Rocky our little boy, he's our ginger little fur baby.

And then we've got Small, 'cause she's a big, gray fluffy one.

And then Oscar, but our doggie seems to be kinda like at the lower pack of the animals because he knows where he is.

- [Christopher] Luggy the cat, who's eight, didn't start life as a pampered pet.

But she's become accustomed to the lap of luxury.

- Here, Princess.

When we got Luggy we got her at six months old.

She had cat flu, she'd been very poorly.

We weren't able to pick her up, stoke or cuddle her 'cause she'd not really had much human contact.

But with (indistinct) that made her the cat she is today because we've always picked her up, we've always cuddled her, she gets loved.

- [Christopher] But despite tempting her with cat treats- - Come here, Princess.

- [Christopher] Luggy hasn't been eating properly.

(bright music) A previous visit to Skeldale showed Luggy had a problem tooth.

Today Lauren's bringing her in to have it removed.

But the procedure's not as straightforward as it sounds.

- She's got a heart murmur.

We are obviously concerned 'cause she's had operations in the past.

She had bladder stones removed not long ago.

I kept putting it off really 'cause I didn't want anything to happen to her.

She started to smell a little bit.

She sleeps on the pillow next to my head, next to me and my husband and it's not very pleasant.

It stinks.

But I'm a love these babies.

- [Christopher] Unusually, Lauren collects souvenirs of her pets trips to the vet and today she's got a request for Nurse Helen.

- Can we to do (indistinct)?

- Yeah.

- Ooh.

Can I be cheeky?

Can I keep the tooth?

- Yeah, of course you can.

- I want to keep the tooth.

(indistinct) - All right.

- Thank you.

Come on, Princess.

- We've got Luggy down here.

It's a bit quiet.

- Yes, please.

- That's all right.

- Give us a kiss, Princess.

- Thank you.

- Okay, bye.

- See you later.

I'm really sad.

I'm gonna miss her.

But I'm sure, she's been in a few times now she's been absolutely fine but it's just a horrible feeling dropping 'em off and leaving 'em in as well, it's not nice.

- [Helen] You are such a brave little soldier.

(melancholic music) (machine beeping) - But she'll be fine.

Bless her, she'll be fine.

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

Julian operates to save a working dog from pain.

- [Julian] This is the kinda gruesome bit, this is basically as it looks I'm afraid.

- [Christopher] Haddie decides it's time to call for backup.

- Bear with me one moment.

Can you come over and have a look at it yourself?

Okay, see you soon then.

- [Christopher] And a new bull's fertility is put to the test.

The majority of animals brought into Skeldale are dogs.

Most of them are family pets.

But today it's a working dog that's coming in for an operation.

Bobby is accompanied by his handler, Simon Whitby.

- The idea of bringing him in today is so his tail's shortened.

Because he's going to be an explore detection dog and the issue we have with him due to length of his tail is the fact that there is a good chance of him splitting it in the length or (indistinct).

See the very end?

That's where it's starting.

And that's part of the problem.

It's not a cosmetic thing, it's purely a practical operational reason, isn't it, mate?

- [Christopher] Tail docking is a procedure that's never undertaken lightly.

- It's always our last resort when we have to take away part of the the anatomy of a dog.

The issue is quite rightly contentious in this country.

It's illegal to dock tails from a cosmetic point of view.

There are reasons in working dogs if there's, you know, gonna be evidence that the dog is likely to injure its tail by their nature of its work, then that is allowable.

- Hello.

(dog yelping) Shush.

Probably it's not as bad as that.

Let's go this way.

- [Christopher] Skeldale treats the majority of North Yorkshire's police dogs.

Bob is a sniffer dog and he's picking up on unfamiliar scents.

- Ah, perfect.

Hello, little man, you look a little worried.

The big problem that we have with these type of dogs, when they get a smell their tails go mad.

And that's the response they have to the stimulus of the smell that they're looking for.

Because they're working in quite closely confined spaces like people's cars and homes and things, they very often get damaged.

And that's what's happened in Bobby's case.

There's an injury on the end of his tail.

So we're gonna actually amputate the end of his tail.

A, so that that injury can heal, and B, so that the tail doesn't repeatedly get damaged.

- He works with the explosives this one.

- Is he?

- Yeah.

- An explosive dog.

I've had one or two of those in the past.

Feels like a break there.

- It's going to start to become an issue.

- Doesn't look too bad but that will just get worse and worse, won't it?

Especially when he's working.

Look at that for high-tech equipment.

If you leave them too long then they still get battered.

So yeah, I'm just giving Bobby his anesthetic.

It's really nice dealing with dogs that are working dogs who are well behaved and well mannered and just very well trained.

The process is actually very simple in this case.

We cut through the skin and then cut through the bone and then stitch it back together again.

One of the biggest problems is the healing.

In a way you're creating another part of the tail with another wound on it really.

So the next step is to cut through the bone in the tail.

And this is the kinda gruesome bit this is basically as it looks I'm afraid.

(peaceful music) That's how the tendon's looking.

Yeah.

The biggest challenge actually is making the wound neat so it heals well and that doesn't always happen to be honest, with tail injuries and tail wounds.

(peaceful music continues) Clean that up a bit.

But that looks quite good.

It's a nice, neat job.

Just needs to heal up now then you'll be back in action, Bobby.

Bobby on the Beat, as it were.

(birds chirping) (peaceful music) - [Christopher] At John Forsythe's farm, the season's early lambs are beginning to take their first steps into the world.

(lamb bleating) (peaceful music continues) But for one first-time mum, it's been a long and hard labor so far.

Haddie has to decide whether to opt for a cesarean or allow the sheep to give birth naturally.

But waiting too long could put the lives of mother and baby at risk.

- So basically her cervix is not fully dilated at the moment.

It's only maybe about this big so the lamb isn't gonna come through with it at that size.

It's whether that's gonna open up or just a little bit of, kinda manipulation.

I can only get four fingers so I can't get my whole hand in there.

And it doesn't seem to really be loosening.

Bear with me at one moment.

- [Christopher] Haddie's decided it's time to seek a second opinion from Peter.

- Yeah, so yeah it's probably good if you come over and have a look at it yourself.

Okay, see you again then.

- [Christopher] But for now it's a waiting game.

- I think they really understand.

Right now she's laid quite quiet, she knows you trying to help her.

And she just went as if she was going to give birth and laid out, you know, (indistinct) and what she would normally do but obviously she couldn't get on with it.

And it might be a caesarian, it's a thing that happens now and again but this is a first-time mama this one, so there we go.

- So I've just spoken to Peter and he's a little bit concerned so he's going to come and have a look at her himself and see if he thinks it does need a caesarian or not.

- [Christopher] At the surgery it's a routine op for Vet Sarah and Nurse Helen.

But today they're taking extra precautions.

- So this is Luggy and she's in to have a sore tooth removed.

She has a heart murmur as well so we've given her a different sort of anesthetic than what we would usually give to a cat, basically a shorter acting anesthetic.

So what we wanna do is just make this as quick and stress free as possible with her.

And now we'll get that tooth out before she even knows she was unconscious.

Cats are so sensitive that once they start to have problems in their mouth, if they become anorexic, if they go off their food, they can become quite ill. And unfortunately cats can't tell us when they have sore teeth.

Hopefully we'll get the tooth out faster than it takes her to settle into her anesthetic.

She's just a little bit too conscious.

Okay?

- [Christopher] With Luggy safely dozing the team can now get to work.

- You pass that between the root of the tooth and the gum and give it a bit of a wiggle.

And what it does is it loosens the attachment of the tooth and then it should just come out, just like that.

And we need to save this for Luggy's mum 'cause she has everything of Luggy's.

We'll just do a quick dental as well whilst we have her.

Then we do polish it to bring out the shine.

- [Christopher] But the final scale and polish shows up another problem.

- There's a hole in the bottom of that tooth.

So we're just gonna gonna take this one out as well whilst we're here.

As long as we're happy with our anesthetic?

- That's good.

- [Christopher] The tooth and root need to come out quickly.

- This tooth has two roots so you have to cut it into two to be able to get them out.

And there we go.

We took the other tooth out that will have just caused us a problem.

And it's always better to try and do everything in a oner, then especially a cat like Luggy who has a heart murmur to keep knocking them out and knocking them out and knocking them out, so I'm really pleased with that.

She'll be a lot more comfortable in her mouth now.

- [Christopher] And the team haven't forgotten Lauren's request.

- I'm gonna give her a big kiss.

Yeah, I can't wait.

And I think the other cats and Oscar's definitely missed her as well.

Get back into bed tonight and have a good cuddle.

(Lauren giggles) - Right, Lauren.

So we've taken two teeth out.

- Yeah.

As per request.

Tooth Fairy, it's gonna be an expensive one.

She'll be getting 15 pound under her pillow tonight.

(bright music) Hello, Princess.

- Here we go.

- Come here, you chicken.

- Aww.

- Any problems I will ring you.

- Is that all right?

- Yeah, thanks again so much.

She's fine, absolutely fine.

You seem happy, don't you?

And she's just looking forward to coming home, so it's fine.

And I'm chuffed, big smile on my face as always.

(indistinct chatting) (bright music) - [Christopher] The work of the practice isn't just about treating sick animals, it's also about checking up on healthy ones.

Julian's off to visit an old client, John Swales, who rears a variety of livestock.

But it's his cows who are being tested this morning.

- John's got a very high quality herd of limousin cattle.

He's had one or two problems this year.

He had a a really nice bull that he'd purchased that he was hoping to be a stock bull called Gel.

And we did some tests on him early on in the year and he proved to be infertile.

See there's nothing there at all coming out.

- I'm very disappointed that we're not gonna be able to use him for breeding.

Getting the vibes from Julian he doesn't think he's ever going to work.

So we've got to start and look for the future.

It's heartbreaking.

(melancholic music) - [Christopher] Gel had to be sold and John was forced once again to begin the exhausting and expensive process to find a replacement.

(bright music) - He's got a new bull.

He's been with some cows and heifers in the summer.

We're going to test them today to see whether they're pregnant.

(cows lowing) - [Christopher] The new bull's already made the grade in this fertility test and John's anxious to show off his stud muffin.

- That fella there might well be Gel's replacement.

- He's a very well bred bull.

His father's produced bulls that's made a lot of money so hopefully if he clicks with my herd then he'll produce some good cattle.

(quizzical music) - He's a handsome looking fella, isn't he?

There's a degree of, like manliness.

Well, he looks every bit as good as his predecessor, doesn't he?

- Yeah.

- Worst it was really bad news before.

In a way things do often work out for the best, don't they?

To me he's a nicer looking bull.

- He's equally as good if not slightly better.

- [Christopher] With a grand name like Norman Jockey, there are high expectations of the bull's performance.

But he's still a youngster.

(cows lowing) - Obviously we can do our testing down a microscope to see that the sperm looked good under the right confirmation and moving and so on.

But the ultimate test of course for any bull's fertility is whether or not he manages to serve the cows and the heifers.

- Fingers crossed, we should be okay.

- Well, we should know conclusively really when we get going.

So right, yeah, I'll go around there.

- [Christopher] Julian's brought along a high tech piece of kit.

(bright music) - Well she's definitely in calf.

She'll be at least four months, could be even five months pregnant.

I can actually feel the calf in this one.

Those big white balls that look like balls of cotton wool, it's basically part of the placenta and it attaches the calf to the inside of the cow's uterus.

So we can say for sure that she's about five months pregnant so that's definitely Norman's work.

Yeah, so that's perfect then because if she's five months, he bulled her within the first week or so, yeah.

And she's about four and a half months so that's bang on.

Yeah.

Perfect, perfect, yeah.

(bright music) This is really good news.

Obviously the new bull's working really well and there was some uncertainty about whether he would be fully fertile 'cause he was quite young and everybody's pregnant and that's happy days.

- We know he's doing his job, which is great news really.

If the calves are good then we'll keep him and the future's good.

In farming you can never guarantee that.

He looks good, his figures are good, his breeding's good.

We just hope that his calves come out as good as he is.

- [Christopher] Still to come.

Will Bobby the police dog get back on the beat?

(indistinct) And it's easy does it for a first time mum.

- There's no point in rushing, 'cause it's only gonna tear if we're not sure.

I'm just gonna go steady.

(bright music) - [Christopher] Bobby the police dog is recovering after having part of his injured tail removed.

(bright music continues) - That's how the tendon's looking.

- [Christopher] His handler, Simon Whitby has arrived to pick him up.

Without his op it's unlikely Bobby would've been able to continue working.

- In this case, the injury was never gonna heal of its own accord.

These dog's tails, they don't stay still.

If we hadn't have done this today then we'd be really left with an ongoing problem.

- Bobby's about to head home, aren't you?

We've just had a quick check of your wound, haven't we?

Yes.

And it looks really good.

So now you can go back home to your dad.

(indistinct) - Hopefully his recovery comes now and a little bit more comfortable for him.

- Oh it will.

(indistinct) - Oh, run.

(quizzical music) - [Christopher] And before long Bobby's back doing what he does best.

- Oh.

(quizzical music continues) - [Christopher] It's an exercise to sniff out concealed explosives.

- And that's obviously something that's out of place.

He's gonna see that and he's gonna naturally check it himself with his nose.

Get on!

(Bobby panting) (quizzical music continues) Oh, come on, Bobby!

Good lad!

Come on, son, come on, what you got?

Good lad.

(quizzical music continues) He doesn't know he is coming to work, he just sees it as a game.

And the game is that he gets to play with his ball so he doesn't get to play with his ball all the time.

But when he does something that we want, he'll get it.

- Oh, where's it gone?

What're you doing?

There we go.

- [Christopher] Although Bobby's still new to the job, trainer Dave Wheeler believes it's a vocation he was born to.

- He's a natural police dog.

He's ball crazy from being a pup.

Just let him down the garden path, so to speak, and he's taken to training beautifully.

Since Bobby's had his tail shortened the recovery's been very good.

It's not causing him any problems and due to the small confined spaces that he sometimes has to work in, we're not seeing any issues.

It's been a complete and utter success.

Bobby is very loving.

He does mean a lot to me.

He's gonna be my first explore dog.

- [Christopher] And his tail's no longer a painful hindrance to the work he loves.

- His other favorite thing, obviously, his biscuits and treats, hey, mate?

Which he does get on rare occasions for just being so cute.

Come here, son.

You'll have to have another biscuit.

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] Peter has come to John Forsythe's farm.

Earlier Vet Haddie was called to a difficult labor.

- But I don't wanna, you know, rush in and do a caesarian if she is gonna- - No, no, no.

- If she is gonna open up.

Gotta catch her again.

She's quite a feisty one.

- [Christopher] But first they have to catch their patient again.

- Yeah.

I caught her last time.

- Did ya?

- Yeah.

- Have you played rugby?

(Haddie laughs) - It helped.

- Are you well on, John, with lambing or you just started.?

- No, we just started, just these.

- Sometimes you can open 'em if you're lucky.

- Massage them a bit.

- Yeah, I was trying to ease it open.

- Might open.

- I was just- - I know.

- I wasn't sure.

- No, you did right.

Farmer's up because they get two bits.

- Yeah.

(Haddie laughs) (quizzical music) - She's got a tight bound in her cervix, what we call a ringworm, the cervix doesn't give as it should do.

And sometimes you can very slowly manually dilate them and get the lambs out.

In some cases they don't give sufficiently, in which case you've got to do a caesarian.

- Yeah, I can see why you were struggling, why you were concerned.

- Yeah.

- I'm just opening it up slowly, very slowly, because if we take it, there's no point in rushing 'cause it's only gonna tear if we're not sure.

I'm just gonna go steady and just, it's not hurting her at all, but it's just slowly dilating the cervix.

(bright music) (ewe bleating) Yeah.

- Then you've got foot and shoulders to cope with, haven't you?

It's only a small lamb- - Yeah.

- Which is a bonus.

(indistinct) That cervix?

(ewe bleating) Come on, there you go.

That seems to be coming out.

That's it.

Let's just go steady, there we go.

- Yeah.

- Ooh.

- It's knowing when to give 'em a bit longer and when just to intervene and do something.

- Yeah.

(bright music) There you go, yeah, that's it little, one more.

- Should I see for another one?

- Yeah, have a feel.

So backwards way into the world.

There you go, yeah.

What do you reckon, hey?

- I've got another one, I've just had a feel.

It's coming out the right way this one.

With lambing you need small hands and a lot of muscle.

(eve bleating) - Yeah.

- I could tell you here you did a rugby tackle.

- Yeah, the rugby playing helps for sure.

There we go.

- My old boss used to say, if you get two, go back and see there's a third.

- Third, yeah.

- If you get three, go back to see if there's a fourth.

- Yeah, it's always worth checking.

- By 10 o'clock tonight they'd both been dead.

- Yeah.

Oh yeah.

- Yeah.

- Within the next half an hour they'll be up suckling.

It's amazing how quickly they'll be on their feet.

It's great.

I love lambing.

- There's no better sight anywhere.

And, you know, I've been doing it for 35 years now and I'll still never get bored of it.

Oh, it's just fantastic.

It's what it's all about really.

It's lovely.

(bright music) - [Christopher] Next time on The Yorkshire Vet, there's a battle with a petulant pig.

- As you can see, it's not exactly cooperating.

(pig squealing) - [Christopher] Peter performs an al fresco op.

- Lots of blue in there, Alf.

Just hope she hasn't ruptured.

- [Christopher] And a colorful character.

- They're amazing, aren't they?

- [Christopher] Takes a shine to Julian.

- Oh, crikey, get off me.

Oh, that's not really nice at all.

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