(bright upbeat music) - [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 bestselling books.

His former surgery and home are now a museum.

But his practice lives on nearby.

(phone rings) - Good morning, Skeldale Vetinary Centre... - This 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.

Whoa!

- [Christopher] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire vet.

- Ah-ha!

Coming to work on a morning, we're never 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 sight anywhere.

I've been doing it for 35 years now and I 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... - It's a hard life, isn't it?

- [Christopher] Sizes, types... - Oh, crikey!

Get off me!

- [Christopher] And temperaments.

(cat hisses) - Don't bite... - [Christopher] It's definitely not glamorous...

But it's varied.

- [Julian] That shouldn't be there.

- It isn't every day you 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.

(melodic music) As the chilling winds of winter test all who inhabit Yorkshire's wonderful Dales and Moors, the team at Skeldale embrace the challenges of a new day.

- All right, Simon?

You okay?

(cat meows) he's usually pretty good, aren't ya?

- That's brilliant, thank you.

- Thank you.

- [Christopher] For Julian, it's an early start.

An emergency call-out to a farm with a difference.

Home to a herd of hardy alpacas, more used to the high plains of South America.

- Hello girls.

Hello.

Hello, Mariella.

- [Christopher] Jackie Barlow treats her alpacas like family.

- She's been living down at my sister's over the winter.

But since she's come back I've noticed a lump.

So I think she's got a little abscess in her cheek.

But it's on the inside, so I can't really see very well.

So I think it's better if Julian has a look at it.

And see if there's anything we can do to alleviate it, because I think it's quite painful for her.

Given her some antibiotics over the weekend, but I think it probably needs some sort of surgical treatment, which is beyond me.

(Jackie chuckles) She's a lovely, quiet alpaca.

She's very well behaved, but she's finished her breeding career, so she's just like an alpaca auntie now for the little ones.

So if there's any that need looking after, she's the one to do it.

- [Christopher] But today, it's it's Aunt Mariella who needs looking after.

- Hello.

- Hi, Jackie, you all right?

- Come into my office.

- It feels like that, does it?

- It does some days, yeah.

- Who have we got today then?

- Mariella.

She's got an abscess.

It's on the inside.

She did have a bit of blood coming through her nose as well, yesterday, so... - [Julian] Hello, Mariella.

Are you all right?

It's quite big, isn't it?

- [Jackie] Mm-hm.

And it has gone down a little bit.

- Just gonna try and cut some of the hair off.

- I tried to have a little squeeze and she didn't like that.

Yeah, cut the hair away.

It's a bit matted up, as well.

- Have you tried to look in her mouth?

- Yes.

And it just bled.

I tried it give it a little squeeze and looked in and it was bleeding.

- Just wonder whether we might be looking at lancing this or putting a needle in.

Who's this one?

- She's guarding her.

- That's Cleopatra.

- You give some good names, don't you, for your animals?

- Yeah.

- Do they come with those names or do you- - Oh, no, I named her.

But she came with Mariella.

I think she was imported.

- [Christopher] Her alpaca family seem uneasy.

- [Jackie] They're very protective.

It's the herd instinct.

They've got an extremely strong herd instinct.

- It's more so than with the other animals, isn't it?

Because cattle wouldn't do that and sheep wouldn't do that.

- They can't ever live on their own cause they just would not eat if they were on their own.

- I'm just gonna have a feel inside and see... Ooh, my word!

- What is it?

- [Julian] That looks horrible.

Look at that.

That's all blood and goo.

- [Jackie] I know.

Quite smelly, in't it?

- [Julian] Yeah.

I'll just be a minute.

- I thought it might be quite serious.

Cause when I had a look...

It's not the usual abscess, I don't think.

She's such a lovely alpaca.

(gentle melodic music) - [Christopher] Back at the surgery, vet Peter's meeting the next generation of clients.

Two-day-old Whisper's been brought in by Tim and Jill.

- Aw, she's sucking my finger.

- [Peter] Good afternoon.

- We've got another one for you.

- It's both sides as well.

- Come down.

- [Jill] Come on, then.

She was a triplet born yesterday morning.

- [Peter] Mm-hm.

- And the other two are doing absolutely fine.

It's a she.

They're all feeding very well.

- Good.

- But unfortunately we've got a little eye problem.

- She was a bit dopey yesterday, wasn't she?

But she's all right now.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

I'm sorry, baby.

The eyelid is almost like a Swiss roll.

The eye rolls in and in and in, so you've then got the fleece, the wool, rubbing on the surface of the eye, which is very uncomfortable.

So what we need to do is put some penicillin in there, which'll blow the eyelid out into the position it needs to be in.

Then hopefully, the eyelid will then behave itself and stop where it should be.

Right, I'll clean that up a bit and put a bit of penicillin in there.

- Generally, I can bathe them, and if it's not too bad, a small amount of Vaseline will unroll it and it will be fine.

But this one's rolled quite tightly.

- It's normally the eyelashes, isn't it?

They catch the eye and then it goes ulcerated and if not caught they'll go blind.

- Do you want me to lay it on the table or are you just going to... - I think we should be okay like that.

In fact, what I'll probably... Me and you will swap sides.

I'll work from that side.

Then I won't be working in front of the eye.

Yeah, that's it.

That's perfect.

If you look at this eye, the hairs on the lower lid are rubbing on the surface of the eye.

When I pull this eye line out to where it should be, and the eyelid's now in the position it should be.

So it's kinking right in on itself.

And left to its own devices, it'll continue to do so.

That's it.

- Sweetie.

- This one isn't quite as bad.

That's it.

Let's have a look.

Yeah that's coming up nicely.

And what's that one doing?

I'm just gonna pop a little...

I'm reasonably happy but I'm not ecstatic.

Now I'm ecstatic.

(Peter laughs) Excellent.

Very good.

- See you again.

Carry on the good work.

- Thank you.

- All vets everywhere love quick fixes.

They love things that are going to get better very quickly.

And we've removed the irritation from the eyes.

- Have a good day.

- Thanks again.

Bye-bye.

- Bye.

- That little lamb should be fine now, so as vets, yeah it puts a spring in your step, really.

- [Christopher] Coming up... - What you'd call the runt of the litter, really.

- [Christopher] Vet Helen uses an ingenious technique.

- The best place is actually with body heat.

- [Christopher] But will it save this newborn puppy?

- You've got it.

- Hang on, hang on.

- [Christopher] Julian and Peter fight to save a struggling cow.

- [Julian] Can you see my fingers?

- I've got your bloody fingers.

I can't get your cattle though.

- [Julian] Right, this is a bad thing.

- [Christopher] And for Julian, a routine op becomes an emergency.

(gentle music) On Jackie Barlow's alpaca farm near Husthwaite, Julian's worried.

- That is... What is it?

Oh, God, look at that!

It's like a ping-pong ball size.

Oh, that's a growth, I'm afraid.

And it's got all grass mangled around it, and it's... - [Jackie] Is it a tumor?

- It looks like a melanoma in fact.

- Right.

- Which is a nasty tumor.

That's bad luck.

- I know.

I thought it might be.

Steady, girl.

- It's obviously pretty bad, that.

We could try to operate and remove it.

I don't think it would be the best idea in the world.

- They hate being treated.

I would've thought... And she's quite elderly.

- It might be the best thing to put her down.

- Steady, girl.

Shall we do that now or... - Yeah.

(solemn music) They hate being treated.

Probably there would be nothing to do.

I suspect it might have spread because she's lost a lot of weight in the past couple of weeks.

So, I've taken the decision to let Julian euthanize her today.

Which is very sad.

Because she's such a lovely alpaca.

- I'll need to go into the vein in the left side of her neck.

You can tell she's lost a lot of ground there.

She's very thin.

Poor old girl.

Well, you know what the score is, don't you?

You've done once or twice.

It's essentially, it's an overdose of anesthetic.

It's a strong barbiturate.

And then once it's gone in... After a few moments the heart stops and she'll go unconscious and she'll just go to sleep.

Good girl.

Have you had her since she was a baby?

- No, no.

I've had her about six years.

- Poor old girl.

It is a sad time for us as vets, obviously, to have to do this.

It's always the worst part of the job, and it doesn't ever get any easier, but I think it's important we're there to do our best for them at the very end.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Gayle the beagle's due to deliver a litter of puppies.

But she's in trouble.

- [Helen] All right, little baby.

- [Christopher] Vet Helen Blackburn, assisted by nurse Rachel and rookie nurse India, prepare her for emergency surgery.

- So at the minute we've got this little dog in, who is in labor.

And she's got a puppy stuck in the canal, and she's just having a cesarean.

If we've got a puppy stuck, that's a bit of a problem.

So that puppy could potentially be in distress.

It also may have other puppies behind it in the queue.

So they could potentially get to be in distress when it's there.

So what we're gonna do is try and get them out.

And they're quite big puppies as far as beagle puppies go.

I'm gonna try and get the placenta out too.

Got one.

Once the umbilical connection disconnects, that puppy, instead of getting energy and nutrients from the blood supply through its navel, it's trying to breathe in its own sack of fluid.

So it will drown.

Next.

- Keep rubbing it.

Right, hang it.

Tail up, fluid coming out?

- [India] Mm-hmm.

- [Helen] God, these are huge.

- [Rachel] They are squeaking, both of mine are.

- That one's ready to run.

All right little one, let me get your placenta.

- Keep going.

It was certainly ready to come.

There you go.

Right, put them all together and they'll stimulate each other.

Right, get ready.

Another one coming.

- This one's not quite as going as the others, but... Ready, there you go.

- [Rachel] Is that it?

- Yeah, that's it.

That's everybody out as far as I can see.

Ovary there.

- You're a little bruiser.

Yeah they're all kicking and alive so far.

- [Christopher] With five puppies successfully delivered, Helen stitches Gayle back together.

- They all look quite lively little puppies.

- They are noisy.

As far as puppies go, they're probably one of the noisiest sets.

They're obviously just ready to rumble.

- What you'd call the runt of the litter, really.

Here, keep rubbing.

- A lot of the time when you're actually operating, you can't stop and look at the puppies, cause your priority is obviously the dog at this time, and getting her stitched up.

But the fact that I can hear them and that they're okay, that's very rewarding.

- [Christopher] Rachel gives the runt oxygen to help it along.

- It sounds a bit crackly in its chest, and I think it just needs a bit more stimulation to get it going.

- There you go.

That's a bit better.

- Is it?

There you go.

- I love cesareans.

They're my favorite thing of the job.

- Hello, little monkeys.

Ah, look at them.

Is this the little slow one?

- Yeah.

- Hello, little baby.

Are you slow?

Are you cold?

Maybe need a bit of body heat to get you warm.

You lot don't need anything.

They're gonna be out the box.

It's very nice, very nice feeling indeed.

Especially when they're like this.

They've come out and just hit the ground running, haven't they?

Yeah.

Yeah, it's not a bad job, really, is it?

When you get to do this.

Now, then... (nurses chuckling) The best place to heat a puppy up is actually with body heat.

They sit quite neatly down your top.

Am I allowed to do that?

It just keeps them warm.

It means I can tidy up.

You're wriggling now, aren't you?

You just needed a bit of heat, didn't you?

Yeah, you did.

Aw, it's a hard life, isn't it?

It's quite hard to describe, really.

Definitely feel good about it.

Are you awake enough now?

If you don't go a bit gooey with newborn puppies like that then you're probably in the wrong job.

- Come on, this way.

And then that way.

- So you know my wedding dress won't fit me?

- Yes.

- Well, I woke up this morning in a pile of Quality Street wrappers.

(Sylvia laughing) - Oh, that's your fantasy, isn't it?

A pile of Quality Street wrappers!

- It's not funny.

I've been sleep-eating.

- Right, okay.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Seven-year-old Ben's brought in two of his furry friends.

- In this box, we've got Hip and Hop.

They live in a hutch.

They like to jump a lot.

And their favorite food is carrots.

They need their claws cutting.

They're shaking a bit cause they're nervous.

Last time, my mum and dad hurt them.

- Caught them slightly, so we thought it was best to maybe come and get them done properly.

- Mr Smith?

- [Mother] Oh, Mr Smith!

- Pleased to meet you, Ben.

I'm Peter.

Right, you've brought Hip and Hop to see me.

Is that right?

- [Ben] Yeah.

- [Peter] Which is Hip and which is Hop?

- The biggest one is Hip.

- [Peter] Right.

So this is Hip?

- He's the one that's shaking.

- Right, yeah.

- And Hop's the one that's not shaking.

- [Peter] And that's Hop.

- [Ben] Yes.

- Thanks Ben.

Now, rabbits have a habit of moving very quickly so you might just have to help me hold them.

- [Ben] They're moving about a lot.

- [Peter] Yeah.

Now, I'll just have a look.

Beauties, aren't they?

Aren't they lovely?

A lot of ladies would pay a fortune to have nails like that.

Right, let's see if we can improve these.

They're good quality nails though.

- Oh, that's good.

- Really good quality nail.

I always like doing nails cause you can see where you've been.

We're not just trimming a little bit off the end, so it's good.

Yeah, much better.

Much better.

What's your favorite subject at school, Ben?

- PE.

- [Peter] PE?

So what do you want to do when you leave?

Any ideas?

- I'm gonna be a train driver.

- Are you?

You don't hear that so much now.

It'd be very exciting, though, wouldn't it?

- [Ben] Yes.

- Right.

Well it's nice to see you.

And I hope you do well at school.

And I hope eventually you become a train driver.

- [Ben] Yeah.

- Good lad.

He's an old-fashioned type, little Ben.

He's going to be a train driver.

That doesn't happen so much now.

They're all want to be professional footballers or something like that, so when a little lad comes in, you know, he's in his second year at school, and he wants to be a train driver, I think that's great.

(gentle melodic music) - [Christopher] Waiting in reception are visitors the staff of Skeldale rarely see.

- Well, I've brought six little kunekune piglets, who are, sadly, orphans.

Four of them are boys, so they need to be castrated, so that's why they've come today.

They're two and a half weeks now.

And they lost their mum last Friday.

- [Christopher] Kunekune pigs, first bred in New Zealand, make good pets.

But the boys can be aggressive and need castrating.

Angela's their adoptive mum.

- We've been bottle-feeding them and hand-rearing them.

It's exhausting, absolutely exhausting.

But you've just got to do it.

- Hi there.

Do you want to come through?

Look at these.

Wow.

(Angela chuckles) They look like a fine bunch, don't they?

You could watch piglets all day, couldn't you?

They're great animals, aren't they?

So they're in for... - [Angela] There's four males to castrate.

- Are you all right holding them?

- Yeah.

- It's not a big deal but it'll sound... - [Angela] I know, they squeal like that.

- Yeah, they'll make a massive noise.

And to them, it's an enormous ordeal.

But it's not as bad as it will appear.

So we put a bit of local anesthetic under the skin of the testicle then make a cut and basically pull them out.

And then the recovery time is almost instant.

We could numb them all first and then bring them out.

That might be the best way of doing it.

See, they don't really mind being held upside down, do they?

(pigs squealing) - I know, I know, I know.

- That's that one numbed.

Yeah, this is where we like to do it when the waiting room's empty.

Otherwise, the next patients don't want to come in.

There we are.

You'd think it was the end of the world, wouldn't you?

(pigs squealing) That's four, yeah.

Four empty syringes.

So if we do the first one first, the one that we numbed.

In actually fact, the injection of the anesthetic sometimes stings more than the procedure itself.

(pigs squealing) That's it.

Sorry about that, piggy.

Yeah, it's the noise that's the worst bit, really.

If you watch the way that they object, it's more objecting to being held in restraint than it is the actual operation, so...

I think it was, yeah.

(pigs squealing) All this commotion, we haven't even cut him yet.

Oh, dear.

Right, this is a bad thing.

This one's got an in-growing hernia.

- All right.

Come here.

- We'll have to just anesthetize him properly, this pig.

Keep him upside down like that.

Sometimes the intestines can go down into the scrotum, and that's what's happened there, so we'll need to repair that.

You can't tell until you do it like that.

So we'll do the others but we'll get him anesthetized and get that repaired.

It's not ideal but we'll sort it out.

Right, I'll just be a minute.

So that's not a great thing.

That little piglet's got something called a scrotal hernia, which is where the intestines go down into the scrotal area, where the testicles are.

You can't discover it until you do this, but basically his intestines are now coming out.

So it started off routine and now it's not routine.

- [Christopher] Julian carries on, but he's spotted something.

- I hope that one hasn't got the same.

The testicles are there and there.

And there's generally quite a bit of swelling in this general area.

We'll give that a go, shall we?

- [Angela] Give it a go.

- There we are.

Looks all right that, yeah.

We'll take them into the waiting room, and then you can have a seat and you can keep them company.

- [Christopher] But the other poor piglet is being prepared for emergency surgery.

Coming up, can Julian and Peter save a cow with a life-threatening condition?

- I'm right down at the bottom.

Right against body wall.

- [Peter] Yeah.

- [Helen] Done you, done you.

- [Christopher] Will all Gayle's puppies pull through?

- It's like getting a snake in a box.

- [Christopher] And will the poorly piglet survive a tricky operation?

(gentle music) Clean air drifts down from the misty flanks of the North York Moors.

The dales and vales glitter under the first pale sunshine.

- It's like swimming goggles.

So if we have him like that, I'll get some ties to tie his legs out the way.

- [Christopher] Julian and Rachel prepare for emergency surgery.

- I'll get some sand bags.

Ah, no, let me get some tape.

- Poor little thing.

- [Christopher] He's one of four piglets that came in for routine castration.

But, there were complications.

- [Julian] Right, this is a bad thing.

This has got an ingrown hernia.

- There you go.

- [Christopher] In the waiting room, his sister's keeping surrogate mum Angela busy.

- She's the smallest one and she's the only one that hasn't come off the bottle yet.

You're getting there now, aren't you?

Mm?

You're a good girl now.

- Basically, there's a hole in this piglet's body wall between the scrotum and the abdomen, and that's allowing the intestine to come out.

It's a problem that would've developed as quite a big problem at some point.

So actually, for all it looks like quite a disaster, it's actually in some ways good that we've identified it as this point, and we should be able to correct it.

It's quite a fiddly operation to do on any animal, but on a little piglet it's even harder.

So this is cutting through the skin.

I'm just basically trying to find the... Oh, it's a massive hernia.

The extant of the hernial sac.

Once we've done that we can then work out whether it's gonna even be possible to close the hole.

So these are all intestines, look.

And they're coming out of this hole here, look.

And it's like getting a snake in a box.

So if we'd have been doing this on a farm, it would've been end of story, really.

So far, that's gone really well, actually.

So the first thing is if I get a nice tight ligature round there, that should seal it in.

- His heart's going ten to the dozen, so I can't get a heart rate.

- Is it going fast?

- Yeah.

Well, at least it's going, that's the main thing at this stage.

And then this just needs closing back together.

So this little piggy...

This little piggy's got a bigger wound than all his mates.

It's all good, yeah.

Switch him off.

That's good.

- That it?

Hm?

- [Christopher] As one piglet nods off, her brother's waking up.

- Funny little thing.

- His eyes are still closed, as if he's pretending this never happened.

Been a big day for you, little piglet.

Right, I'll take him through to his... Are the others all right, by the way?

- Yeah, they're fast asleep.

There's no bleeding and they're all right.

- Good, excellent.

Whilst it's been a dramatic thing, I think it's actually been quite lucky we found it at this point.

Rather than it becoming evident when he was older, because it's a much bigger thing to do.

So he's had some antibiotics and he's had some painkillers as well, just to stop any infection getting in there.

I would just let him do exactly that, lie on top of his mates and go to sleep.

(gentle melodic music) - [Christopher] As visitors come and go, Sylvia's still chewing over Zoe's habit of eating in her sleep.

- I can't believe you've eaten 20 chocolates in a night and not known.

I mean, what's the point of eating a chocolate if you can't taste it?

- How strange is that!

(phone ringing) - That's because you're addicted.

It's an addiction, sugar.

- [Christopher] New mum Gayle's recovering from an emergency cesarean.

Helen wants to take a closer look at her babies.

- So we're just checking these puppies for the common problems that they're born with.

A cleft palate, which is where the roof of the mouth doesn't form properly.

And just check that they've got the bums and that they look normal in every other respect.

And make sure that their tummies aren't bleeding where they've been snipped.

You can go back in there.

You can't come.

I've done you, I've done you.

You're my little beanie, so... Oh, well done, you've had a poo.

Her puppies look fine.

Yep, they're fairly big, fairly healthy.

And I think the biggest problem is gonna be keeping them contained until Mum's ready.

Sometimes we put them on to feed, but she's quite out of it still and quite disorientated, so we'll maybe give her a little minute, just to come round a bit.

You're still sleepy, aren't you, pet?

But no, happy with them.

Hiya.

It's Helen here from the vet's.

Just ringing to let you know that Gayle's fine.

She's had her cesarean.

There's five puppies.

All fit and well and pretty active.

You can come and collect her any time you like.

Okey-doke.

See you soon.

Bye now.

Yeah, I've just phoned Nick to tell him that Gayle's had her surgery and she's fine.

He's pretty pleased, obviously, cause he'll be worried about his little dog.

So hopefully she'll go home, stay warm tonight, feed her puppies and hopefully she'll like them.

So that's the main thing, really, that she'll get on with them.

(gentle music) - This morning we're going to see a cow with a twisted stomach.

So we're going to put it back in the right place.

- [Christopher] When tricky procedures arise, Julian and Peter sometimes work together.

- We get on very well and now we've worked together for 20 years.

So we know how each other works very well.

Do you strip to the waist for these?

- [Julian] I do, yeah.

- Yeah.

I'm not quite as well toned as he is, so I'm gonna put my top on.

- [Christopher] Friendly banter between the Yorkshire vet and the Herriot trained veteran can sometimes turn into rivalry.

- When it comes to the time when the stitches come out, we can see whose side of the cow looks neatest.

- No competition.

It's as good as in the bag.

- So that's my side there.

Almost invisible suture.

Oh, well, there we are.

There's no question.

- [Christopher] Peter's on his way to the same farm, where Julian's already hard at work.

- I've come out early this afternoon.

Peter's been held up at the practice, so I came out to get a start.

And I've obviously made my incision on this side.

We do an incision on either side and pass the displaced stomach back round.

- There was some criticism of my suturing on one of the previous occasions, but I think, if truth be told, in the longer term, my suturing turned out to be a lot better than his.

But I don't want to belittle his work.

(Peter chuckles) (cow mooing) - [Christopher] Left untreated, this excruciatingly painful condition can be fatal.

First priority always, the animal's welfare.

- [Peter] How are you?

- I'm halfway through, really.

- [Peter] Good lad.

- [Julian] It's all numbed and ready to go.

- Okay.

When the stomach's sitting out of position, it fills up with gas, the cow will go off her food.

She'll stop eating concentrates.

She'll stop producing milk.

And then, when that happens, she's no use, no economic use.

- [Julian] I think she's gonna go to sleep, this cow, she's so quiet.

Are you in?

- I'm in.

- Right, so, I'm right down at the bottom.

Right against the body wall.

- [Peter] Yeah.

- There we are.

- Right.

I've got the... - There, look, there we are.

My fingers are coming out of your side there, look.

Can you see my fingers?

- I've got your bloody fingers.

I can't get the stomach.

- [Julian] Sorry, it's just... - I would get it but your fingers are in the way.

Your fingers are stuck out here.

- Well, it's underneath my... That's it, you've got it.

You've got it.

- Hang on.

- [Christopher] Coming up, has Whisper's eyesight been saved?

- [Peter] Have we got it all?

- No, there's some still at this end.

- [Christopher] And can Julian and Peter save a cow in agony?

(gentle music) It's early spring.

Snowdrops set the fresh Yorkshire air.

The White Horse casts a watchful eye as the landscape slowly wakes from its wintry slumber.

Julian and Peter are trying to relieve a cow's excruciating pain and save her life.

- [Peter] It should be coming away from you now.

- Yeah, I've let go.

- [Peter] But have I got it all?

- No, there's some still at this end.

The end of it is there, look.

That's the end.

- [Peter] Right, I've got it.

- [Julian] Didn't realize my arms we so long.

I'm Mr Tickle.

- That's it.

- [Julian] Is that all right?

- Yeah.

- [Julian] That's all gone.

Do you want a needle?

- I have my own, thank you.

What's happening now, Julian's passed through the stomach, the fourth stomach of the cow.

And that's now sitting near my incision here, and we're just going to stitch that now to the muscle wall.- - So, yes.

It's good.

Usually, I do all the hard parts of the job and Pete usually sits back and takes the glory.

(Peter laughs) - In his dreams.

In his dreams.

- I'm just about to put my last stitch in here.

Not being cocky about it.

But that does look pretty neat again.

- [Christopher] Their competitive spirit's back.

Farmer Steve Fountain is piggy in the middle.

But, he's an old friend of Julian's.

- Would you like to just comment, Mr Fountain, on the last one that I did with Mr Norton?

Would you just like to comment on how the wounds looked a fortnight later?

- Put it this way, you've both failed your sewing test.

- Now, whose wound was the best?

- [Steve] I can't remember.

- Do you know?

I just thought on my way here, I bet Mr Fountain develops amnesia.

Because, as I recall, my little mole told me that mine looked far better a fortnight later and that Mr Norton's didn't look quite as good.

- [Steve] Back for a rematch.

- 'Ey?

- Back for a rematch.

You couldn't resist a rematch, could you?

I'll be back in a minute to inspect it.

- I can hear the good old blue spray coming out again that covers a multitude of sins.

- Well, good thing.

You put some blue spray on your side this time, Pete.

- [Peter] No, don't need it.

No, I don't need to hide anything.

- It's not bad, though, that.

Yeah, looks pretty neat.

I wish I'd not put the spray on now.

It's kind of glowing in the dark a bit.

- [Peter] It's all right.

- [Julian] Not bad, is it?

- I'm used to working with bull.

- [Julian] Used to talking it more like.

(Peter laughs) - [Peter] I'll let my work do the speaking for me.

- [Julian] Still a big hole in that side.

- I'm quietly confident.

Proof of the pudding's two weeks later.

- Just see who's telling the truth.

Oh, dear.

- Just stand back here, Steve.

Just stand back and look at that.

You can't even see there's been a wound there.

- No, it's called old age, Pete.

So you can't see... (Peter laughing) - All right, Steve.

You win.

- It's called blindness.

I'm just glad he's not operating on me.

- Bah!

- Five out of ten for Peter for that side.

I think maybe Julian's about a seven.

- [Peter] Well done, lass.

Well done.

We couldn't have had a better patient, could we, lass, eh?

Couldn't have had a better patient.

- [Julian] I think I'm delighted.

- [Peter] We're really happy with that, aren't we, Steve?

- Yeah.

- It takes a lot to make Steve happy.

- It's been said in life there's two things you never see: a dying donkey and a satisfied Yorkshire farmer.

Isn't that right, Steve?

- [Steve] Well, so far so good.

(gentle music) - [Jill] Unfortunately we've got a little eye problem.

- [Christopher] Earlier, Peter saw Whisper with a painful problem.

- Yeah.

If you look at this eye, the hairs on her lower lid are rubbing on the surface of the eye.

Now, when I pull this eye line out to where it should be.

That's it.

- [Christopher] Now, back home at Jill and Tim's smallholding, how's she doing?

- She's been fine.

Within the same day, the eyes look a lot better and you wouldn't even know she'd had it done.

- She's back with her mum, she's back with her brother, she's back with her sister.

And really it's a good outcome.

You know, we want nice healthy sheep and happy lambs, really.

- [Christopher] For the couple, it's a true labor of love.

- It started off just a small thing and it just got out of hand, really.

- [Tim] We're the typical accidental smallholder, that's what it is.

- That's right, yes.

- Yeah, we started off with three, and then eight years on, we've got 40-some.

- [Christopher] These youngsters are old enough to go outside.

So it's a gourmet meal for Mum and a whole new world of adventure for her babies.

- She's been inside for about three weeks.

And they do prefer to be outside, but for the safety of the lambs we keep them in for a while.

When it gets to about dusk, they'll all start running around with the other lambs and getting up to mischief and getting into where they shouldn't be... - [Tim] Mad half-hour, don't they?

- [Jill] Generally annoying the other ewes that are around that they don't belong to, really.

- [Tim] Jumping on everybody's back.

- [Christopher] Next time on "The Yorkshire Vet"... - I just wonder whether that might be a parasitic problem.

- [Christopher] Julian meets a goat with a mighty infestation.

- In Cynthia's skin there'll be hundreds of those, probably.

- [Christopher] Peter's sheep wrestling.

- Well, it's just like sitting in a deck chair on Scarborough Sands, isn't it, really?

Gotcha.

- [Christopher] And this young calf's mum has an embarrassing problem.

- It's like a washing line.. (bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music continues) (bright upbeat music continues)