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

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

(cheerful music) His former surgery and home are now a museum, but his practice lives on nearby.

(phone rings) - Good Morning.

Skeldale Veterinary Center.

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

(metal clangs) - [Vet] Whoa!

- [Narrator] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire Vet.

- Ah ha!

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.

- [Narrator] 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 still never get bored of it.

It's what it's all about, really.

- Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team- - (laughs) She's a fast one.

- [Narrator] They treat animals of all shapes- - Oh, you've got it!

Well done!

- Sizes, types.

- Oh, crikey!

Get off me!

- [Narrator] And temperaments.

(cat hisses) (pig squeals) - Don't you bite, you little- - [Narrator] It's definitely not glamorous, - Ugh!

- [Narrator] But it's varied.

- Well, that shouldn't be there.

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

- [Narrator] It's rarely easy (dog yelps) as the Yorkshire Vet carries on the Herriot tradition, treating all creatures great and small, (pleasant music) (bird chirps) (sheep bray) As sure as the sun dries each new dawn's dew, (sprightly music) as sure as spring turns buds to bloom, (sprightly music) nature's cycle runs like clockwork (sprightly music) through all the changing seasons.

(sprightly music) (curious music) Life at Skeldale also follows a strict pattern.

(phone rings) - Is it this one?

- [Narrator] Organized by their receptionists.

- I think it'll have to be Helen later on 'cause she's waiting for someone to come show them x-rays.

- Ah, okay.

(phone rings) - [Narrator] But despite their well crafted schedule- - Hi, Jackie!

It's Julian here.

- [Narrator] The vets must always be ready.

- Whereabouts is it?

In a mouth?

Crikey!

- [Narrator] For the unexpected.

(phone clicks) (metal scrapes) (curious music) - I've just been phoning with Jackie, our client who has the alpacas, and she's got a baby alpaca with a lump in its mouth.

Hopefully it will be an abscess.

That's the most simple thing.

But you never quite know with lumps in mouths.

It could be something more serious.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] When Julian last visited Jackie's farm, it was to see another suspected mouth abcess.

(gentle music) - Oh, that's a growth, I'm afraid.

- Aw.

- Oh dear.

- Oh, we'll put her to sleep, Julian.

- [Narrator] But that time, it didn't end well.

(gentle music) - Have you had her since she was a baby?

- No.

No.

Had her about six years now.

- Poor old girl!

(gentle music) - So she's got a huge abscess under her chin.

So it must be quite painful for her.

(gentle music) - This time, Jackie's hoping Anna won't suffer the same fate as Maryella.

(gentle music) - [Julian] So how old is she now then?

- She's eight months old.

- [Julian] That's quite nasty, isn't it?

- I vitamined her six weeks ago now.

I don't think it was there then.

- It does feel hard, but there's a soft bit there as well.

- Yeah, it's very painful.

- Ooh!

Crikey!

Yeah, it's that horrible white, pussy stuff.

(troubling music) You can see there is some white stuff there inside the mouth.

Oh, look!

Look there.

That's where it's coming from.

- [Jackie] Ah, yeah.

- [Julian] It's right by that tooth.

- [Jackie] Yeah.

- Ew!

Gosh!

That's grim!

Look at it!

(troubling music) There's obviously a lump under the jaw with a hole underneath where there's some puss coming out and there's a big abscess.

I'm sure it's an abscess in this whole area.

But when you look in the mouth, you can actually see, just at the base of his tooth, look, there's puss and blood coming out from there, from the bottom of that tooth.

(troubling music) So this is interesting because when you see puss coming from the bottom of a tooth, your first instinct is that it's a tooth abcess.

- Yeah.

- But it's actually coming from that tooth as well.

So it wouldn't really be two tooth abscesses, but I think it's just a more general abscess that happens to be coming out there.

(troubling music) - I'm relieved that Julian thinks she's got a reasonably good prognosis 'cause these things could go the other way.

(calm music) So it's always a bit of a worry with infection.

- So you can see there, there's thick kind of cheesy puss.

Ooh!

Look at that.

Cream cheese.

Coming out everywhere.

- Oh, bless her.

I'm relieved that he thinks we can treat it.

Although it's going to be a bit of a yucky job, I think.

(Jackie laughs) - Right, what I'm gonna do, we'll lunge through.

So I'm gonna put this local aesthetic in and then we're gonna cut through there with a scalpel and it'll be like squeezing the mother of all spots, I suppose.

Oh, there we go.

Look!

That's pretty horrible, (calm music) But better out than in.

And hopefully, that should take away a lot of the problems.

- [Narrator] Despite Anna's positive prognosis, she's not outta the woods just yet.

- The bigger problem is that with the firmness that's there in the bone of the lower jaw, the infection's actually got into the bone and that will be much harder to get rid of.

So this is antiseptic solution that I'm using to flush out the middle of the abscessed cavity, which removes as much of the infection as we can.

So she's on a fairly hefty course of antibiotics, which I think will help.

Can let go now.

Yeah.

(gentle music) Disappointing, I think, that it is as deep seated as it obviously is, but we'll see how things go.

But I'm reasonably confident this time that we'll get things sorted.

(gentle music) (alpaca brays) (gentle music) (gentle music continues) (sheep bray) (birds chirp) (playful music) - [Narrator] Skeldale gets its fair share of attention seeking animals.

(object clatters) - Sorry.

(playful music) - [Narrator] And as we increasingly pamper our pets- - There's a beauty parlor that offers these services.

I don't think they'd take me on, would they?

- [Narrator] A new wave of doggy divas.

- Come on.

Good boy.

There we go.

There we go.

Good boy.

- [Narrator] And pet prima donnas are waiting in the wings.

(playful music) - Can I have kiss, Dora?

Kiss?

- [Narrator] And this tiny Yorkshire Terrier is no stranger to the limelight.

- This is Dora.

She's nearly 10.

She was a champion in her days.

At Crufts, she got Best Bitch 2006.

- [Narrator] Hoping to follow in Dora's paw steps, is a young kennel mate Bobby.

- He'll be a year old the end of this month and he'll be shown at Crufts in March.

- [Narrator] To give rising star Bobby the best chance- - Noisy, isn't it?

- [Narrator] His owner Nita has brought him in for some doggy dental care.

- He's got two baby teeth still in, which he shouldn't have 'cause it can take the line off the bite and everything.

And that's important when you show them.

So hence, we need Peter's assistance.

(Anita laughs) (playful music) Whoops!

Nearly lost you.

(people chatter) (door thumps) - Right.

Bob.

- He's got two spare teeth that I would like you to take out.

- [Peter] Yeah.

- [Anita] Could have done with a brush.

- A nuisance, these.

You can see there Bob's canine teeth.

There's his permanent one at the front, closely adjacent, just behind it is his baby...

Hold on, Bob.

- [Anita] Calm down, calm down, calm down.

Good boy.

- His baby teeth hasn't pushed out as it should have done.

The permanent tooth has come through in front of the milk tooth and, if they're left, you get food wedged between them and a bit of a nuisance really.

Then you get gum disease.

So we tend to take them out if they don't drop out within a reasonable length of time.

(playful music) - [Narrator] As the new pup on the block takes center stage- - Are you going home now?

You're gonna stay and wait a bit for mom.

- [Narrator] Former Crufts champ Dora has left a special message of disgust.

- She's done a wee wee on the floor.

(Nita laughs) - She's had a long wait.

(playful music) Glamour from top to bottom, and I'm at the bottom.

(Peter laughs) (anxious music) - [Narrator] Coming up.

- I just wonder whether that might be a parasitic problem.

- [Narrator] Julian meets an itchy goat.

(anxious music) - In Cynthia's skin, there'll be hundreds of those, probably.

- [Narrator] Peter gets up close and personal with a diva dog.

(dog yelps) - Oh, don't you bite, you little... Come here, you little tyke.

We're going back to your mother now.

- Oh wow!

- [Narrator] And this newborn's mom has a rather embarrassing problem.

(Julian laughs) - It's like a washing line.

- [Farmer] Yeah.

(mischievous music) (dog barks) - [Narrator] When choosing pets for our children- - That's a good girl.

- [Narrator] Most people opt for cats- (cat meows) - Hiya!

- [Narrator] Or dogs.

- His tail is that long!

(dog barks) - [Narrator] But some parents opt for more curious creatures to keep their kids happy.

- [Father] We brought in Cynthia today, who's our daughter's little goat, little Pygmy goat.

- Well, Pygmy goats, we've thought of having Pygmy goats.

Our daughters talked about having them for years (goat brays) and we gave in in the end.

We've moved to Yorkshire and had some land.

They're lovely aren't they?

They're good company.

- She's a lovely little goat.

Just gotta watch these little horns.

(father laughs) (mischievous music) - [Narrator] And ready to lock horns with Cynthia is the Yorkshire Vet.

(mischievous music concludes) - [Julian] So who have we got here then?

- This is Cynthia.

She's just over a year.

- Yeah.

- But I noticed yesterday the scabbing on her nose and then also just the scabbing around her eye.

- Her eyes as well.

Yeah.

Just pop her on the table just over.

(goat brays) Oh, Cynthia.

And how many goats have you got?

- [Father] Got three.

- [Julian] And are they okay?

- [Father] They're absolutely fine.

- I can see some scaling around the base of her ear as well.

And is this itchy at all?

- [Father] The eye seems to be giving her some trouble.

- There's a lot going on in this goat.

There's scabs everywhere, really, Around the mouth as well as the nose.

Yeah, and scaly skin there, scaly skin around both eyes, and scaly skin on the base of the ears.

And I just wonder whether that might be a parasitic problem.

You can get mites that make the skin look like that.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] Mites are a microscopic parasite that live on the skin of animals and will certainly get your goat.

- Next thing to do, I think, is to get some samples of these scabs looked down the microscope, see if I can see any mites.

Sometimes they're easy to see, sometimes they're impossible to see, just depending on how lucky you are.

But I'll look at some of these scabs.

So we'll take a few samples.

The first one is something called an impression smear.

Basically, we put this slide just directly onto the surface of the skin and some types of mites live quite near the surface so they'll just sort of stick on the microscope slide.

She's being very good, isn't she?

- [Father] She's a lot quieter than when I lifted her out of the pen.

- [Julian] Right, I'll just be a minute.

(sweet music) - [Narrator] Over in the operating theater- - Bloody hell!

What are you hiding, Bob?

- [Narrator] Peter's preparing Bobby for some diva doggy dentistry.

- Oh, Bobby!

Small on stature, big on character.

Aren't we?

(playful music) - [Narrator] Bobby's a wannabe Crufts champ.

- [Peter] Oi!

- [Narrator] Having his baby teeth removed.

- Bobby.

Bobby.

(playful music) - [Narrator] First job, the anesthetic.

- [Peter] Bobby.

- No!

- Hmm.

I thought you'd be a big, brave soldier.

You're not.

You're going to have a lot to say, aren't you?

I won't.

I won't.

(dog whines) No.

No, no, no.

Shall we try his other leg?

(playful music) - [Narrator] This celebrity pooch is one petrified pup.

- Yeah, let's go to plan B.

- [Narrator] Perhaps Peter will have more luck with gas.

- Feel very sleepy in a minute, but I suspect he'll soon back up.

- [Peter] That's the problem with gas.

It's very quickly reversed.

(playful music) Tell you what.

No.

Right.

- [Narrator] Conceding defeat, something to calm his nerves.

(playful music) But the effects are not immediate.

(dog yelps) - Don't you bite, you little... Come here, you little tyke.

We're going back to your mother now.

(Peter laughs) Little awkward.

- All right.

All right, son.

All right.

All right.

Calm down.

- [Peter] We'll give that about 20 minutes to work.

- [Narrator] As Bobby is proving to be a pain in the butt- (fun upbeat music) - [Julian] So we've got some quite good samples here.

We're gonna look at that down the microscope just now.

- [Narrator] Julian searches for a different type of irritating creature.

(fun upbeat music) - So looking for mites is sometimes like looking for a needle in a haystack because they tend to be, well, they're tiny for one thing and they also are pretty elusive.

But, I can't believe that!

I've found one straight away.

Excellent!

This is a new piece of equipment.

And if all works according to plan... Ha, ha, ha!

We can get a picture of the mite.

And that's him there.

So there.

You can see him.

So this is is obviously extremely magnified and, in Cynthia's skin, there'll be hundreds of those, probably, all nibbling away and eating blood and serum and secretions and so on from the skin.

And there's a consequence.

It makes the skin very sore and itchy.

(upbeat string music) - [Narrator] As Julian gets under the skin of Cynthia's problems- - Well, he's a bit calmer now, aren't you?

You're a bit calmer now, aren't you?

- [Narrator] Along the corridor, it's time for Bobby to face his fear.

(silly music) - He's on a pain med now, so he's a bit more relaxed.

Sometimes you can just shortcut things a bit with baby teeth.

But it wasn't to be for Bobby, was it, Bob?

No.

(cautious music) - [Narrator] Once bitten, twice shy.

- Like Hannibal Lecter, aren't you, Bob?

- [Narrator] This time, Peter's taking no chances.

(cautious music) - Right?

Get the bugger connected up.

(Peter chuckles) Halle-bloody-lujah!

(nurse laughs) He's without any shadow of a doubt a diva.

As far as he's concerned, he's going to Crufts, but he should be in Hollywood, really.

(gentle music) - [Assistant] He's going to Crufts this year?

- Oh yes!

Goes without saying, as far as he's concerned.

(cautious music) Just going to elevate those teeth now.

(cautious music) These are pretty big roots.

Match.

(gentle music) They weren't going to move on their own, were they?

(gentle music) I'll tell you what, these teeth would never have come out.

Never!

Never in a million years.

(gentle music) Look at that!

Look at the size of those roots!

They wouldn't have dropped out 'til he was on his pension, (gentle music) Don't know if I'll put that under my pillow for the fairies to come.

I think I'd want two quid for that, not one.

Wow!

Look at this!

For a baby tooth!

There's more below the gum than there is above it!

Cor!

Nevermind, you've got a gleaming Hollywood smile now.

Yes.

A-list smile.

- [Narrator] As Peter gets to the root of the problem, (mischievous music) in the next room, Cynthia's itching to get her results.

(mischievous music) - Right.

So we found out the problem.

Cynthia's got mites in the skin.

They tend to be quite aggressive.

They usually cause a lot of itchiness, they cause the hair to fall out.

So it can be quite a nasty condition, actually.

But it's fairly easy to treat.

- I was just thinking, actually, I had a full head of hair two weeks ago.

You don't think I've got the same thing, do you?

(all laugh) - Right, so we're gonna give Cynthia two lots of treatments.

The main one is a drug that kills parasites, internal parasites and external parasites, and that will work very effectively to kill the adult mites that are there, but it doesn't kill the eggs.

So then in three weeks time, we do a second dose and that kills the eggs as they're hatching out.

- Okay.

- All right.

Goats don't usually like being injected, do they?

I have to say she's been a very good patient, hasn't she, all the way through, considering we've been poking her?

- Don't speak too soon.

- Yes.

(owners laugh) It's always the way with goats.

- Good girl.

- Good girl.

- Right, this is a bit bigger.

Pretty as she it, I think we're about to make her even more pretty when we've got rid of these scaly bits.

(calm music) - [Man] As Julian sends Cynthia tiptoeing out of the door- (calm music) - [Peter] You mother's waiting for you.

She's getting worried.

- [Narrator] Peter's canine conquest has come to a conclusion.

- Can I have a kiss?

Have you got one for uncle Peter?

- Not likely.

I'm off his Christmas card list now.

- Are you?

- Aren't we?

We are.

Yes.

(calm music concludes) (gentle music) - [Narrator] Scattered throughout the rolling dales and moors of Yorkshire are a friendly community of farms.

(gentle music) And despite the Yorkshire Vets' years of experience, they can still offer up a few challenges.

(calm music) - So we're going to a farm, one of my favorite farms, actually, to go and visit.

It's a suckler herd.

They've got lovely herd of South Devon cows that are always extremely well-behaved.

But I've been called today to see a cow that's problematic.

Quite what the problem is, I don't know, but we'll find out when we get there.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] Pansy gave birth to a calf five days ago.

(mischievous music) Although the baby heifer is doing well, it's mom who's in need of help.

(mischievous music) - Oh wow!

- Yeah, that's the first thing.

- [Julian] That's the longest cleansing I think I've ever seen.

- Yeah.

- You have some funny things in your cows, don't you?

- Yeah, I don't really know what the deal is.

- [Narrator] Julian's last visit was to remove an extremely unusual item from a cow.

- I've done this operation a few times before, but to find something as enormous as this, it's a once in a lifetime, I think, for me.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] It seems this farm has a habit of serving up surprises for the Yorkshire Vet.

(mischievous music) - No.

Right.

Okay.

I mean, she probably just needs cleansing, but that's the world's longest cleansing, isn't it?

- [Farmer] Right.

Yeah.

- [Julian] Never quite know what you're gonna get when you come here.

- [Farmer] No.

Come on, cow.

Come on.

- This cow has got a great long trail of what we call cleansing, which is part of the placenta that's hanging out of the back of the cow.

Now normally, that comes out within a few hours of the cow being born and it comes out in a big blob.

But sometimes, and for various reasons, it stays inside the cow, and we put our hand inside usually and then pull out the rest of it.

But this is the longest cleansing I've ever seen.

It's like a long rope coming out to the back of the cow.

I'm surprised, if it's that long, she's not stood on it.

- Well, the calves keep standing on.

- And look at it!

It's massive!

(Julian laughs) It's like a washing line!

- [Farmer] Yeah.

Doesn't smell great.

I mean, it's had a couple of days to ferment.

(lube gurgles) - I'm just getting this terrible whiff of- - Decay.

- It's pretty feted in there.

- [Farmer] Yeah.

- [Julian] It stinks.

You learn that you need to put on about three pairs of gloves for this job.

- [Farmer] Right.

Why's that?

- The smell goes through one and it's a really bad job to do just before lunch 'cause your sandwiches don't taste quite as nice when you've got the smell of cow cleansing on them.

- [Narrator] The smell certainly hasn't affected Pansy's appetite.

(mischievous music concludes) - [Julian] It's quite well attached, actually, in there.

- Yeah?

- Yeah, which is why it's not come out with that length.

We need to get this out because it can make cows quite poorly in some cases and the uterus can end up with an infection called metritis, and that's pretty problematic for a cow.

Ooh!

Oops!

There we go.

So when the calf's inside, it's surrounding the calf, I suppose, the calf's in the middle of it, and under normal circumstances that comes out, well, after birth.

That's why it's called afterbirth.

But this is five days after the birth of the calf.

There we are.

- [Farmer] Very good.

Thanks, Julian.

- Well, it's the longest cleansing that I've ever seen.

So yeah.

A strange one.

(playful music) (cow moos) (upbeat string music) - [Narrator] Coming up.

- (laughs) He's full of beans!

- [Narrator] A raucous rodent gives Julian the run around.

- Oh!

Come back!

(Peter laughs) (sheep brays) - [Narrator] Peter wrestles a problem patient.

- Well, it's just like sitting in a ditch out on (indistinct), isn't it, really?

(tense music) - [Narrator] And Jeanie Green has a double diary disaster.

- Right, you're due in tomorrow, not today.

- Well, can I leave them with you?

'Cause do don't wanna take them home and feed them.

(playful music) - Good boy!

- [Narrator] From big beasts- - Hello, big fella.

(Peter laughs) - [Narrator] To tiny tinkers.

- [Julian] Look at that!

Cool!

Well, nothing wrong with his mouth!

- [Narrator] Skeldale's clients come in all shapes- - [Vet] Come on, sweetie.

You coming out?

- And sizes.

(playful music) - So we've got a little girl's hamster coming in just now called Rusty, and Rusty's got a very long and overgrown teeth and they're going in a very wonky way.

So what we need to do is to trim them down.

We'll cut them with a special electric saw and make them smooth and neat.

(playful music) And this is important because otherwise, obviously, Rusty's not gonna be able to eat.

(playful concludes) So this is this little Rusty.

So what we're gonna do this afternoon is... Come here, little man.

Give him some anesthetic gas so he goes to sleep.

Problem is they're not always the best animals to deal with 'cause they can bite and if they do bite, they don't let go very readily.

So there we are.

It looks a friendly little fellow.

You should be called Goofy with teeth like that.

Just gonna gently pop him in this little box.

There we are.

And then what will happen is we're gonna... You stay there.

Once he's asleep, we've got a few moments to file down the front of his teeth and make him nice and neat and tidy.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] First up, gas anesthetic.

- They're lovely little creatures.

Yeah.

(Julian laughs) Yeah.

(laughs) They're so full of energy, aren't they?

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Next, the dreaded drill.

(gentle music) - So what we'll do, we'll do the bottom tooth first.

(drill squeals) Yeah, the water's squirting out because it keeps the drill cool.

So it avoids any thermal damage to the teeth.

(gentle music) They're nice and short on the bottom.

(gentle music) (indistinct) His top ones are much better than they were in terms of their... Oops!

In terms of their length.

Now he's got his strength back.

Come here.

(gentle music) I don't want to drop him on the floor.

So you see, he's full of (laughs) He's full of beans.

(gentle music) Come here, hamster.

Little creatures like this, it's lovely to get to treat them.

At one minute you can be calving a cow that weighs half a ton or more and then the next moment, you're treating a little creature that's about 50 grams.

So literally, some days it is all creatures great and small.

Oh, come back!

(gentle music) There you are, little hammy.

You'll stay in there and it'll be home time soon.

(gentle music concludes) (mischievous music) - [Narrator] All done for now.

- Right, there we go.

- [Narrator] Rusty's teeth will regrow, so he'll be back.

- They've come for their ginger nuts and their hazelnuts off.

(both laugh) - [Narrator] However, not all unwanted appendages are able to regenerate.

- Boomerang and Chester for ginger nuts and hazelnuts off.

- Right.

They're due in tomorrow, not today.

- Well can I leave them with you 'cause I don't wanna take them home and feed them.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] Hazelnuts and ginger nuts are cat chat for- - Balls in your language.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] Soon to be castrated, Boomerang and Chester are new additions to the family.

(mischievous music concludes) - I rescued them on Sunday off the Long Street.

They were abandoned up an alley and I took them both on and I'd like to get the buggers that did it to them and give them the same treatment.

That's all they deserve.

(gentle music) - How are you?

Do you want me to carry them for you?

I'll bet they are a lot of weight together.

- Jean isn't the only good Samaritan in Thirsk.

(gentle music) Sitting snugly in the moors is a sort of rest home for geriatric and poorly sheep.

(gentle music) Owned by ovine lover Janet, it offers sanctuary for sheep with nowhere else to go.

(sheep brays) - Here, mama!

Little hurly buns.

Oh, we've eaten a lot, girls.

I used to be a dental surgeon years ago and then my neighbor said, "Why don't we have a few sheep?"

So we started off with seven between us.

Oh, hello, Misty!

Misty's been blind since birth, And then my neighbor, she had to pull out.

So this is where I've ended up with all these hangers on.

(Janet laughs) Mind your big bum, Gary.

There you go, girl.

Oh, has he made it smell funny?

I'm a softie, I suppose.

I've got enough ground and they do keep the grass down for me because I haven't got enough of the ones I breed from for all the grass I've got.

So they do their little job.

Quite good, this field.

It used to be a golf course, you know?

Which is why we've got all these bumps.

Right, we're all present and correct.

Jolly good.

I couldn't live anywhere better.

I mean, it doesn't matter if it's a sunny day, a rainy day, whatever.

(gentle music) You've got this to look at every day, you know?

And people come from far and wide to walk around and have a look here, and I can look at it all the time.

(gentle music) Morning, girls!

How are you this morning?

(sheep brays) Where you hiding?

Oh yeah.

That's great, isn't it?

Come on.

Don't you want your nuts?

Well, this lady, who was born 2011, she's been lame on and off ever since I've had her and she's had a bad foot and it's been the same bad foot all that while.

Anyway, last year she got a nasty granuloma or an overgrowth of fleshy tissue coming out from the foot.

It might be.

You eat that from out of mommy's glove?

Peter came and he dealt with it and she was fine, well, 'til now, and it's come back again.

So it needs looking at one more time.

(calm music) - [Peter] I wouldn't mind being a sheep here, you know?

- [Janet] That's what my husband said.

- I often think this is an ovine rest home for ladies of distinction.

(Peter laughs) (cheerful music) Now you've got a lady who's not doing very well.

- She's the one you saw last time.

- Last year.

- Her right hand.

Yeah, July the 10th.

I looked to talk, Peter.

Yeah, so she's a little bit of a madame, actually.

She's not a very good patient and she's not lovey dovey with me, like some of them are.

You know, she's a bit of a pain.

- [Peter] Well, she doesn't know when she's well off.

(both laugh) - [Janet] Now I've got my sheep sofa.

They like that, you know?

- [Peter] Do they?

- [Janet] Because they feel more secure.

- [Peter] Okay, - [Janet] So we'll give it a whirl if that's all right with you.

- Absolutely fine.

Yeah.

- Because she's a bit of a big lass.

- [Peter] I've got to confess, I've never used one.

- Oh, it was great fun.

(Peter laughs) A little bit rickety, Peter.

- [Peter] That's all right.

You don't think you and I are going to rupture ourselves lifting her into that, do you?

- No.

You won't rupture yourself, honest.

Right.

We'll back here there.

- Oh, I see!

Then just tip her up!

- And then, yeah tip her up.

- [Peter] Sounds lovely in theory.

- Oh, it is in theory.

It's brilliant.

- [Peter] Oh, she's going to sulk now.

- [Janet] Yeah.

- [Narrator] Turning theory into practice is easier said than done.

- She doesn't appreciate being here, does she?

(Peter laughs) - [Janet] Not at all.

- [Peter] Come here, missus.

Right.

Okay.

- [Janet] Come here.

Right okay.

- Okay.

- Up we go.

There you go!

(straw rustles) - Well, it's just like sitting in a ditch out on (indistinct) isn't it, really?

- Yeah.

Gotcha!

Yeah.

(Peter laughs) (straw rustles) - So we're just trimming these back now, just to make it a bit better for her.

What happens is, as the walls of the hooves grow, they get a bit too long, just like your fingernails do.

And that's what we're doing now, just tidying these up because, if they get too long, it separates the horn, called the horn, which is like the nail, away from the sensitive tissue inside and that allows bugs to get in there and cause this foot lock problem.

I'll put a little bit of of local into it.

I know.

Now what I'm doing now, I'm just trimming the horn cuz 'cause we've got a lump there now where the horn's tried to grow over the raspberry.

Just going to trim that tissue back that we've numbed.

(sheep brays) That's it.

- Yeah, she's still in the land of the living.

- I'm gonna put a pressure bandage on there now in conjunction with some copper sulfate.

And what most farmers like to hear about this is it's as cheap as chips, but it does the job very well.

- [Narrator] It seems that this sheep's enjoying her time in the spa.

- [Janet] Oh, she's really chill.

- She is, isn't she?

Yeah, she has a massage after this.

(both laugh) (sweet music) - Come, come.

- Right, you.

Up you go.

Whoa!

(straw rustles) - Back to Mrs. Stroppy now.

- Yeah.

(Peter laughs) - Of all the things, of all the species we do, I think sheep are the gentlest and nicest.

I do.

- Oh, do you?

- I do.

- Yeah.

- There's just something about sheep that's just nice.

Nice to see.

And also, come lambing time, I think it's a sign of fresh hope and spring's here when lambing time.

So I think it puts a spring in everybody's step.

(sweet music) - [Narrator] And for some, that spring can't come soon enough.

- Can you manage, Janet?

- Yeah.

- Yes, well do.

- Eventually.

(laughs) Not very elegant, but we get there.

- It was impressive.

(both laugh) (sheep bray) (music concludes) (mischievous music) - [Narrator] Back at Skeldale, it's time for vet Sarah Beckerlegge to cut to the chase.

(mischievous music) - So these are Jeannie Green's new cats (mischievous music) that she has adopted fairly recently.

So she has opted to have these boys castrated.

(mischievous music) So castrating cats, it's fairly straightforward, although it looks barbaric, It's the way it's been done for years and years and years and years.

Probably the way that I was taught the castrate cats is the way that Peter was taught, was the way James Herriot was taught, was the way every vet for the last however long there's been vets have been taught to castrate cats.

So it looks brutal, but it's efficient.

They are well anesthetized, so they can't feel anything.

So it is one of the more straightforward veterinary procedures that we do.

- [Narrator] One down- (mischievous music) - Right, Boomerang.

Let's find your bed.

Just in here.

- [Narrator] One to go.

- So this is Chester, and we have two testicles there.

I'm afraid he doesn't need them, so off they come.

(tense music) Well, it's really important to get your pets neutered.

So either spayed or castrated.

Basically, there are far too many dogs and cats in the world, far too many that don't have loving homes.

So Jeannie, because she is a responsible pet owner, is opting to have them castrated.

So it's something that, as vets, we advocate quite strongly, the responsible spaying and neutering of all your pets.

(tense music concludes) (playful music) - [Narrator] Ready to welcome back her kittens, (playful music) Jean has brought along daughter Sarah and husband Steve.

(playful music) - You all right, my darling?

- [Steve] Yeah.

- There we go.

Mama's boys.

- Oh, that's them.

- Hello, my little munchkins.

- Hello, my darlings.

How are you?

He's walking like John Wayne.

Poor little mites.

If there's any men about and they want the same treatment, just send them to me.

I've got a rusty tin lid and I can just do a job.

(playful music concludes) (dramatic music) - [Narrator] Coming up.

- No, down.

Down, please.

- [Narrator] Crufts hopeful Bobby has a dress rehearsal.

- This is what happens.

You'll have them all groomed and everything and they'll shake and they'll look as though they've been through a hedge backwards.

(inspirational music) - [Narrator] The sun-kissed moors turn ever greener.

(inspirational music) Animals rejoice that winter has passed, (inspirational music) making way for glorious spring.

(inspirational music) (gravel crunches) - Okay, so today I'm going out to a small farm.

There's one or two jobs to do and some old patients to follow up on.

(inspirational music) - [Narrator] That old patient is Cynthia (goat brays) who needed pest control when Julian discovered mites.

(inspirational music) - So this is is obviously extremely magnified, and in Cynthia's skin there'll be hundreds of those, probably.

- [Narrator] After a course of medication, (inspirational music) Julian's paying her a visit to check how she's getting on.

(inspirational music) - Let's have a look, Cynthia.

- This is all healed up really nicely.

- Oh, that's a lot better, isn't it?

You can tell that the underlying skin is a lot healthier and the nose, that was all crusted up, wasn't it?

I mean, that again, it's just improving, isn't it, all the time?

Well, Cynthia looks quite good.

There's no reason to think there'll be any problems going forward and they should be back to full health before we know it.

(calm music) - Thank you.

Good to see you.

- Good to see you again.

Yeah.

- Thank you very much.

- Bye.

(calm music) - [Narrator] With Cynthia well on the road to recovery, Paul and his wife Jane can get back to living the good life.

- We've ended up in north Yorkshire.

I've worked up here for for many years on pig units.

Jane's from Sunderland.

I'm from Grimsby.

And I was spending far too much time on the M1.

So we saw this place this time last year, didn't we?

- That's right.

Yeah, we did.

- And fell in love with it, really.

- Yeah, it's just magical.

- [Paul] It's ideal.

It's got a bit of the land with it too, which is what we always wanted.

- [Jane] Yes.

- [Paul] Views.

We've got super views.

- [Jane] Here on the farm, we've got three Pygmy goats and five Dexter cattle, we've got some chickens and two golden retrievers as well.

- [Paul] And two girls.

- And two children.

(both laugh) - [Paul] We feel so settled here, don't we?

- [Jane] It just feels right.

It's really peaceful and calm.

And this is home, definitely.

- This is where we're going to stay, isn't it?

(sweet music) - [Narrator] As Paul and Jane and the other inhabitants of Thirsk enjoy this beautiful spring day, (dog barks) for one local resident, it's bath time.

- Oh Bobby!

He knows what's coming next, don't you?

Hey?

Shh!

Shh!

Shh!

Quiet!

(dog barks) - [Narrator] Earlier, Crufts hopeful Bobby popped in to see Peter for a spot of dental work.

- Small on stature, big on character.

Aren't you?

- [Assistant] No.

- [Narrator] But his diva-like behavior left a deep impression.

(dog yelps) - Don't you bite, you little... Come here, you little tyke!

- Go on, rascal.

- [Narrator] Today, Nita and Bobby are having a dress rehearsal in preparation for Crufts.

(mischievous music) - [Nita] Clever boy.

- [Narrator] But the first challenge is to curb Bobby's bad behavior.

- You've got to keep in mind, he's just turned a year old, really.

He's just out of puppy.

No.

Down!

Down!

No, you're not coming.

No!

Down, please.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] Bobby's kennel mate Dora, a former Crufts champion, is now retired.

- You're not going to a show.

(Nita chuckles) (dog growls) - [Narrator] Nita's hoping Bobby will help her reclaim the canine crown.

- If it had been Dora or any of the other show dogs, they would just stand on the table.

But as you can see, he's fidgety and everything else.

But he will get used to it.

You know?

It just takes time.

(blow dryer hisses) Now he's nice and clean, you can actually see the tans coming through.

And this is one thing that the judge will look at to see if the tans... (dog growls) Hey!

How far the tans are on the legs.

Did you enjoy that?

This is what happens.

You'll have them all groomed and everything, ready to stand for the judge, and they'll shake and they look as they've been through hedge backwards.

(Nita laughs) He's not the easiest dog to cope with.

But having said that, when he's in the ring, he's brilliant.

Clever boy.

Stand.

Stand.

(regal music) Stand.

If they're really laid back, you don't want that.

The judge wants to see something that's, "Oh, I like that!

Ooh!"

And things like that.

That's a good boy!

Clever boy!

Everyday people will come and watch the show and they'll come up to you and say, "Oh, isn't he nice?

I've got one of them at home."

And you'll see this enormous Yorkie with ears that's about like that and you know.

But they love them to bits, you know?

So you just have to smile.

That's it.

You've been a brilliant little boy!

You have!

If I get placed, I'll be very, very happy.

(dog barks) - [Narrator] Whether Bobby's got Dora's support is another matter.

(dog barks) - Dora!

You're very vocal.

You've been good boy.

Oh, thank you!

Hey, you're gorgeous, aren't you, when you're done out?

"Yes," he said.

"I know, mom."

(music concludes) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] Next time on "The Yorkshire Vet," (cow moos) Julian struggles to perform lifesaving surgery.

- It's subzero temperatures.

It's just a question of getting things sorted as quickly as we can.

(chicken clucks) - I'm a little bit worried.

he's very snotty.

- A cockerel's world goes topsy turvy.

- [Vet] Chickens are always incredibly brave little creatures.

(chicken clucks) - [Narrator] And it's touch and go for Treacle the calf.

- It's really cold.

(cheerful music) - Yeah, the next 24 hours are critical for her.

- I'm gonna do my best, Steve.

(cheerful music) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music continues) (cheerful music concludes) (no audio) (no audio)