(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 best-selling books.

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

(phone ringing) - Good morning, Skeldale Vet 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.

Whoa, lad.

- [Christopher] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire Vet.

- Ah-ha!

Coming to work in the morning, we're never quite sure what's gonna happen.

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.

- Everything that you can see is Yorkshire.

- 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... - Back to safety.

All right?

- Thank you.

You're welcome.

- [Christopher] They treat animals of all shapes... - Ah, you've got it.

Well done.

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

Get it off me!

- [Christopher] And temperaments.

(pig squeals) - It's okay.

(cat meows aggressively) - [Christopher] It's definitely not glamorous...

But it's varied.

- Back in there, like that.

- You're a little bobby-dazzler, aren't you?

- [Christopher] It's rarely easy... - She's a fast one.

- [Christopher] As the Yorkshire Vet carries on the Herriot tradition, treating all creatures great and small.

(gentle music) Spring has arrived.

The land is a little greener, the air a touch warmer and North Yorkshire's woken from its winter sleep.

This morning, a 5AM emergency call has dragged Julian from his bed.

- I've been on-call during the night time.

And I had a beeper message not long ago, which woke me up.

And it's a lady who's got a horse with signs of colic.

- [Christopher] The sick horse Julian's heading to see is ten-year-old Isla.

Concerned owners Tom and Judith haven't had much sleep either.

- I just heard stomping, stomping.

I came out, and she was steaming, she was head down and obviously wanting to go down.

And then she did go down, and she got up again, and then she went down again.

And that's normally a sign of colic.

- Colic can vary from quite a mild condition of something that we call spasmodic colic, which is nothing really more than just aching intestines, where the guts spasm, to a more serious problem, something like a twist of the intestine, where the bowel just literally does twist on itself.

And that's very, very serious.

The outlook is usually pretty bleak for that sort of thing.

- I did lose one.

16 years ago, it was, actually.

But it really is just the most awful death.

They just fling themselves all over, and twist, and curl, and...

It's not quick and it's not pleasant.

- [Tom] How are you, Julian?

- Yeah, not bad, thanks.

Are you all right?

- [Tom] Yeah, yeah, good.

- [Christopher] With the fresh morning bringing Julian round... - It's different weather up here to down in Thirsk as usual.

- [Tom] Always.

- [Christopher] He can assess the seriousness of Isla's condition.

- The first thing that we usually do is to measure the heart rate.

And the faster the heart rate, the worse the colic.

And her heart rate's 52bpm, which is up.

It should be... Normal is about 40.

So I'm just listening to her intestines now.

This, again, this is the next sort of step.

And the simple kinds of colics, you've got lots of noise and, more serious colics, you do not get any noise.

(cockerel crows) - [Christopher] As dawn is loudly and proudly announced, Julian knows the more sounds he can hear inside Isla, the more likely he'll be able to save her.

- So far, there's not much happening on this side.

- [Judith] Right.

- Ah, there we go.

Ooh, yeah, a lot of noise down there.

I think it's pretty likely to be spasmodic colic.

It can be quite painful.

We always think of it, from a veterinary point of view, as a good thing to have cause it's easy to fix.

But, from the horse's point of view, it can be just as painful as other types.

Would she let me have a feel inside, do you think?

- [Judith] We can have a go.

- It's a good thing to do just for thoroughness, really.

I just need to get a glove.

- [Christopher] It looks as if Isla knows what getting the glove means.

- She's pretty agitated, isn't she, there?

Just what I need when I'm gonna put my hand inside her backside.

- [Judith] Yeah.

Have a go.

The worst is... You can stand there... - The worst is I get kicked against that wall.

The problem is, of course, it's not the most pleasant of things to do at the best of times.

Gosh, lass, I'm sorry.

Right, well, there's feces in there, which is always good.

That means things are moving through.

There's no obstructions in there, there's...

There's definitely no signs of a twist.

She actually looks as if she's quite enjoying it, doesn't she?

She's gone quieter than ever.

I must have a soothing way.

- [Christopher] After her previous tragic experience of colic, there should be a much happier outcome.

- To lose a horse would be very bad.

It would be extremely upsetting.

Especially when you've had them from being a baby.

- All right there, old girl.

So this goes straight into her vein.

It's a combination of things.

This takes the spasms away and there's a painkiller as well.

And it works pretty quickly.

- He's going to make my horse better.

Magical Julian.

- Sometimes, literally, within a few minutes, you start to see a horse looking normal again.

And she's kind of already looks a bit more comfortable, doesn't she?

- You maybe just relieved some gas when you... - Mm, there we are.

I've mended her already.

(Judith laughs) I mean, it works- - Are you any good with tractors?

- I'm very bad with anything mechanical, I'm afraid.

- [Christopher] With the early morning mist lying low over the moors, it's been an uplifting start to what will now be a long day.

A call at this time, in the early hours of the morning, is quite good because it means we can get the job done and get home, have some breakfast, and then, kids to school, I think, is the next thing on my list.

Very good.

- Thank you very much.

Bye.

- Bye now.

- Bye.

(bright music) (gentle music) - [Christopher] From drama to tragedy, Skeldale has most of the classic literary genres covered.

In the waiting room, there's war... (indistinct chatter) And peace... - Ooh.

- [Christopher] And, just a mile away, one of the practice's clients has been watching a love story unfold.

But sadly for Harvey the rampant rabbit, it's a story of unrequited love.

- [Susan] You're a beautiful boy, aren't you?

- [Christopher] 15-week-old Harvey is the apple of owner Susan's eye... - Aw... You're gorgeous, aren't you?

Aw.

You love your mum, don't you?

Yeah.

- [Christopher] But Lucille, the resident family rabbit, isn't quite so convinced by the new boy's charms.

(playful upbeat music) - He has taken a very, very strong interest with Lucille.

And, unfortunately, he is plaguing her life by constantly chasing her, running around after her and trying to...

I don't want to say mount because it's not very nice.

Come on, you two!

Are you ready for something to eat?

He's constantly behind her, all the time, trying to... And that's all he does.

He tries and tries and tries.

There's a strip down her back, where all her fur is being bitten away, where he's tried.

And when I saw that the other day, I thought, no, this is not right.

- [Christopher] As Lucille's not interested in being cougar to Harvey's toy boy, there's only one thing for it.

The romantic rabbit has been booked in to Skeldale for a castration... - Would you like to come through?

- [Christopher] With the practice's longest-serving vet, Peter.

- You're a very naughty boy, aren't you?

But you're only doing what comes naturally.

- He is, yes.

It's just that time.

He's ready for the chop.

- Oh, yes.

Yes.

- [Susan] Are they there?

- Oh, yes.

Would you just sit him up on your hand like that for me?

I'll just have a quick feel.

Oh, yes.

He's a very proud owner.

- [Susan] Oh, is he?

- [Peter] Yes he is.

- [Susan] Not for long!

- Right.

We'll put you back in there.

Good boy!

Now, unfortunately, Harvey, you're not going home just yet.

(Susan laughs) - Bye, darling.

Aw, poor thing.

- [Peter] We'll look after him.

- Thanks a lot, Peter.

- Right-o, see you later, bye-bye.

Some nice testicles there to get our hands onto.

That's fine.

- [Christopher] Coming up... - Oh, wow, it's there.

- [Christopher] A small animal poses a big problem for Julian.

- I think that's gonna be far too difficult to remove.

It's really massive.

Much bigger than I expected.

- [Christopher] There's a busman's holiday for nurse Rachel... - It's not your usual holiday that any person would take, but it's always nice to bring something new into the world.

- [Christopher] And Billy the dog has big problems.

- It's the anal glands.

- [Christopher] Problems that all come down to... - Poo, poo, poo, poo, a lot of poo.

- [Christopher] At Skeldale, owners wait with their beloved pets, hoping the team can make them better.

Even the smallest animals can cause a huge amount of worry.

Dawn and her daughter Emma are here with their guinea pig, Truffles.

- We've had guinea pigs for about 15 years.

On and off.

They've all got different personalities.

All of them.

- She's very vocal, isn't she?

Compared to some of them we've had.

- [Dawn] If she hears the fridge or if you're chopping something, she goes mad.

- The other day, I found that she had a lump under her neck and got quite concerned about it cause they've not supposed to have lumps.

So we thought we'd bring her in and get it checked out.

- It's the first time I've felt it.

It goes right down into her neck.

I get so attached.

Even guinea pigs.

- Truffles Chilver?

- [Christopher] Dawn and Emma are praying that vet Haddie will give them good news.

- [Haddie] She's still being herself?

- [Dawn] Yeah.

- [Haddie] Eating?

- [Dawn] Yeah, she's fine.

- What I think is most likely is an abscess.

- That's what we were hoping.

- Yes, yeah.

It feels quite soft.

It doesn't feel hard.

So what I'll try and do is put a little needle in, and we'll see if we can get any pus out of that.

Okay, if you could hold her against your chest?

Look at that.

- Oh, dear.

- Oh... - I think we're gonna need a bigger syringe.

- [Christopher] The pus keeps coming... - Wow.

That can't have been very nice for her.

- [Haddie] That's about 8ml already.

- [Christopher] And coming... - [Haddie] Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart.

- [Christopher] And coming.

- I know, I know.

(Truffles squeaking) Shall we leave it at that, shall we?

I think we've got most of it out.

There's still a bit of a lump there.

- [Christopher] Truffles might be looking better, but she's never smelt worse.

- [Emma] That's not nice.

You might be having a cuddle from a distance, dear.

Is there any chance of it coming back?

- Yeah.

So it might be worthwhile, if it does come back, having her in.

And we can give her a bit of gas, anesthetic, and then we can talk about maybe investigating why... - Why it's happening.

- Yeah.

- Thank you.

- See you again.

- Thank you very much.

- Thanks a lot.

Bye!

- [Christopher] A less-swollen Truffles leaves Skeldale.

And when Peter's finished with him, Harvey will be a bit lighter, too.

- Come on, Harvey.

Come on, little man.

- [Christopher] The romantic rabbit has taken a real shine to his hutch-mate, Lucille.

- Lucille just keeps running away and he will just not leave her alone.

- [Christopher] To make sure the bunnies can live happily together, Harvey's being castrated.

- We're going to take your bits off.

Yes, we are.

Good lad.

They say rabbits have a lot of fun because there are a lot of them.

Maybe there are a lot of rabbits because rabbits have a lot of fun.

- [Christopher] With Harvey out for the count, Peter sizes up his target.

- For a young chap, those testicles are just a nice size.

He's hell-bent on using them.

Sorry, Harvey, you're going to lose them.

Better off without those, my old friend.

They'll only get you into trouble.

When we have husbands and wives in discussing the merits of castration, women are all for it.

And you can see the men standing there crossing their legs, and, "Is it really necessary?"

Right, that's half his trouble out of the way.

It should calm down his amorous tendencies.

Other than that it probably won't make a vast difference to his lifestyle.

Sorry Harvey but there'll be no little Harveys running about now.

We're going to put some glue over the incision.

His penis is out.

We don't want to... - We don't want any glue anywhere near his penis.

- Don't want to glue his penis, do we?

That wouldn't help, would it, Harvey?

The testicles produce testosterone, which gives them the urge.

But he may still have the urge for some time until his hormone levels drop.

So even though he's got no testicles now, he might still, for a short while, have the urge to mate.

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] For Skeldale's hard-working team, the lambing season is an especially busy time of year.

When one of them gets the chance for a little holiday, then it's the perfect opportunity to jet off to... (sheep bleats) A local farm, for more lambing.

- [Rachel] Come on.

- [Christopher] There's not a sun lounger in sight on nurse Rachel's week off, as she helps her mum and brother, who both work here.

- I take it as my holiday.

I come and lamb 700 or 800 yows.

So spending a bit of time with your family, doing what you enjoy, especially, is always something special.

- Rachel started to come with me when she was about 11, when she was still at school.

She came weekends and nights to help out.

- [Christopher] For Rachel, helping animals isn't just a job... - Put you back.

- [Christopher] It's a way of life.

- So, in here is our little pet pen.

There's two in here that unfortunately lost their mum.

So they're in here and waiting for a new mummy.

- She's always been an animal-lover.

You could tell that from a very early age, with cats and dogs and things.

- You want that one?

- It's fantastic, what she's achieved.

You know, she's fulfilled her dream, which is what she wanted to do.

She qualified last year and we're very proud of her.

- [Christopher] With hundreds of ewes ready to lamb, it's an uber-busy busman's holiday for Rachel.

- [Rachel] We've got a head and a foot.

- It's great to have her knowledge.

We all learn from her and she's still learning from me.

And if things need help, she's in there and knows what to do.

- It's always nice to bring something new into the world.

It's an amazing thing, is nature and what it can do.

And then let them out into the field and just let them go.

And you can always say, at the end of the day, well, I've brought that lamb into the world.

Go on.

This is what we work for.

Two happy, healthy lambs and a happy mum.

I feel dedicated to my animals.

My animals always come first.

Come on.

It's not your usual holiday any person would take.

Usually getting on a plane and flying somewhere hot.

Come on.

If you offered me that, I'd much rather be here.

There we go.

- [Christopher] Back at the practice, the Yorkshire Vet's ready for his next patient.

- Mrs Chilver?

Hi there.

All right?

- Hi.

How are we getting on?

- [Christopher] Dawn and daughter Emma are back with Truffles, their beloved guinea pig.

- [Julian] Hello, Truffles.

- She might smell a bit cause one of the little ones sort of popped yesterday.

- Oh, it did, right okay.

That's okay.

We're used to that sort of thing.

- [Christopher] Last week, Julian's colleague Haddie drained an abscess.

- You're all right, Truffles.

Sorry to turn you upside down.

Oh, wow, it's there.

- [Emma] Yeah.

- That's massive.

Can you see how big it is there?

It's all the way around there.

- Yeah.

The thing is, it's okay to drain these things, but they do tend to fill back up again.

And I just wonder whether we might be best to try and remove that.

Remove the whole abscess.

- [Dawn] Take the abscess off.

- And treat it as if it's a lump.

And then you take it off, and cut all round, and go back to healthy tissue, cause I think it's of a size there that's like a golf ball.

Anesthetic-wise, you know, hopefully, it'll be a fairly quick operation.

Is that all right?

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah.

- I think I'd be happier if it was off cause if we just lance it and drain it, it's just gonna come back again.

Hm, Truffles?

Shall we do that, then?

You don't know what we're talking about, do you?

Guinea pigs are great, aren't they?

- Oh, yeah.

- Oh, they're lovely.

- I've got two guinea pigs at home and they're just full of character, aren't they?

He's cool, isn't he?

- Yeah.

- But if we can do it this way, and get it off, then it will be problem solved.

- Then that should be it?

- That should be it, yeah.

Okay?

- Thanks a lot, Julian.

- Thank you.

- I'm gonna anesthetize her first of all.

The easiest way to do that with little guinea pigs is to put them in this plastic sandwich tub and put the lid on.

And if you do it this way, it's very simple.

It causes minimal stress to her.

Any small animal like this, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters and so on, anesthetics are quite risky.

So we need to be very careful about what we do.

And part of that is getting the procedure done quite quickly so that we can wake her up and get her round as quickly as possible.

The biggest problem we're gonna have here is, the lump's actually quite big and the jugular vein goes right under there.

First thing is to make an incision to the skin.

We've just had a massive burst of the abscess, so that's... Whoa, that's what's in it.

That is pretty hard to describe the smell of that.

Whoa.

Grim.

It's like Camembert that you got for Christmas that's still there three months later.

- [Christopher] The smell isn't the only thing bothering Julian.

- I think that's gonna be far too difficult to remove.

It's really massive.

Much bigger than I expected.

And it's very deep seated as well.

- [Christopher] Coming up, Julian has to think quickly... - Right, I think, what we're gonna do now, we're gonna have a slight change of plan.

- [Christopher] For a struggling new mum, a traditional Yorkshire remedy... - You be careful, Peter, cause it's gonna give her wings.

- [Christopher] Plus, we meet Billy the badass... - His bottom's dreadful.

- [Christopher] And his exasperated owner, Betty.

- You can have him.

Poo!

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] It's the time of year when sheep need to be fit and strong as they introduce splay-legged lambs to life in the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside.

But Peter Wright is on his way to Ralph Alderson's farm, where a new mum has been struggling with a mystery condition.

- The other day, I thought it perhaps was suffering from a bit of pneumonia.

Had a bit of nasal discharge, nothing much.

And then, within about a day-and-a-half, two days, its face has all swollen up.

So it's obviously got something a bit more going on there.

Maybe it's bacteria or something, possibly.

- [Christopher] The swollen face isn't doing Mum, her lamb, or her looks any good at all.

- Her face is like a football.

If you look at the thickness of the lip there, normal thickness, about 5mm, 6mm, perhaps, 4mm, that's getting on for 10mm thick.

And then the swelling goes down around here.

At the moment, she's breathing fine, but if it was left untreated, she would probably choke to death.

(lamb bleats) She's finding it very difficult to eat.

And she's getting things in her mouth, and can't swallow them, and they remain there till you go pull them out.

I am a bit worried cause she's got a real nice lamb and I don't want an orphaned lamb.

- [Christopher] Ralph is hoping Peter can make sure that doesn't happen.

- I see you've caught her, Ralph.

- Yeah.

- [Peter] It is very edematous, that.

- What?

- Edema... Basically, it's fluid in there and it puts on pressure.

Let me just have a look, missus.

- [Christopher] Peter has been treating animals for decades, but the newborn doesn't know his mum's in safe hands.

- Right.

It's unusual, but I know what we've got there.

It's a bug that produces gas and it produces fluid.

And the thing that causes that is clostridia.

Clostridia is the same family as tetanus.

Now, with some of these, you have a small wound there, possibly within the mouth itself, and that produces the right type of environment for the bugs to multiply and produce the sort of symptoms that we've got now.

We're just going to try to make it easier for her, get that fluid down, because, mechanically, she's really struggling to eat.

She wants to eat because she's well in herself.

This is to try and disperse some of that fluid.

There you are, dear.

Let's see what that does for you.

Excellent.

- [Christopher] And something to help the medicine go down.

The sheep isn't hitting the bottle, that's a much-needed energy drink.

- [Peter] Isn't that what these people take when they go to the gym and that sort of thing?

- Yeah.

You be careful, Peter, cause it's gonna give her wings.

- You what, sorry?

- It's gonna give her wings.

- [Christopher] But this is only a temporary solution.

- [Peter] Hay.

She can manage a bit of hay?

- [Ralph] No.

- [Peter] Can't she?

- She just gets, like a Poirot moustache.

- Right.

(both laughing) We shouldn't laugh, should we?

But I know what you mean by a Poirot moustache.

- [Christopher] Peter's confident his detective work and medication should solve the mystery of the sheep with a swollen face.

- Once she can swallow... - Yeah, we're laughing then, aren't we?

- That's it.

I'll leave you that bucket, missus.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Back at the surgery, Julian is tackling Truffles' abscess... - [Julian Oh, wow.

It's there.

That's massive.

I just wonder whether we might be best to try and remove that.

- [Christopher] And he needs to think on his feet.

- Right, I think what we're gonna do now, we're gonna have a slight change of plan with this abcess.

It's so big and it's so fetid and it's so deep-seated, I think we're gonna do another technique called marsupializing it, which basically means leave it where it is, but open it out, so that the abscess can continue to drain.

Because I think that's gonna be too big to try and remove.

So basically what I'm doing here is stitching the inside of the abcess to the outside of the skin, so kind of turn it inside out and keeping it there.

And by doing this, I'm hoping that we'll be able to keep it open, which will allow all the pus to continue draining out, which will be good for her, but it won't be quite so nice for her owners because it means they're gonna be faced with the cheesy smell now for the next few days at least.

You can see how far it goes internally, right down to the important blood vessels of the neck.

So it was not gonna be very feasible, I don't think, to take that out.

- [Christopher] Hopeful that plan B will work, Julian's next challenge, to spruce Truffles up a bit.

- It's not easy, making a guinea pig look pretty after an operation like this.

But I'm doing my best.

Right then, Truffles.

Come on, let's get you cleaned up.

Our guinea pig's coming round quite nicely.

The operation's gone quite well.

But, sadly, Truffles isn't looking at her best.

In fact, you look like a rat.

- [Christopher] Poor Truffles!

An insult followed by an injection.

(Truffles squeaks) - Oh, that's a rather sad squeak, Truffles.

Oh, dear.

Shall we get you back to bed?

Yes, please.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] After an anxious afternoon... - Hello.

- Hi.

Come through.

- [Christopher] Dawn and Emma are back to collect her.

- She's better now.

She was a bit bedraggled when she came round cause I was giving this hole a big clean out with antiseptic solution.

But she looks more like her normal self when I pull the hay off her face.

- [Emma] So what will happen to the holes?

- [Julian] That will seal up eventually.

- [Emma] That will go altogether?

- We'll take the stitches out at some point down the line.

But we should check her again in about a week.

- Right.

Thank you very much.

- Okay.

Brilliant.

Thank you.

- Have a nice day.

- Cheerio.

Bye.

- Bye.

- It's nice to think that she'll be comfortable now and not have this massive lump sat under her throat.

I always think that people think that because they're small, they're irrelevant.

Cause everyone has cats and dogs, and I think oh, cats and dogs... And when you say, "I've took my guinea pig to the vet's," or she's not very well, or if they've been put down, you feel emotional, yourself.

I always think people will be like why, it's only a guinea pig.

But when you live with them, they're part of your daily routine, they're part of your life.

- [Dawn] They're part of the family.

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] For many animals, a trip to the vet's can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience... - [Peter] Now, be very brave.

(dog whines) Don't step back, Louise.

- [Christopher] And sometimes things can get a little messy.

- You're dribbling and you're weeing and you're wagging at the same time.

- Well, we knew this would be an experience, didn't we?

- [Christopher] But Billy the Lhasa Apso is having bodily-function issues even at home... - Are you looking for food?

- [Christopher] Being pampered by his owner, Betty Taylor.

- Oh, you are a good boy, aren't you?

- [Christopher] Unlike Mrs Taylor's other dog, Mitzy, eight-year-old Billy isn't always a good boy.

- What he does, you know, when he goes to the toilet...

It's not formed.

And so it sort of runs down his bottom, you know.

Pretty awful, really.

I suppose, really, it must be diarrhea-ish, mustn't it, for his bottom to get so sore, you know, and it goes red as well.

His bottom's dreadful.

- [Christopher] Poor Billy has already been to Skeldale a few times with his pooing problems.

- It's the anal glands.

Now, the last time I went, the girl said, "Well, if it doesn't clear up, he might have to have an operation and it could kill him."

I didn't know it would be as bad as that.

But they take the anal glands away, you see.

I don't know what the anal glands are supposed to do.

Do you?

- [Christopher] For now, Billy's been put on a special diet.

- You see, he's crunching them now.

Can you hear him?

But he'd rather have his bit of steak.

I used to get it from this chappie that came round.

Loved it.

I can't give him that now.

Have you had enough?

I had to do something.

Cause I couldn't let him suffer like he was suffering.

It was red raw, was his bottom.

- [Christopher] So far, the new diet seems to be doing the trick and Billy isn't always down in the dumps.

- I'll tell you what he does do.

Gets on my leg!

(Betty laughing) And I go, "Go on, get off!"

Doesn't he, Mitzy?

Well, if it pleases him, I let him do it.

Oh, dear.

You have problems with them, but we love them.

I just want them to go on.

I don't want them to die.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Although things had seemed to be improving for Billy, today, he's back.

And, once again, the problem is... - Poo, poo, poo, poo, a lot of poo.

Won't come away.

The first time, when it started, it was diarrhea.

And now it's gone solid, now.

It's just stuck there.

Can you smell him?

- [Christopher] After leaving an unmistakable trail behind him, Billy heads in to see Julian.

- [Betty] It's this awful dog of mine.

- [Julian] So this is Billy?

- [Betty] It's just stuck on him.

- [Julian] What's stuck on him?

- You can have him.

Poo!

Would you like to take it off?

- Come here.

- [Betty] Is it all stuck there?

- Hm.

That's pretty grim, isn't it, under there.

Phwoar.

- Terrible.

- [Betty] And he's so miserable.

- Right, we'll need to... - [Betty] Kill him.

- No, we won't need to kill him.

We'll need to get it off.

But I think I'm gonna need some reinforcements for that cause we'll need to put him in the shower.

- [Christopher] In the world of veterinary science, there's a posh word for just about everything.

- It's a fairly grim problem.

It's got a very fancy name, actually, it's called... Do you want to know what its technical name is?

- Not really.

What is it?

- Its technical name is pseudocoprostasis.

- [Betty] Ooh!

- What that means is there's a massive ball of...

Stuck to his arse.

- [Betty] Precisely.

(Betty laughs) - As well as being a messy problem, it can be quite serious, actually, for little dogs.

It's partly because the hair gets stuck to the area.

And then, when the feces comes out, if it doesn't come out properly, in one go, the hair gets stuck to it.

I'll clip all that off.

We'll clean it up.

His skin is quite red underneath.

- Yeah, well, you see, that's what upsets him.

- Yeah, it can be quite painful.

- [Christopher] So Billy had better strap himself in... - Is that a lead?

That's a handbag strap, isn't it?

- Yes, it is, cause I left the other one at home.

- It'll be all right.

It'll work fine.

- [Christopher] For the ultimate bidet service.

- Come on, Billy.

- [Christopher] Still to come, we catch up with Harvey.

But is he still chasing Lucille?'

- [Susan] Hello, darling.

- [Christopher] And has Julian found a new calling in the pet parlor?

- [Julian] It's like a proper bikini and leg wax.

Look.

You'd pay good money for that, Billy, in a salon.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Across Yorkshire's rolling hills, spring heralds a rabbit's most active and enjoyable time of year.

Although, in one back garden, the thrill of the chase is but a distant memory for young Harvey.

- He has taken a very, very strong interest with Lucille.

He's constantly behind her, all the time, trying to... - [Christopher] Then Harvey met Peter.

- [Susan] He's ready for the chop.

- Oh, yes.

Better off without those, my old friend.

They'll only get you into trouble.

- Hello, darling.

He's recovered from his surgery very, very quickly.

And he's now back to normal, he's running around, but he is very sociable now.

Come on.

He doesn't try and mount Lucille.

- [Christopher] Harvey still enjoys a game of chase with Lucille, and love is in the air, but it's strictly platonic, without any complications.

- [Susan] They're lovely buddies and they're so close.

They snuggle up together, and they wash each other, and they just love each other.

- [Christopher] James Herriot once described cats as connoisseurs of comfort.

But that's not the case for Dexter.

- This poor cat has had terrible problems with matts.

The owners haven't been able to groom it out without being mauled themselves.

He just doesn't enjoy being brushed.

- [Christopher] Nurse Helen and trainee India are fixing the problem.

But Dexter might get a bit of a shock when he wakes from his anesthetic.

- So the owner's decided to clip it off, but to leave the head, the legs and the tail.

So we can call this a lion cat.

A little toupee.

Sorry, kitty!

I don't think you'd appreciate a back, sack and crack, would you?

- [Christopher] But one of the above is facing Julian as the Yorkshire Vet turns bum beautician.

- It's not exactly what I had in mind this morning when I was having my breakfast.

- [Christopher] Billy's messy bottom has been a pain in the posterior for owner Betty.

- His bottom's dreadful.

The first time, when it started, it was diarrhea and now it's gone solid, now.

It's just stuck there.

Poo, poo, poo, poo, a lot of poo.

Won't come away.

- The best way of getting rid of all the crap is to just cut it off.

So, literally, I'm just cutting the crap at the moment.

That's a good bit.

I suppose it might be the equivalent of a Brazilian.

- [Nurse] Poor Billy!

- It's certainly pretty trim down there now.

Whilst it sounds a bit comical to shave it all off... - [Nurse] The best thing in this case!

- Yeah, it might be.

Looks a lot better, doesn't it?

That's like a proper bikini and leg wax.

Look.

You'd pay good money for that, Billy, in a salon.

Look at that.

- All right.

Ooh, is that sore?

- Sorry.

Did it go a bit close there, Bill?

- [Christopher] Julian has to make sure he's got to the bottom of Billy's problems.

- The next thing I'm gonna do is, I'm actually gonna have a feel inside his rectum, just to make sure there isn't something called sacculation, which is a problem where the feces don't get passed out properly.

That feels okay, actually.

It's a bit sore for him, but it's fine.

Sorry, sorry.

That's fine.

There's nothing internal that's problematic there.

- [Christopher] With no obvious health issues, Julian get back to channeling his inner stylist.

- Proper job.

Haircut, shampoo, everything.

A very short back and sides.

Oh, Billy, that looks 10 times better already.

- [Christopher] And after all that derriere discomfort, Billy now seems to be starting to enjoy his pampering.

- So this is just a cream that we'll put on to take away the soreness.

Ready for this, Billy?

It might be a bit sore.

Actually, that's pretty soothing for him, I think.

Very good!

Takes me back to my nappy days, that.

- [Christopher] For Billy to put his toilet troubles firmly behind him... - This way.

Mrs Taylor?

Do you want to come through?

- [Christopher] Betty will have to stay on top of his bottom.

- I'll show you.

It looks a lot better now.

It's all right, we've done the worst, Billy.

- He's got too much hair on him.

- Exactly.

Not now, he hasn't.

Look at that.

That's a lovely haircut.

I think, what you're going to have to do, unfortunately, on a sort of regular basis, is just give him a clean and a wipe around there.

- [Betty] I can't do it!

- Can you not?

- [Betty] He won't let me!

Should I get in the shower with him?

Take all my clothes off?

- You could do!

- Then I'd wet my hair.

- I'll leave that down to you, Mrs Taylor.

- I don't know.

If you think it would work, it might be good.

Thank you very much.

That's been a very entertaining morning.

In more ways than one.

And I'm glad to see that Billy's backside should be looking a lot more comfortable than it was.

Did I have another lead?

- No, one was your handbag strap, I think, wasn't it?

- Ooh, where did I put it?

- On the dog.

- That one?

- That's it, yeah.

- [Betty] I'm going home to bed!

- [Julian] Yeah, good idea.

I think I will as well.

- [Christopher] And Billy's probably ready for a snooze, too... - Come on, then.

- [Christopher] Now he's much more comfortable and colorful.

- [Betty] Look at his red bum.

- [Christopher] Next time on The Yorkshire Vet... - I'm gonna be right inside this cow's abdomen, right up to my shoulders.

- [Christopher] A mum-to-be struggles in labor.

- It's a big calf.

I'm effectively lifting it up against gravity.

- [Christopher] Peter turns horse whisperer... - [Peter] Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

Don't be silly.

Just be good for your Uncle Peter.

- [Christopher] And Julian... - Oh, I missed!

- [Christopher] Goes on a wild duck chase.

- Oh, you pesky duck!

(bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music continues)