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

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

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

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

- It's a great privilege, really, working in this practice.

And it very much is in the footsteps, really, of James Herriot.

(metal banging) Makes me very proud, really, to be part of that heritage.

- [Narrator] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire vet.

- Aha.

We have a wide range of different species that come in to see us, and that gives us this tremendous amount of satisfaction.

I don't think I'd have it any other way.

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

- Everything's Yorkshire, isn't it?

- There's no finer view in England.

I have a long relationship with the Herriot practice, and I feel very privileged to work in the most famous veterinary practice in the world.

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

(cat screeching) They treat animals of all shapes, sizes.

- Go on!

- Types.

- Oh, crikey, get off me.

- [Narrator] And temperaments.

(animals grunting) (animal squealing) - Ooh.

- It's definitely not glamorous.

- Oh no.

- But, it's varied.

- Goes back in there like that.

- You're a little dazzler, aren't ya?

- It's rarely easy.

- She's a fast one.

- As the Yorkshire vet carries on the Herriot tradition, treating all creatures great and small.

(birds chirping) (cheerful music swelling) (jaunty music) The North Yorkshire countryside has been basking in warm, summer sunshine.

But now a gentle breeze brushes the fields of crops.

(sheep bleating) Bringing rain clouds to give the land a much-needed drink.

(gentle music) (cow mooing) At Skeldale, the weather doesn't stop the calls coming thick and fast.

And today in the pouring rain, Julian has a delicate task to perform.

- Today I'm going to see a tope, a male sheep.

And the farmer suspects that the tope is firing blanks.

And so, I'm going to do a fertility examination to take a sample of his semen and analyze it to see whether he's fertile, or not.

(whimsical music) - The ram is a purebred Texel ram, a breeding lamb.

We bought him last year to run with the ewes.

And we didn't think that there was a problem.

However, quite a number of those ewes, a proportion of them, didn't produce lambs for us.

And so, we were a little bit worried that perhaps he wasn't fertile.

- Clearly from a farming point of view, it's so important to tell whether he is subfertile or not.

- If he's not fertile, then we will have to sell him and he'll go into the food chain.

And it would be disappointing because he's a really excellent animal.

We don't want to sell him, but it may be unavoidable.

- Are we there?

- In here.

- Where is he, where's the poor fellow?

- We've got them inside for ya.

- Excellent, have we got any electricity here?

The probe itself is battery-powered, but I need to look at it down the microscope.

(ram bleating) One thing that we need is this thing here.

This, we can warm up to the right temperature so that the sperm sample stays nice and warm.

'Cause if it goes cold, then all the sperm stop moving, and that gives us a false reading.

So, this is like a hot water bottle for sperm, really.

Have you had this done before?

- We haven't had it done in any ram.

- [Julian] Well, it's a good idea to do.

Especially for one where you think there might be problems.

- [Narrator] To carry out the test, Julian's breaking out the big guns.

- This is the instrument that we use for persuading the tope to provide a sample.

It's an electro ejaculator, but basically that goes in the rectum of the sheep.

(ram bleating) It makes a current, and then when I press this magic button here, that persuades the tope to ejaculate, and we'll catch the sample.

You can test it by, you need to go like that.

Ow!

That's too powerful.

There's no need for dinner and wine in this case.

It's just kind of in and go.

It doesn't take sheep long to produce a sample.

They're not very romantic, and there's certainly no need for foreplay.

- It's time for Oscar to brace himself.

(ram bleating) (pensive mellow music) In the waiting room, emergencies are always rushed to the front of the queue.

(pensive music continues) Like Bertie, the spaniel who's been involved in a serious accident.

- Now, Jeremy, what's happened?

- He's been knocked over by a car last night.

- Okay, right.

- So, he didn't go underneath the car, just kind of got bowled over by it.

And he's not really been up on his back leg since.

And he's not really showing any signs of wanting to get up.

- How old is he?

- About six months.

- About six months.

(mellow music) I just want to just try and just gently stand him up if we can.

Yeah, his pelvis is very twisted.

I'm suspicious that he might have fractured his pelvis.

I'd like an x-ray of him really, Jeremy, just to say what's happening there.

Can I hang onto him a bit?

- Yup!

- I think he'll be all right.

Usually, it doesn't involve surgery, or anything like that.

Usually, it just involves rest.

All will be revealed.

- Okay.

- Thanks, Jeremy, see ya later.

(mellow somber music) - [Narrator] To make sure he lies still for the x-ray.

- [Peter] Good boy, it's all right.

- [Narrator] Bertie needs to be anesthetized.

- Good boy, that's lovely.

There's a good boy, that's it.

Good lad.

The fact that it was done about 15, 16 hours ago, I think if we had had internal organ damage, I think medically, he would be a lot worse than what he is now.

So it's a case, really, of just seeing if I'm right about his pelvis.

(mellow somber music continues) (machine whirring) Oh, his pelvic damage is a lot worse than I expected.

(mellow music) The left side of his pelvis is pretty much intact, but the right side of his pelvis has really taken the brunt.

I don't think leaving them as they are really is an option.

Very difficult with an x-ray like that to describe to the owner over the telephone.

So I want the owner to come in and have a look at that.

But there is significant damage there.

That's not good.

(lively music) - [Narrator] Coming up.

- Oh.

- All hell breaks loose down on the farm.

- Get on.

(cow grunting) Get on!

This is good fun when it's like this.

I like this, it's lovely.

This is just perfect for me.

(ram bleating) - [Julian] Most people look at that and think it's gonna vibrate, but it doesn't vibrate actually at all (laughs).

- [Narrator] It's the moment of truth for Oscar.

Peter shares his concerns with Bertie's owner.

- He's never going to move properly, that's me worry.

- [Narrator] And hatches a plan.

- [Peter] What I'd like to do is put a plate here.

- [Narrator] But will it work?

(tool buzzing) (carefree music) (sheep bleating) - [Narrator] On a local sheep farm, Anne and Jeffrey are worried about Oscar the Ram's fertility.

(carefree music continues) - If he's not fertile, then we will have to sell him, and he'll go into the food chain.

We don't want to sell him but it may be unavoidable.

- [Narrator] So Julian is about to perform the definitive test.

- This is the instrument that we use for persuading the tope to provide a sample.

It's an electro ejaculator.

(air whooshing) (carefree music continues) - [Narrator] For Oscar, it's the moment of truth.

- This is where you don't want to slip if someone's bending over in front of ya.

How you feeling about this, Oscar?

He says, "Well, everybody's looking at me but don't know what's gonna happen."

So what we'll need is I need one volunteer to collect it.

(mischievous music) - Jeffrey.

- It's easy to do.

You just have to hold that over the end of his penis.

I'll put a test tube in there in a minute, but so that goes in there like that.

(mischievous music continues) Most people look at that and think it's gonna vibrate, but it doesn't vibrate actually at all.

(Julian laughing) And there's nothing really subtle about it.

It just needs to go in, and then the next thing I need to do is make sure it's switched on to low power to start with.

Okay, that's his first one.

- Steady boy.

- Good boy.

Have we got anything yet?

- There's something coming in.

- That's okay.

Yeah, it's not a massive volume, is it?

(Oscar bleating) It's really interesting.

Every species is a different sort of amount of semen.

And something like a bull produces sort of like a couple of mug-fulls and the sheep produce tiny volume.

That should be enough though, that's fine.

Well done, Oscar.

The main thing for me is to keep it nice and warm.

And then I'll just gonna have a look, see what we've got.

(ram bleating) (playfully tense music) (playfully tense music continues) That looks quite good so far.

Oh, there's plenty of movement there.

That's really good, actually.

This is really excellent, actually.

Now this is classic.

- Do you think he was just not feeling very well, or what?

I don't know.

He just went off the boil, didn't he?

- So Julian, now that we know he's got a decent sperm count, if he isn't very interested at topping time, can we come back to you for an aphrodisiac?

(ram bleating) - Well, you maybe just need to get him some more attractive sheep perhaps.

(ram bleating) (playful music continues) - Well, I'm very pleased.

It's good news.

We wanted to keep him.

- Yes, we only had him for one season, so hopefully he can go on for another three, four, or more seasons.

- Yeah.

- We've got a really good sample from Oscar with excellent motility.

The sperm look fantastic.

And hopefully, he'll go on and produce hundreds more lambs over the next few years to come.

- He gets to rest up for another few weeks, and then he goes in with the ladies.

(ram bleating) It's an easy life for Oscar.

- Builds himself up for the next season.

- Yes.

(somber music) (air whooshing) - [Narrator] Earlier, Bertie the Spaniel was brought in as an emergency, after being hit by a car.

- I'm suspicious that he might have fractured his pelvis.

- [Narrator] But his injuries are far worse than Peter hoped.

- Oh, the right side of his pelvis has really taken the brunt.

And it's quite severely damaged.

(air whooshing) (somber music continues) - [Narrator] Now he wants to speak to owner, Jeremy.

- Jeremy, come here.

Right, you don't need much imagination.

It's smashed there.

So it's been caved in there.

So, basically that hip is- - Is near the spine.

- Is just about pressing on his spine.

So he's had a massive bash at that angle there.

I'm amazed he can stand to be honest.

He's never going to move properly.

Imagine that.

That's me worry.

- Yeah.

- But what I'd like to do is put a plate in, to bring that back into alignment.

- Okay.

(somber pensive music) - Very good, sir.

I'll look after him.

- [Narrator] Peter wants to get on with Bertie's surgery as soon as possible.

- It's a big operation for both of us.

On the plus side, it's not involving his hip joint.

His hip joint's intact, so that's a good thing.

So we now got to try and stabilize his pelvis so that he can weight-bear and that the bone can heal in the position it should be in.

- [Narrator] It's a tricky job.

Peter's drafted in nurse Kate to help.

- To try and traumatize the muscle bodies as little as possible.

Right, there's our joint there.

I can see it, I can feel the fractured side there.

That's it there.

We had to choose at school whether we did Latin or woodwork.

And there was three of us that rebelled against academia, and did woodwork.

And I think woodwork probably taught me quite a bit about future orthopedic work.

'Cause in some ways, it's not too, similar.

The problem is you're working against such tremendous muscle pulls, which contract after a trauma.

(Peter grunting) That's it, that marries up to there.

I wonder if we can get a plate on there now.

This is a plate, it's a stainless steel plate now that we're going to try and hold the bits of pelvis in position now.

What we're gonna do is put some screws through and fix one piece, and then before we then bring the other piece into the position that we wanted.

(tool buzzing) Surgery like this, it's awful.

And it's never, it looks so clear-cut on an x-ray, but when you get in there, it's a different kettle of fish altogether.

(tool buzzing) - [Narrator] The plates holding Bertie's pelvis together are finally in place.

- They're always difficult to do 'em as well as you can.

- [Narrator] But Peter won't know how successful he's been until he sees a new x-ray.

- Oh God, I don't really want to see this, do we?

I don't really want to see these.

(mildly tense music) That's not bad.

I mean, it's pulled them back into position indeed.

I mean, we couldn't have done it, got it any better.

I wouldn't have said.

And we've got the thing stabilized now, but we've come an awful long way from this.

That's good, right, excellent, let's have him stitched up.

Okay.

I'm feeling quite pleased that it's gone as well as it has.

When the fracture occurs, putting it simply, the bone then should be like that.

In Bertie's situation, they were crossed over like that.

So we got to get those bone ends back into position against the muscle pull.

And that was probably one of the most difficult parts of the operation, really.

When he started to to run again, it just wouldn't have worked.

So, hopefully now he has a chance to make a pretty good recovery.

(mellow ethereal music) (birds chirping) - [Narrator] Gentle streams and narrow lanes wind quietly through the Yorkshire countryside.

But not everywhere is enjoying peace and tranquility.

(mischievous music) A front room in Thirsk has been the scene of a gladiatorial battle.

(mischievous music continues) Between arch rival terrapins, Romulus and Spartacus.

And now, owners Carol and Louis have rushed to see Julian with a major casualty.

- Mr. Morgan?

- Hello.

- [Julian] Come through.

So what have we got here?

- This is Romulus, my little terrapin.

- Wow.

- One of his tank mates has had a fight with him, and has removed a claw there.

- Romulus, what have you been doing, mate?

- They just get nipped all the time, but then, see this is the first time I've actually come down and seen blood on the shelf, and thought, "Crikey."

- Who is the one that's doing all the biting?

- Spartacus.

- Spartacus?

- Yeah, I've got Romulus, Remus, and Spartacus.

- Cool.

You'd have thought it would be Remus and Romulus having the battles.

- Well, we separated them two.

- So what do they do?

Do they just literally have the fight with each other?

- They'll just literally latch on.

- They clamp on and then they just crush.

- Oh gosh.

- Yeah, you quite often hear a splash, and then you'll come in, and one of them will be attached to the one's foot.

And they'll be swimming around with one stuck to his foot.

- The titans have been battling it out, and you can see there, there should be a claw.

And he's actually managed to bite off the whole toe.

And I think that's his bone.

Which makes me just wonder what we can do about it.

I think what might be the best thing would be actually to remove that bit of bone, and take it flush with his skin, so that it doesn't stick out.

- Yeah.

- The problem that you've got is if bone's exposed, it really runs the risk of infection getting in.

- That's my worry.

- And bone infections in this kind of animal is one of the things that's a big problem.

Especially knowing they're in water, and so on.

But it's how easy is it to anesthetize a terrapin.

- Have you ever anesthetized a terrapin before?

- [Julian] We don't see so many terrapins, and they're not the most straightforward to do this sort of thing to.

But I think I'd be happier if we tried to take it off.

- Yeah.

- Right.

You come with me then, little Roman turtle.

All right, I'll give you a ring when we're done, if you leave- - Okay.

- Okay.

- Thank you.

- [Narrator] For the staff here, terrapins are a bit of a novelty.

- They are pretty ugly really, aren't they?

- No, I think he's beautiful.

- Hey.

- Look at his lovely markings under his chin and his eyes.

I think he's really handsome.

- Can you imagine if you put Mr. Shane on the bottom of that?

It'd be like (indistinct).

- So the plan here, this is my anesthetic combination for Romulus.

It's the same combination of anesthetic that we use for cats actually, in most cases.

So, it's something that we're very familiar with.

(playfully tense music) - Right then, come on you rascal.

(playfully tense music continues) There we go, well done, Romulus.

That was fairly easy.

- [Narrator] After a few minutes, all the fight has gone out of the temperamental terrapin.

- His arms and legs have gone all droopy, look.

That's the sign of a sleepy terrapin, poor boy.

All right then, little man, this is gonna be hopefully pretty quick.

(bone snapping) It's neat, that's perfect.

And now it's flat with the rest of the foot.

That should heal perfectly neatly, I think.

How is our old boy?

He says, "I don't know what's going on."

Most likely.

There you go, little fellow.

You go back to bed.

Looks like you need it.

This was obviously quite a serious injury.

It was right down to the bone.

But really, to all intents and purposes, that's him fixed now.

So, I can hear him scrabbling in his box ready to go home.

Hopefully, not to get into another skirmish with Spartacus.

- [Narrator] But at home, Spartacus is waiting.

(water gurgling) (lively music) Coming up.

- Go on, get on, no, no, no.

- Peter is in his element.

- It may look a little chaotic, but it isn't.

It isn't, this is just good.

- [Narrator] In the operating theater, Julian's under pressure.

- I'm slightly shaking.

I don't normally do that, do I?

(Julian chuckling) - [Narrator] And two gladiators prepare for battle.

- The time has finally arrived.

Are you ready?

Ah, he's just had a couple of nips there.

Ah, come here.

(jaunty music) (birds chirping) - [Narrator] As livestock lays in lush green meadows, hardworking farmers make the most of the warm summer sunshine.

(vehicle rumbling) Peter's been treating animals on North Yorkshire farms for over 30 years.

And today, he's looking forward to visiting an old friend.

- We're going to Carly's farm today.

We've got to pregnancy diagnose some cows.

One of my favorite jobs.

Basically, what you're doing, you're palpating the uterus.

Where the calf is.

Through the cow's rectum.

(cow mooing) So, there's a little bit of an art in it.

And it's quite satisfying to tell the farmer that yes, your cow's in calf.

And if you have a lot of cows that aren't in calf, it's economically devastating to a farm.

(upbeat music) Morning, Jenny.

- Morning.

- Morning, Arthur.

- Morning, Peter.

- [Narrator] Arthur has 10 cows for Peter to examine.

- You never quite know what you're going to get.

You know you can go to a farm and pregnancy diagnose 15, 20 cows, not one's in calf.

And everybody's as miserable as sin for obvious reasons.

- [Narrator] Ideally, they'll all be pregnant.

(cow mooing) - There's no here.

- Not in there.

That's one's empty, Sandra.

- She's quite a deep cow but no.

(cow mooing) - If they aren't in calf, they aren't making me any money.

'Cause if they're eating grass, and I have to pay for rent for the grassland, and they aren't in calf, they aren't gonna produce me with anything to sell to pool for my overheads.

Me vet bill (laughs).

(metal rattling) - [Narrator] The rest of the herd seem to know what's coming.

(lively cheerful music) - Oh.

They're very athletic, these cows.

(Peter laughing) (metal rattling) - I would say four months plus.

Just over four to five months.

- That's jolly good.

Well, we'll put this one back around.

(cow mooing) (metal rattling) - [Peter] Don't, we said.

Don't be daft.

She's further on, Arthur.

I would've said possible near the six, I would've said.

- Six months off.

- I would've said about six months on.

- That'll do.

As long as she's got a calf.

- In fact, seven.

- Seven months.

- Seven months.

- Gone up a bit.

- Yeah, it's inflation.

(both laughing) (lively music) This is good fun when it's like this.

I like it, it's lovely.

This is just perfect for me.

Get on.

(cows mooing) Get on!

Ya daft.

Go on!

Go on.

- Hey.

- It may look a little chaotic but it isn't, it isn't.

This is just good.

Go on!

Well done, Arthur.

- [Narrator] Despite having to deal with reluctant patients.

- Go lass, go on.

Get on, no, no, no, no.

- [Narrator] Peter has more news for Arthur.

- Again, seven months plus.

(metal rattling) She is about eight weeks in calf, seven and a half, eight weeks in calf.

- Eight weeks in calf, Sandra.

- It's been an extremely good morning.

Little bit of adu-badu with one or two of our patients, but by and large, they behaved themselves very well.

(cheerful music) They're just young, excitable ladies, that's all.

And they wanna be getting on with life.

They certainly don't wanna be standing there cursed with someone's arm up their bottom.

So, oh, it's gone very well, really.

- The last time we did it a year ago, there was 17 of those wasn't in calf.

So that was a real bad day.

There's only one that isn't pregnant, so we have 99%.

- The teacher will be very happy with marks like that, Arthur, wouldn't they?

(both laughing) (cows mooing) Arthur's going in for his dinner now.

And I'm going on to my next job.

And everybody goes away happy.

(cows mooing) (mellow music) - [Narrator] At Skeldale, treating family pets means a waiting room full of anxious families and children.

Now Julian is faced with the prospect of treating a patient at the heart of his own family.

Pet rabbit Luna belongs to his youngest son, Archie.

- Luna's now six months old.

And she's going to the surgery so she can be spayed so she can't have babies if she runs away.

On the day when she gets spayed, I might have school to stop me from thinking about it, and stop me from feeling nervous.

Luna.

- But Archie's not the only one feeling nervous.

(lively music) - No, no, no!

- You go that way, I'll go that way.

We'll do a pincer movement.

- Luna, what are you doing?

Come on.

- Right, just go steady.

You keep her there, I'll go around in the way.

Hey, got it.

So will you be worried actually then to think about the operation itself?

- I don't think I'll be that worried because you're doing it.

- Thank you, that's kind.

I mean you should be absolutely fine.

It's nothing to be worried about but- - Just the anesthetic.

- Anesthetics and rabbits sometimes are a little bit dodgy.

But she's very healthy, she runs around a lot.

She's got a nice strong heart and she's got a good diet.

And she's well looked after.

So it's down to me to be worried.

- Yeah.

- That's what I do all the time.

(mischievous music) - [Narrator] At the vets, cleaning and grooming fury faces and ears is part of the daily routine.

And it's making Peter think of an alternative career.

- You have hairy ears.

- Have I got hairy ears?

- Oh you're not too bad.

- I pluck them regularly.

- They're developing though.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Yeah, if you need a plucking.

- You're the man.

- You're the man, yeah.

- You do eyebrows as well?

- [Peter] Oh yes.

- When you say hairy ears, you don't mean like a poodle's hairy ears.

It's not actually hair coming out of the inside, is it?

Around the edge.

- On the edge.

Bit like a werewolf really.

I mean I can understand why we have nasal hair because that filters debris out, stops you getting further down our airways.

But I cannot understand why the good Lord has has made it so that we develop hairy ears.

And how our eyebrows get outta control.

Smooth as a baby's bottom now.

(jaunty music) - [Narrator] Two weeks ago, Romulus the Terrapin came off worse in a gladiatorial clash with his tank mate, Spartacus.

- The Titans have been battling it out, and poor Romulus has had his toe bitten off.

- [Narrator] But after a delicate surgery.

- [Julian] That's perfect.

- [Narrator] Romulus is back at home and ready to face archenemy, Spartacus, once again.

- I've got two in one tank and one in another.

They're all separated for their own safety really.

The plan will be to take Romulus out of his little solitary tank there, and bring him into the bigger tank.

So hopefully they'll all play nicely together.

I'm so happy that obviously he's not in pain.

Within an hour of us getting home, he was using the hand.

- Romy got back, slept, and then ate.

So I think that was pretty normal behavior for Romulus.

So yeah, he seemed absolutely fine, he was swimming about quite happy and yeah, no bother.

- It's a case of just watching them and seeing how they react.

- We'll be on standby to grab them if they're looking a bit angry.

- The time has finally arrived.

Are you ready?

The fear says a lot.

I will stick him in this side with Remus first.

There doesn't seem to be any malice between them two.

Right then.

And in three, two, one.

Ah, he's just had a couple of nips there.

Ah, come here.

- There's been a few warning nips.

So best is just to separate them.

And (laughs).

(playful music) (dog barking) - Well, that was a bleep no good.

So, I'm gonna have to keep all three separated.

That couldn't have went worse if we tried.

- [Narrator] But Lewis adores his feisty housemates.

- I like the quirkiness, it's a conversation piece.

They're amusing and different.

No matter how grumpy or violent, they're still my little children.

I don't think they'll ever stop being grumpy.

That's the problem.

(mellow music) - [Narrator] At the surgery, it's the day Julian's son, Archie, has been dreading.

His pet rabbit, Luna, is due to be spayed.

- [Julian] Come on, Luna.

Big day today.

- [Narrator] And Julian is doing the job himself.

- Right, and say goodbye.

- Bye, Luna.

Make sure she stays alive.

- Okay, no pressure there then.

No, she'll be fine, don't worry.

(whimsical music) I'm sorry about this.

It's a change of circumstance for you, isn't it?

- [Narrator] After sedation, Luna is almost ready for surgery.

- Pretty floppy already, that's worked well.

(tool vibrating) Operating on your own animals is always a very strange thing.

And the only way to to do it really is to try and utterly switch off from them being your own pet because otherwise you'd never do anything because it would get extremely stressful.

- [Narrator] Assisting Julian is nurse India.

- I'm feeling a bit nervous actually because normally my relationship with Luna is revolving around cuddles and playing.

And now I've got my fingers right in her insides.

Which is not how it should be really, with a pet.

Here we are, that's the uterus.

I'm slightly shaking.

It's a bit peculiar.

I don't normally do that, do I?

- Yeah, there's a lot of pressure.

Archie will be waiting for his text.

- [Narrator] The painstaking operation is almost complete.

- So that's the the track there to uterine homes there.

They're obviously at either end.

They're the two parts of the uterus where the pregnancies would take effect if she was to be that lucky, but sadly not Luna.

- Relieved.

- I'm quite relieved as well.

- Be needing a large coffee after this.

- I'll be needing more than a large coffee.

When she's come around fully, then I'll send Archie a message, and he'll be no doubt pleased to hear that she's back.

- Oh she's blinking already.

- Is she?

- Yeah.

- Excellent.

Ah Luna, you're back to life, excellent.

Oops.

What on earth is going on?

I'll tell you what, Luna, you're a pretty rabbit, aren't you?

The surgery went well apart from being somewhat anxious for India and me.

And Archie.

She's come around really well, which means she's made so far a good recovery, and hopefully that will continue during the day.

You can come home this afternoon with me.

(cheerful music) - [Narrator] Earlier at Skeldale, Julian took on the task of spaying Luna, Archie's pet rabbit.

- Normally my relationship with Luna is revolving around cuddles and now I've got my fingers right in her insides.

- [Narrator] Archie's back and he can't wait to see her.

- How we doing?

Archie's come to get ya.

Archie will be very pleased to have her back at home I think.

I think he's put a brave face on but I do think he's been a little bit worried today.

Does look good, I have to say.

Come on, Luna.

come through, have a look at your rabbit.

There she is.

So she's a bit pink.

That's where she's been bleeding a bit.

There you go.

She's done very well, she's been very brave.

- It feels really good to have Luna back and alive.

- You didn't really think she was gonna die though, did you?

- No.

- I was taking a deep breath when I made that first incision, that's for sure.

Operating on your own pets, and particularly your son's favorite rabbit, it is a bit pressurized.

My wife's a vet and and she completely refused to undertake this procedure on the grounds that the pressure was too much.

So I didn't really have much choice.

The operation went really well, and I suppose this stage of the of the day when we were all heading home with happy rabbits, happy son and happy father.

So that's what we want.

When it's time to go home at the end of a busy working day.

(joyful music) (bees buzzing) - [Peter] You can't beat a bit of technology can you?

- So how's it working?

- That's the valve.

Let's just work this out.

That goes on.

Have you swapped it over?

- No, I haven't done anything.

I'm just holding it.

- We'll sort him out.

Right.

- Big Pete's new toy.

Basically it's something called a stomach pump.

Which needn't be as complicated as this, I don't think.

- Yeah, but we need to get into the 21st century.

- Well, I would just use a tube and a funnel.

That's what I normally do.

- Yeah, then you've got a mouthful.

- Yeah, but not if you're careful.

- Well, I was very careful.

'Cause you don't want a mouthful of a dog's stomach contents but I did on Sunday.

I see.

- You unscrew that and stick it on there and then- - No, 'cause it doesn't need that on.

- Well it does fit there.

Look that's what it says.

If there's a need to blow through the tube, fit the double male-- (laughing) - Double male.

- Fit the double male adapter to the female adapter.

This sounds like something from a sex, a sex magazine, Pete.

- Yeah, that's it.

- Oh, yeah.

- Working?

Is it sucking or blowing?

- I don't know.

Oh.

Right, so that goes in the bucket.

- Eh, no.

That goes in your horse.

- No, that goes in the bucket.

- But if you want it to suck.

- Let's not do that, let's just-- - No, but you need a double male.

A double male adapter, didn't you?

This tool is complicated, innit?

Shall we send it back?

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Two weeks ago, Bertie the cocker spaniel was involved in a serious road accident.

- [Peter] Oh, his pelvic damage is a lot worse than I expected.

- [Narrator] Peter had to perform emergency surgery to repair Bertie's shattered pelvis.

- The surgery like this, it's awful and it's never, it looks okay on an x-ray, but when you get in there, it's a different kettle of fish all together.

- [Narrator] Peter's keen to check up on his puppy patient.

(knocking) - Hello, Dorothy.

- Hello.

- Well, I was on me way home and I thought I'd just call in.

I knew he stays with you.

And I thought, wow!

(dogs playing) He's not supposed to be fighting.

He's supposed to be crippled.

Oh, Bertie.

Bertie.

Well.

You're doing well aren't ya?

By crikey.

I don't think I'd want to feel like scrapping after a smashed up pelvis as he's had.

(laughing) I don't know what to say really.

It wasn't quite what I was expecting.

I'm just thinking of me poor plate and screws in his pelvis.

Oh wow.

That tail never stops wagging, does it?

- No.

- Never stops.

- [Narrator] Peter just needs to whip out Bertie's staples.

- There's a good range of movement there.

It's actually very good.

Oh, you softy.

You want a tummy rub.

He's one of the nicest dogs you could meet.

I think it's lovely 'cause his pelvis was badly smashed up and his hip joint was way out of alignment.

It's still very early stages and he had lost some muscle off that thigh.

But as he continues to use it, then that's going to come back.

To be honest, this is what makes the job worth while really.

When you see results like this, it's lovely.

And I suppose the added bonus for me, he's such a nice chap.

If he'd wanted to tear me throat out, I'd have said, "Oh, that job's gone well," but it wouldn't be quite the same.

(laughing) Right.

Very good, well I'll uh, I'll leave you in peace.

And uh, let me know his, how he's going on.

If anything's wrong, just give me a shout.

But gradually, it should just straighten up now.

- [Dorothy] Yeah, well thank you very much.

- See ya.

- I was shocked really when, Jeremy rang me and told me that Peter had asked him back in to show him the x-rays and how badly damaged he was.

I was thinking, "Oh my God, "are they gonna have to amputate a leg?"

"Is he actually gonna make a full recovery at all?"

or "Is he gonna be lame all the rest of his life?"

You just, you know, you don't know what's going to happen.

But, he's made a great recovery.

(lighthearted music) - [Narrator] Next time.

Working dog Millie faces lifesaving surgery.

- It's cancerous.

She'd only a couple months to live.

So, I ringed Julian up and he said, "yeah, come here straight away."

- Looks like something that you might get from a DIY shop.

- [Narrator] And Julian gets up close and personal with Nike the alpaca.

- That's really little, eh?

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