Sam the Hearing Dog Animals at Work

Hey, Animals At Work watchers! Welcome to another great episode!

All over the planet, there are millions of animals that have jobs.

This is the show that brings you the funniest, coolest and most bizarre

animals at work!

Coming up...

Sam the super dog has the incredible job of being Lauren's ears,

Henry the fire-safety goat faces his first night shift...

HOWLING

..and Tyrone is the world's only black macaque food critic.

If he doesn't like it, we won't feed it to the rest of the zoo.

But now it's...show time!

Hey, everybody. Welcome to Animals At Work.

This is my best friend, Jack, otherwise known as Captain Jack.

DRAMATIC MUSIC

I got him from a rescue home about two years ago.

He's been a faithful friend.

Just like our first story of this hearing dog, Sam.

First, we're off to Nottinghamshire, in the UK.

-Good boy, Sam!

-Meet Sam and Lauren.

Together, they make up an incredible team.

Lauren, along with 35,000 other children in Britain, is deaf...

..and Sam is her official hearing dog.

He acts as Lauren's ears and keeps her safe from harm...

-ALARM BEEPS

-..where there's cause for alarm.

Sam is a superhero. Unfortunately, he doesn't fly.

He does something far more important.

And it's a duty Sam's committed to 24 hours a day.

Things were tough for Lauren before Sam worked for her.

She's proud to have him, because before she was nervous.

She felt very isolated from the community.

But that was before Super Sam came on the scene!

Good boy, Sam.

In the six months he's been working for Lauren, things have changed.

Sam has stopped her from being as nervous as what she was.

He's there at the side of her. It's given her a lot of confidence.

# Oh, you're the best friend That I ever had... #

Yes, Sam and Lauren are quite the team,

and now Lauren wants to prove to everyone just how amazing Sam is.

She's signed him up for a dog agility course.

It's the perfect chance for Sam to show just how strong their bond is.

Sam's never let Lauren down, but the course is a notorious test

of a dog's physical skills.

It features tricky obstacles, including tunnels,

jumps,

-the dreaded...

-MAN BELLOWS: A-frame!

Believe me, it's no walk in the park.

To succeed, Sam will have to listen carefully to Lauren's commands...

Over!

..making it the ultimate test of their communication.

When it comes to communication,

Sam and the other golden Labradors have a head start.

They're known for their intelligence and great temperament,

making it clear why they make such great assistance dogs.

It's a job that comes naturally to Sam,

-especially the most important bit...

-ALARM BEEPS

..alerting Lauren when the fire alarm sounds.

Sam going down on all fours is his signal to Lauren

that it's time to leave.

And that's not the only way Sam's helping Lauren's family.

-He's got them to communicate better.

-Prior to having Sam,

we had to physically go up and get Lauren or shout very loudly.

-But not any more.

-Good boy. Take it to Lauren.

Now Sam carries notes to Lauren from her mum and dad.

To even get to that point, Sam has undergone 18 months of training.

Training has made him very special.

He's only one of 12 hearing dogs paired with a child in the country,

and he's clearly done very well.

They've got a wonderful bond.

It's quite obvious when you see them together.

# You've got a friend in me... #

But that bond is about to be really tested amongst the obstacles.

Sam's determined not to let Lauren down, so the pressure's on.

Has he got what it takes?

Later, will Sam be able to show off his skills?

-Good boy.

-Or will he let Lauren down?

It's not just today that animals have had jobs.

History reveals that in the past,

they've had even more amazing jobs than today.

And here are those History's Heroes!

Hello, and welcome to History's Heroes!

I'm John Bumbleman... Thank you! ..world-famous historian, VIP

-and superstar!

-HE CHUCKLES

-My eyes! Stop it!

-CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

As I was saying,

I'm quite the celebrity in the animal historian world.

People have been gripped

by my amazing stories of the fantastic and the famous,

just like these creatures.

Our first famous working animal is Clara, an Indian rhinoceros,

who found fame when she became one of the first living rhinos

to be seen in Europe.

She arrived in Rotterdam in 1741 and was an animal instant hit.

People had never seen an animal like her.

When word of her arrival spread, everyone wanted to see Clara.

So she set off on a tour of Europe...

for the next 17 years.

Yes, 17 years!

During her road trip, Clara visited Italy, Prague, Switzerland, Denmark,

-Poland, Holland and the UK...

-TRUMPET FANFARE

..meeting royals galore and posing for artists.

She was so famous, she even had navy ships named after her.

That is one famous rhino!

Our next famous hero worked way back in 1945 in Colorado, USA.

At first, no-one had ever heard of a chicken called Mike,

apart from Lloyd Olsen, the farmer who planned on eating him.

Lloyd chopped off Mike's head, but Mike's body had other ideas.

It simply got up and walked off!

Miraculously, his brainstem was left on his body,

meaning Mike could walk around without a head.

He survived like this for a record-breaking 18 months.

As his fame grew, he even went on tour,

earning up to 4,500 US dollars a month,

making it a no-brainer for Mike to be awarded History's Hero!

It may have worked for Mike,

but for any budding celebs out there, a word of advice...

Try not to lose your head! Do you get it?!

Now, on to our final tale of animal celebrity.

In 1948, in the Hong Kong docks,

a stray cat called Simon started work on a navy boat -

HMS Amethyst - as the ship's cat.

His job took him out to sea and into war.

One day, the enemy blasted the ship, causing serious injury to Simon.

Simon was rushed to the medical bay

where he was treated alongside the injured sailors.

Simon survived, winning the crew's respect, and showing such heroics

that the captain wrote back to London to report the cat's bravery.

Word spread, and with the help of newspaper reports,

Simon's story was told across the country.

He became one of the most famous faces of the day

and had won his way into the hearts of the British public.

People sent Simon letters and he received so much fan mail

that the captain had to appoint a press officer to deal with the post.

-That is one famous cat! Meow!

-CAT MEOWS

So congratulations to Simon.

You are top of the History's Heroes Pops.

I love a good awards ceremony - tears, laughter

and lots of lots of photographers!

I'd just like to thank you all for watching this week's

History's Heroes,

in particular, you, the paparazzi.

Tricked you! Whoo-hoo! John Bumbleman!

I did it!

And now we're off to California, in the USA.

This is fire-safety officer Henry.

He's a one-year-old goat in a team who prevents fires

by eating the vegetation, which can cause wildfires.

It's a job he's pretty good at.

He has a fun job. All he does is eat.

California is so hot that plants, or brush, frequently dry up

making it easy for fires to start

if lightening strikes or campfires get out of control.

So, who do you call to prevent those fires?

-Henry!

-That's right. You call Henry.

This is Henry's family.

They run a ranch for Henry and 350 of his fire-safety colleagues,

who, today, have been called out for a very important job.

George has been threatened by fires in the past

and needs to make sure that his ranch is safe.

It's another day in the office for Henry and the fire prevention team.

But this job's different. This one comes with a big, new challenge.

He's going to spend the night and stay on the site, clearing brush.

This is Henry's first job spending the night away from home.

That may be scary, but Henry's going to have to put any nerves aside,

as this is a big job.

-Eat this.

-Fortunately, Henry is a true professional.

He can consume the equivalent of one bag of shopping every day,

and he's only going to get hungrier.

When Henry grows up, he'll eat ten bags of groceries.

Although eating for a living may seem like a dream,

it's not without its dangers.

And when I say dangers, I mean dangers.

Henry works under threat of attack from predators, including coyotes,

-bobcats, and mountain lions.

-PREDATORS ROAR

But Henry's a smart goat. He always has protection when he's on the job.

Henry will be going to his job site with some bodyguards.

A Great Pyrenees guards him.

A Collie Wrangler makes sure Henry stays with the group.

But will those guys be able to help Henry when it gets dark?

We'll soon find out.

It's time to go to work.

Yummy, yummy, everyone's hungry, which is a good start.

There's a lot of work to be done.

As the rest of the team goes crazy, Henry takes a more refined approach.

He prefers a meal with a view.

-Ah, Henry, you old romantic, you!

-ROMANTIC MUSIC

It's soon time for Constantine to go home

and for Henry and the other goats to work without human supervision.

Good luck, Henry.

It's not long after 3am. I've never been up this late before.

-There's been some scary noises.

-BLEATING

What's that? Whoo!

Phew! It's OK. It was just Henry eating.

Attaboy! My nerves can't take this. Let's hope Henry can hold up.

Finally, it's dawn.

So, was Henry able to handle his first night away from home?

Yes, he was! There he is, looking as professional as ever.

The nightshift was no problem for this goat

and the whole farm has been cleared!

Not one bit of unwanted vegetation in sight.

The fire risk is gone. But what does the family think?

How do you think Henry did?

-Good!

-You can say that again!

Well done, Henry. You're one brave fire-safety goat.

Go and get some breakfast. You must be staaaarving!

Hi. I'm just looking for that rapscallion

who's been playing all those tricks on me.

I know who he is and what he looks like, I've just got to find him.

We know him as the Cheeky Monkey.

HE GIGGLES

I am sick of him playing pranks on me.

I know what he looks like, where to find him,

I just have to find him through this bush.

-I need something to help me do that.

-# Hallelujah! #

Brilliant!

Now I'll find him! Ha!

Come on, Cheeky Monkey, show yourself.

No-one plays a prank on John Barrowman

and gets away with it!

Grr! No sign of him yet. I'd better get back to set.

That's all for today. Thanks for watching Animals At Work.

Er, John, have you looked in the mirror recently?

-Why? Give me a mirror now!

-DRAMATIC MUSIC

-HE GASPS

-It's that cheeky monkey!

Next, it's off to Devon, in England.

# Brass monkey

# That funky monkey

# Brass monkey, junkie That funky monkey... #

Tyrone is a crested black macaque with a difference.

He's the resident food critic at his zoo.

Yep, you heard me right! Tyrone is a food critic.

And it's a job he's perfect for, given his picky eating habits.

Tyrone can be very fussy with his food.

If he's happy with it, everyone else will join in.

When it comes to food,

all the other animals in the zoo follow Tyrone's lead.

Everyone knows he has great taste.

If he doesn't like something word travels fast,

from the giraffes, to the owls,

to the tigers, to the zebras.

In fact, all over the zoo.

Tyrone's a natural food critic.

His teeth and varied eating habits mean he'll try almost anything.

But liking it is a different story.

Wild macaques live in the rainforests of Indonesia

and eat all sorts of plants, fruit and insects.

They even use their cheek pouches to save food until it's time to eat.

Today, Tyrone's sampling a potential new addition to the zoo's menu.

Pak choi is a delicious and nutritious Chinese cabbage

that's high in fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Everyone at the zoo is especially proud of the pak choi.

It's been grown using a vertical growing system.

This system involves stacking plants on vertical platforms.

It allows a huge number and variety of plants

to be grown in a very small space.

Which means lots and lots of yummy food for all the different animals.

But like anything grown at the zoo,

before the pak choi makes it anywhere near the menu,

it needs Tyrone's seal of approval.

If Tyrone likes it, it gets his go-ahead

and can be rolled out to all the other animals.

If not, it's "Bye-bye, pak choi,"

which would be bad news for the keepers

who spent all that time growing it.

Andrew's feeling the pressure. It's his job to feed the macaques.

We are worried about giving Tyrone the pak choi.

If he doesn't like it, we won't be feeding it to the rest of the zoo.

So it's clearly a big day for the zoo.

All right, Tyrone, get ready for your first taste of pak choi.

Andrew throws the pak choi into the monkey enclosure.

-Mmm. Tyrone samples a leaf.

-DRAMATIC MUSIC

What's this?

Oh, he's tossed it aside and stormed indoors without properly trying it!

No word either way from Tyrone.

This is a disastrous blow to the pak choi project.

The rain's not improving the odds of success.

I don't think he's going for the pak choi because of the weather.

Andrew has one last chance to get Tyrone to OK the pak choi.

He puts some of the greens inside Tyrone's enclosure.

This isn't how he normally feeds him but the weather leaves no choice.

Tyrone comes over. He has a good look around.

I can't look! Neither can this guy!

I'm going to be a monkey's uncle. Tyrone is eating the pak choi!

Amazing scenes! Yummy, yummy, crunch, crunch!

Immediately, Tyrone's influence is on display.

Seeing that he's approved it, the other monkeys tuck in...

# Eat it, eat it... #

..even the little baby fella.

Tyrone's endorsement means the other animals get to give it a go.

The giraffes gobble it,

the baboons love it,

and the elephant, she can't get enough of it.

Great work, Tyrone.

So the animals have another tasty addition to their menu

all thanks to Tyrone, the food critic who does not monkey around.

-Now, those kids who love animals, it's the...

-Fanimals, yes!

Let's meet the Fanimals, our animal detectives...

Say hello to the birds with the most eggs-cellent job on the farm,

it's the chickens.

# Chicken train, running all day... #

A chicken's job is to lay eggs. And they're pretty good at it.

The farmer suspects they could be better,

so he's drafted in the Fanimals

to try and help them with their egg laying.

Each Fanimal will team up with a hen.

Teams will try different techniques to encourage speedy egg-laying.

The team who lay an egg the quickest wins.

-The contenders are...

-BELL DINGS

They're all female chickens, also known as hens.

The average hen lays 259 eggs a year.

But these girls are exceptionally good at their job

and often lay an egg a day.

Judging the teams will be our expert, Farmer Ed.

# We are the eggmen... #

Down to business. The Fanimals need to select their chicken.

Take your time. Your decision is crucial.

The key to winning this challenge might be picking the right hen.

Which chicken plucks your fancy?

-Which one do you want?

-Ruth.

-I've decided to go with Rachel.

I chose Rock.

Finally, a decision. The line-up is...

Team 1 - Brianna and Rachel,

Team 2 - Lukas and Rock,

and Team 3 - Sarah and Ruth.

Next, the teams pick the strategies they'll use to help their chicken.

ALL: Buh-kaw!

So, Fanimals, what have you got?

-I'm going to love my chicken.

-Ahh, the romantic.

-I'm going to help mine with science.

-That would be the scientist.

I'm just natural!

And the good old-fashioned natural method.

Each team has 30 minutes to try their technique.

Whichever team lays an egg first wins.

First up, Brianna and Rachel with the romantic approach.

# Hello, Rachel... #

I love you. I can't wait to meet your egg.

I'll always be here if you need to talk to me.

Next it's Team 2, Lukas and Rock, and the scientific approach.

-Feel the light.

-Lukas is testing out a scientific fact

that the more light hens receive, the more eggs they lay.

But will this bright idea work?

Last it's Team 3, Sarah and Ruth, and their natural approach.

-I support you in your natural space.

-# You make me feel... #

-I believe in you.

-# Mighty real... #

Ruth, do what you want to. You can lay an egg or not,

it's up to you.

# ..Mighty real... #

Our animal detectives have conducted their experiments and time is up.

It's the moment of reckoning.

Have any of the teams produced an egg?

First, Brianna and Rachel. Could they romance an egg?

DRUM ROLL

No.

Unlucky, Team 1.

Next, Lukas and Rock. Will their scientific eggs-periment work?

DRUM ROLL

No. Maybe next time, Team 2.

It's all on Sarah and Ruth and the natural approach. Fingers crossed!

DRUM ROLL

And would you believe it? Nothing there either!

Sorry, guys. No eggs.

Bad luck, Fanimals. None of your techniques worked.

However, Lukas was on the right track.

Scientific experiments in the past have proven the more light there is

the more eggs chickens lay!

He didn't pull it off today.

The Fanimals proved one thing. You can't rush an egg-laying hen!

Buh-kaw!

Finally, it's back to Nottinghamshire, in the UK.

Sam is a hearing dog for ten-year-old Lauren,

who, along with 35,000 other kids in the UK, is deaf.

Sam's job is even more special

as he's one of only a handful of hearing dogs working with children.

And he's a real star.

-He helps keep Lauren safe...

-ALARM BEEPS

-..helps her and her family communicate...

-Take it to Lauren.

..and as a bonus, he's also become her best mate.

But that's not enough. They want to go one step better.

Lauren's desperate to show everyone how strong their bond is

and test their communication skills to the limit...

..by putting Sam through his paces on a dog agility course.

Sam's never let Lauren down before, so his pride's really on the line.

To complete the course,

he'll have to successfully respond to all Lauren's commands

and avoid making any mistakes.

There's no two ways about it, this is going to be tough.

-COCKEREL CROWS

-It's the morning of the big day.

-Sam's eager to go.

-ALARM BEEPS

The whole family's come to the course to cheer on Lauren and Sam,

and are joined by Jan and Jenny, who are responsible for Sam's training.

If the pressure wasn't on before, it really is now.

Chris, the trainer, will put Sam through his paces.

And when I say paces, I mean paces!

It features tricky obstacles, including tunnels,

jumps,

-and the dreaded...

-MAN BELLOWS: A-frame!

First things first, that tunnel, which is trickier than it looks.

For some dogs, it can be quite dark, smelly.

This is Sam's chance to prove he can quickly respond to Lauren's call.

Good luck, Sam!

-That's it.

-Sam! Under!

-He's in the tunnel. Can he make it through?

-Good boy!

He's done it! Great skill, Sam!

No time for celebration. It's straight on to the second challenge,

the jumps.

Sam's got to negotiate his way over a series of hurdles.

It should be simple enough. Here we go.

Sam, over!

Oh, no, Sam! What are you doing?

You're meant to go over them, not around them.

And knocking them over certainly isn't part of the plan.

-Do you want to do it again?

-Yes, let's try again. Here we go.

That's better! One, two...

-And three! Whoo, that's it!

-Well done. Well done. Good.

As if everyone's nerves weren't in shreds, it's the last test,

the toughest of the toughest, the dreaded...

MAN BELLOWS: A-frame!

Sam will need all his concentration to deal with this bad boy.

But no-one saw this coming.

Sam's being distracted by a cheeky little minx called Layla.

There's no time for romance, Sam. Let's focus, OK?

Here we go.

Lauren, do you want to bring Sam over here?

You can do this.

Pass me the lead. You've got treats in your hand.

-OK, let's go.

-Yes, yes, yes!

-That's it!

-Yes! No!

Disaster struck! Sam slipped off the frame.

How embarrassing, especially in front of his fans

and, even worse, Layla! This won't do.

To make amends, Sam and Lauren hatch a plan.

Come on!

They're going to attempt the course in the shape of their own sequence.

-Here goes.

-Over!

-It's a jump. Then the A-frame.

He's made it! It's another jump. And another jump!

And one final jump! That's it, he's done!

He's completed the agility course with flying colours!

A kiss for Sam and some well-deserved praise.

Oh, it's been absolutely wonderful to watch Sam and Lauren today.

-They look very happy.

-Good boy.

-Good on you, Sam. You deserve it.

-# Friends forever, we'll be... #

Wow, Sam really is a special dog. That's it for now.

It's goodbye from me and it's goodbye from him.

See you next time on Animals At Work.

Did you like that? Oh, I'm sorry to bore you!

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