22/11/2011 Blue Peter

We are mad about pets on today's Blue Peter. We will be finding out

if Barney is a top dog and we will be welcoming some rather special

guests to our new home for the Hello. Now Barney the man has gone

off to learn his lines for panto. I have swapped him Tor a new co-

presenter, this fella! It is Thomas the guinea pig. Thomas, we will

have a lovely time. I thought I would fill the studio with four-

legged friends. Have a look around here. We will meet these guys later.

To tell us about each of them, I have enlisted the help of Joe

Inglis. Joe Inglis has been vet for over 15 years. He works in a

practice in Gloucestershire whilst fitting in regular TV appearances.

That is the skinniest cat I have ever felt. He is an author and has

written books about how to look after your pets. Here he is, Joe

Inglis! Hello. I would hug you but I have my hands full. I can see

that. Welcome to Blue Peter. Thank you. What made you decide to become

a vet? I have been an animal lover. I grew up in the country. I have

enjoyed the company of animals. It's been in my blood. My great-

great-great-grandfather was Charles Darwin, the guy with the beard.

Charles Darwin? Yes. THE Charles Darwin. The guy with the beard! He

came up with the evolution. That is how people remember him. It's

always been in my family. Is being a vet a bit like being a teacher?

You have favourites but you are not meant to? It is. I have been a dog

person, like yourself. So I love... I love guinea pigs, too! Whoever

brings them in, it is their favourite animal so you have to

treat them like your own. I have some very important news. Two

special guests are on their way into the studio and I think they

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 66 seconds

Here they are. We have been reunited with our cats Socks and

Cookie. These guys live a couple of hundred miles away with Chrissy. It

wouldn't with fair to bring them up here every week? It would be a long

way. It is over 200 miles. They are fine. They are fine. Every week

would be too much. They are showbiz cats! Where's the camera? Some of

that is their breed. They are the ragdoll breed. They have been bred

to be relaxed and chilled-out. They seem that. They are. Cookie is a

little bit more get-up-and-go. Socks is fine. He takes it in his

stride. Absolutely. You guys are still very much part of the Blue

Peter family. You have been out and about. What have you been up to?

have been out to quite a few cat shows. We went to the Kentish Cat

Show in October. So we have been around and the cats love it. They

love - the people love them. The children have their photographs

taken and the grown-ups love them, too. Do they take a lot of looking

after? Long-haired take a lot of grooming. Is that a lot of work for

you? The ragdoll has an easy-care coat. It does need grooming a

couple of times a week. They do malt, though. You have to get used

to the hairs! I know your house has the odd Socks and Cookie hair in

it! Thank you for looking after the cats for us. We will see you very

soon. These guys aren't the only kind of pets you can have. Come

over this way, Joe. If you don't want dog or cat hair, you can

always have one of these guys? always have one of these guys?

Absolutely. This is Fudge the rabbit. Rabbits can make fantastic

pets. They are very common in the wild. You can keep them in your

home or in the garden. You can have them running around like cats?

can. Rabbits are intelligent. You can litter train them so they do

their business in the litter tray. You can train a rabbit to come when

you call. I have seen rabbits that people have gone, "Rover!" - well

not Rover - but Fudge! That is amazing. Not all of their habits

are appealing. They do eat their own poo. That is part of the normal

things they do. It would keep your house clean. There you go. Who is

this? This is your friend Thomas. Thomas the guinea pig. As you can

hear, guinea pigs are some of the most vocal small pets. They can

make lots of different noises. They make fantastic pets. They are easy

to look after. They are great in groups. Some people do keep them

with rabbits. They have different nutritional needs, so it is best to

keep them with other guinea pigs. used to have guinea pigs. They are

wonderful. They are. Over here, we have the smallest but perhaps the

most ferocious! I'm going to stitch you up here. You were scared about

meeting the hamster? Like all vets, you might think what would a vet be

scared of? Me, personally, it is hamsters. They have these enormous

teeth because they are rodents. have seen Steve wrestle a snake but

he's never wrestled a hamster! don't need much space. One of the

problems you might have with them is they are nocturnal. So they are

up all night and asleep during the day. So that is a bit of a shame.

You want to play with them in the day. This is good therapy. I'm

overcoming my fear of hamsters. She is called Bella. She is lovely.

someone is desperate to have a pet, and they are not allowed, what

advice would you give? There are lots of ways to interact with

animals without having a pet of pet sanctuary. Or if you have a

friend with a hamster, you can play with their pets. Barney the dog was

walked by many a dog walking volunteer before he came to live

with me. If you don't have a real- life pet, you can go on to the Blue

Peter website. Head over to Pets Place where you can watch funny

videos... That is beautiful. Print and make paper toys. Write crazy

stories about the Blue Peter pets. If you are a Blue Peter Badge

winner, find out which badge attractions offer you the chance to

get close with all sorts of animals. What are you waiting for? Head over

to the CBBC website and click on Blue Peter. We are going to meet

some more unusual animals later. Pets come in all shapes and sizes.

What if your animal is more unusual than most? We went to meet one

family whose pets stand out from family whose pets stand out from

the crowd! This is south end, a typical seaside town complete with

a pier, a fairground and a nice sandy beach. In this town, we have

a typical house, with a family and typical pets like cats and dogs...

And an emu! That's right, an emu. Not so typical now, is it? Beaky

has been part of the family since dad, Ian, received a strange

Christmas present. My wife bought me an emu egg for Christmas. We

designed an emu incubator and made it out of an old seed tray, put it

together - I didn't think it would work - but it did! We ended up with

Beaky. She was reared, hand-reared by myself in the house. Obviously,

with the help of the kids. They loved her. She grew up with the

kids. She had to come out here because she got too big. She thinks

the kids are siblings. They will feed the left-over dinner to her.

The eldest of the children is Jack. Come here. It is brilliant growing

up with the emu. Most of my friends have cats and dogs. They are

flightless birds native to Australia. They feature on the

country's coat of arms. Emus are the second largest bird in the

The distinctive green-shelled emu egg can be 12 times the size of a

chicken egg. You can fry them, scramble them and make omelettes.

They taste like chicken eggs, but better! What does it take to look

after a pet emu? Beaky is up by 6.00. It is funny letting her out.

She will charge straight to the breakfast bowl to see what I have

got her for breakfast. If it is something she is not keen on, she

will make some funny noises and stomp up-and-down the garden.

you hear that? One of the ways emus communicate with each other is with

the distinctive noise called booming! The sound is produced by

an inflatable pouch in their windpipe. Emus have two sets of

eyelids, one for blinking and one to keep out the dust. Believe it or

not, Beaky is one of over 100 pets... Four dogs, five cats, seven

guinea pigs, two frogs, one rabbit, one bearded dragon, four terrapins,

one dwarf hedgehog, one scorpion, two spiders, giant snails and one

emu! That must make for one noisy household! Never mind the noise. I

want to live there. It looks fun. Amazing. Have you ever had an emu

in your surgery? No. I have had a giant African land snail. We have

one to meet in a minute. Before we meet him, we have this beautiful

leopard gecko. These are wonderful. They come from all over the world.

They are relatively easy to keep as pets. They need to be kept at the

right temperature. You need some equipment? You do. They can be

wonderfully rewarding pets. They have some amazing superpowers. They

can climb up sheer surfaces, so glass and on ceilings, like an

animal version of Spider-Man. some of these guys shed their

tails? They do. A lot of lizards do. You must not grab them by their

tail. This here... This is Bob. is a bearded dragon and he wants to

say hello. Come for a cuddle! come from Australia. They live in

the wilds of the desert. You need to get the right equipment to keep

them nice and safe. They have loads of character. They like saying

hello. They like to cuddle. They can make wonderful pets. Do you

have to feed them live animals? do. You do need to feed them on

live roaches and worms. You don't have to feed these guys such things,

do you? You don't. These are giant African land snails. Do snails make

good pets? That is a good question. I had one come into the surgery - I

have two here! I'm not convinced - they are not the most interactive

pets. I had a little boy saying, "This is Vic, he is a bit off

colour!" It is like a fish, you can watch them. Exactly. Chinchillas

are very popular? I love them. They are the most cutest of animals out

there. They come from the Andes. They have these lovely dense,

really fine fur. They keep it clean by bathing in dust. They wash in

dust? Yes. It might sound strange. They are fantastic climbers. You

need a big area. They have these big teeth because they are rodents

so they chew. If you let them loose, they can chew electrical wires.

would have let him out for a run in here, but he might have disappeared

and I have my hands full with Bob! Let's go and meet a family who own

one animal that doesn't know whether to baa... Or woof! Family

pet Jack needs his walk every day. There is nothing he likes more than

his owner taking him for a stroll. Come on, let's go. Jack is no

ordinary family pet and that is because Jack is a sheep that thinks

he is a dog. Jack was lamb of a ewe lamb which is a sheep that has

never had a lamb before. He was the runt of the litter. He was very,

very weak and he needed a lot of help from us. We took him up to the

house. We gave him some milk. We put the hairdryer on him to warm

him up. We had to put him with somebody at night otherwise the fox

would have taken him. So we decided that we would put him with our

stringer spaniel and he stayed there ever since. Jack and Jessie

are best of friends. -- our springer spaniel. Jack is six

months old. Normally if a sheep and a dog get together the sheep is

very frightened of the dog. With Jack and Jessie, because they have

grown up together, Jack is very The people on the canal are

fascinated by Jack. I take the dog and the lamb for a walk on a lead.

It is an unusual sight for people to see a lady walking a dog and a

sheep. Jack loves his dog's life. He can't stomach the dog food that

Jessie eats. It is back outside for dinner to have a munch on the green

stuff! The end of the day he is a sheep. He eats grass. He eats hay

and sheep nuts. He doesn't eat dog food. Jack will stay as a member of

the family. He will be a pet. The other sheep will end up as lamb

chops, as sheep do. But Jack will stay as a friend of Jessie's and he

will be a pet in the farm. That was fantastic. I had a cat

once who thought he was a dog! lead? No, just trotting along

thinking he was a dog. I know, Barney! We have a show dedicated to

animals and we have not given you a mention. What breed is he? He is a

cross. Do you know from which dogs? Looking at him, I would say there

is a bit of Dachsund and collie in there. He is Dachsund, a sausage

dog, crossed with a red setter. There is a dog show that celebrates

cross-breeds and we had to enter Barney into it. You can't kiss her!

Come here. # Who let the dogs out? #

We all know you love your dogs. But do you know the difference between

poodles and pugs? How about that? I'm at Scrufts. I couldn't come out

bringing Barney. The competition isn't just about looks. The dogs

are judged on good character, good health and good temperament with

people and other dogs. Today, we will see how our Barney will do. I

know you want to go. This is our chance. We are doing it for the

boys. He is so keen to get involved. Mum's not here but we have to do

her proud. All right? Exactly. Dogs from all over the country have come

through regional heats to win a spot in one of the finals here

today. The categories include golden oldies, child's best friend,

and prettiest female dog. This year, there is a new category that's been

introduced - the celebrity dog category. So here is where our very

own Barney has come along to see if he has got what it takes to compete

against the doggie faces of stage and screen. It takes some effort to

look this good! So he's been pampered and now there is only one

finishing touch - a brand-new dog collar once he has had a scratch!

Now he is absolutely ready to show those other celebrity dogs just

what he's made of. Go on, son! Barney is one of the best-known

mongrels in showbiz so let's see if the competition is going to be

tough. Our first canine contender is Dodger straight from the sets of

Pirates of the Caribbean. He has many talents. Then we have Harvey.

This dog never stops performing. He can pick anything up on command.

Not only is he the star of many a TV show, he performs in dog agility

shows, too. Then Ripley. She has a great bark on command. She landed

her first modelling role as the face of Dog Adoption. Finally,

hounding the judges we have Barney. He may not have a fancy trick and

his favourite pastime may be lying down, but he is always willing to

give it his best shot. But first time for a catch-up with one of the

judges. I thought I would say hi. You will be judging the category

that we are in. No pressure(!) are impartial, you have to be.

Take a look at the finest celebrity dog you will ever see. He doesn't

do that many tricks. I have to bring him into show what he can do.

You got lots of biscuits?. Loads! What are you going to look for? Do

you do the coat? It has to be an instinctive thing. By the time you

see him, he will be bigger! I am looking forward to your comments.

Whatever you say is fine. You have to be impartial. You see what you

see on the day. It is time for a quick pep talk. They look calm.

Don't look at them! It will be fine. You have the tricks in the bag. You

have all this TV stuff. They have been in TV for years, it is all

rubbish! You are a showbiz dog. High-five! I haven't taught him

that yet! It is competition time. Will Barney win Celebrity Scrufts?

He is loving this. Antony knows he's got a class dog on his hands.

That is one of the finest breeds of You can see his potential. This is

his trick. He can eat five biscuits in ten seconds! LAUGHTER He chomps

them all down. So that is it. We have done all we can do. It is up

to the judges now. Has Barney bitten off more than he can chew?

It is time to hear who the winner is. Come on, Barney! There is only

one winner in this, Harvey. APPLAUSE Well done, pal. Never mind,

Barney. It is the taking part that counts. I don't think it matters

that we came last. Think about all the dog jokes we have heard today.

I hope you don't get COLLARED by your adoring fans! We are kicking

you while you are down! Sorry. think he was robbed. He was the

best dog in the show. See you later, Cookie! Tune in next week when we