Episode 13 Dick 'N' Dom Go Wild

This show features professionals working with unpredictable animals.

Do not attempt to do anything you're about to see yourselves.

Bosh.

Did you know that now,

there are people all around the UK who are working their socks off

to help wounded wildlife and poorly pets?

And we've managed to get VIP passes for willing helpers to get stuck in

at the busiest vets, wildlife sanctuaries and rescue centres.

Rats!

It's tough and dirty work but somebody's got to do it.

On today's show.

Jazz and Molly deal with eye-opening doggie surgery.

-Ready for the incision?

-Yeah.

Jessica and Monique get in a twist with Twiglet, the homeless hound.

And Dick wolfs down a potty potion.

Argh.

BOTH: Morning. Nice shirt. Thank you.

Maybe I should change. No, I'll change, I insist.

All right, then. See you later.

Here at Westway,

they look after all creatures, great and small, on a daily basis.

But it's not just domestic pets. No, they also look after animals

that have been brought in from the wild. Very busy people.

Today, they have two new members of staff.

Unfortunately, they're inexperienced, unqualified

and untrained. Fingers crossed.

Going hoopla on this one are best pals, Molly and Jazz.

Molly loves cuddling her pet rabbit Rolo.

But grumpy goats get her going. Grr.

I had a bucket of food and I went like that

and all the goats tried butting me.

And trying to kick me.

And trying to get in my bucket for food.

Jazz loves cute puppies.

But thinks chickens are barking.

They were all surrounding me and they were going cluck, cluck, cluck.

Flapping all at me.

So, that's probably what started me not liking chickens.

Molly wants to be a vet, but could she cope with the messy bits?

I don't really want to see, like, a dog's bone hanging out

or something like that.

I'd be like, "Save them, but you might have to save me."

OK, it's a deal, Jazz. Get yourselves to Newcastle,

you're going to spend a day as trainee vets.

Ah, Jazz, Molly.

-Welcome to Dick N Dom. You been to a vets before?

-Yes.

-No.

Today's experience is going to be totally unique.

-Do you think you're going to be able to cope?

-Yes.

-Maybe.

-Maybe.

-I'm scared.

-Oh, OK.

I don't think you'll be scared, will you? Cos you want to be a vet.

-I want to be a vet and no, I won't be scared.

-There we are.

Stick these on and we'll get going.

There's an experienced veterinary team here

dedicated to giving the best possible care

to their constant intake of animal patients.

Molly and Jazz's first patient is Tally,

a four-year-old Labrador-cross

who's been brought in to have a check-up with vet Nick.

-Hi, Nick.

-How you doing?

-This is Jazz and Molly, your helpers for the day.

-Hello.

Owner Jane has noticed that Tally has developed a painful-looking limp

-on one of her back legs.

-We think that she's ruptured

one of the ligaments in her knee.

We're going to take her in and we're going to X-ray her.

If she's ruptured it, she's going to go to theatre

and we're going to put a new ligament in.

What do you think made her lame?

It's a really common injury. It's dogs that exercise a lot.

We see lots and lots of dogs that rupture their ligaments.

And it's really just because they're very fit and running a lot.

How do you feel about that? Straight into the operating theatre.

-Bit scared.

-Nervous.

You want to be a vet. You can't be scared.

But it's my first time!

How do you feel about leaving Tally

in the capable hands of these two ladies.

-Oh, very good.

-Yeah. You sure?

-Yeah.

-OK, then, we'll see you later on.

The girls are up for this one, that's for sure.

-Shall we put her on the scales?

-Yeah.

-First, Tally needs to be weighed.

Can you read that off for me, Jazz?

21.4.

-21.4.

-They have to find out Tally's exact weight,

so Nick knows how much anaesthetic is needed to make her sleep.

There we go.

The bigger the dog, the more they need.

There you go. You can't even feel it, can you?

How long will it take for the injection to work?

It takes about 20 minutes, something like that.

We're going to pop her into the kennels

and we'll leave her quiet and let her go sleepy.

When she's sleepy, we'll start on her.

-OK.

-What would happen if she didn't have the operation?

Unfortunately, her knee would still be unstable

and she'd get really, really bad arthritis.

Arthritis is very common in dogs

and can cause painful swelling in the leg joints.

If it isn't put right,

Tally could have a limp for the rest of her life.

With the sedative kicking in, Tally is settled in a rest area.

I'm looking forward to the operation but I'm a little bit scared.

I want to make her legs better, so she can not have arthritis

and grow up with a healthy leg.

I just don't like seeing dogs with blood,

so I might not, I might go out for a second.

Or I don't know. But it depends on how I feel about it.

-I think she's getting a bit sleepy, Jazz.

-Yeah, me too.

Later, everything's on a knife edge for Molly and Jazz.

-Do you have to cut the leg open?

-Yeah.

But first, Dom drops into a huge animal shelter in Cambridgeshire.

Today on Dick N Dom, indeed, Go, rrrr, Wild, I'm here.

Look, at Wood Green Animal Shelter.

And, as one of the largest animal re-homing centres

in the whole of Europe,

it could always do with an extra pair of helping hands. Rrr.

And here are today's helping hands, best friends Monique and Jessica.

Monique would love a pet of her own.

She'd be happy with a hamster and delighted with a dinky, little dog.

I'd really like a pug or a Jack Russell.

Cos they're really cute and small and they'll be nice to hold.

But show her a massive mutt and she's likely to run a mile.

Jessica has a cat called Pepsi.

But would love another pet, as long as it's not a big pig.

Some pigs are aggressive. They, like, try and nudge you.

And then sometimes, they try to nibble you a bit.

Strong pet opinions then. Nothing wrong with that.

Right. On your marks. Get set.

To the animal shelter.

-It's only Monique and Jessica. How you doing? All right.

-Yeah.

Welcome to Dick N Dom Go Wild.

You two are a bit of a mixed bag, aren't you?

You like some animals, you don't like some animals.

-You like dogs, that right?

-Yeah.

-Thumbs up for dogs, yes?

-Yes.

-Thumbs down for anything with trotters and hooves, yeah?

-Yeah.

-All right. Pigs? Are they nice?

-No.

-No, right.

-What about goats?

-No.

Right, today should be slightly interesting.

Because here, they've all sorts of animals. They have got...

Actually, instead of me telling you, you put these on.

And you watch this.

Over 5,500 lost or unwanted animals are taking in

by the experts here, every single year.

That's an awful lot of work,

so it's a good job these two are up for getting down with helping,

Cos first up, it's...rats.

No need to hide behind your sofa, though.

Cos Willow and Deleth are rescued pet rats.

We've just had these two girls arrive this morning.

Now, they came in through a milkman who was driving down on his rounds

and found a box at the side of the road, looked in the box

and found these two beautiful rats that had been abandoned.

What's, like, the difference between pet rats

and the ones that go down the sewers?

These are all rats that have been bred specially to be people's pets.

They don't carry the diseases that wild rats carry.

-So, do you like them, then?

-Yeah. They're really, really cute.

They're not as I thought they would be.

Right, let's see if our girls can really handle rats.

-Do rats ever bite?

-No, these two ladies are ever so friendly.

And, as long as we're gentle with them and they don't feel frightened,

then they wouldn't have ever any need to want to nibble us.

Remember, Willow and Deleth are disease-free, domestic rats

who love being handled.

Stay clear of wild rats, they can be dangerous and dirty.

So, what do you think of rats now, then?

They're cute and cuddly.

Bravo, looks like the rescued rats are, well and truly,

wowing our girls. A lovely start.

And later, Monique and Jessica attempt to build

-a right-good, rodent residence.

-Perfect.

At the Newcastle vets, Molly and Jazz are busy preparing Tally

for an operation on one of her back legs.

-There we go.

-If she doesn't have the operation,

she could be lame for the rest of her life.

First job, Tally needs an injection

that will make her snooze through the op.

Next, a breathing tube is popped into her mouth.

-Can you see it going in the windpipe?

-Yes.

Now, they can have a proper look at Tally's troublesome leg.

The ligament stops movement of that bone against that bone.

If you watch, as I get hold of it,

you will see, this hand can move forward

compared to the other, are you ready?

See it move? Look at that.

-Can you see that?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-The ligament is completely ruptured.

-Do you have to cut the leg open?

-Yeah.

We're going to cut down into here and go into the joint.

We're going to have a look at the joint and the ligament

-and then we're going to put a new ligament into it.

-OK.

Next, they take an X-ray which will give the girls

a clear view of the damaged ligament and bone.

Already, you can start to see signs of arthritis.

-Can you see how it looks a little bit roughened there?

-Yeah.

And what we will do is, we will now prepare the leg.

Trim time for Tally.

The area around the leg needs to be completely shaved

so Nick has clear sight of where he needs to operate.

Jasmine's on this job.

How long will it take to grow the hair back?

Probably, about four weeks, it'll take for all the hair to grow back.

There we go.

There, one hairless leg, ready to be fixed.

And later, Molly and Jazz face up to full-on veterinary surgery.

What's wrong, Jazz?

Back in Cambridgeshire, Monique and Jessica have been getting to know

two newly-rescued arrivals at the animal sanctuary.

Domestic rats, Willow and Deleth, only arrived here this morning

and the girls now need to help them settle in.

How do you feel about getting one of our units ready

for the rats to move into?

-Shall we get cracking?

-Yeah.

-Fantastic.

Pet rats are cute and highly intelligent,

unlike wild sewer rats. They're also clean and stink-free.

Still, always best to wash your hands after handling a pet rat.

They do like to scent mark with a little wee.

Our girls need to get a polished, pristine pad prepared for the pair.

It's scrubbing up lovely, girls.

How about a nice bit of bedding to keep the rats cosy?

Bosh. And then some toys, maybe?

All right. Fair enough.

Let's hope the two rats like their new home.

Perfect.

In you go, girls.

I mean the rats, obviously, not the girls.

Oh. She's going straight up, look. Look how excited they get

when they've got all those new things to explore.

The more toys we can add into their home, the much happier they are.

Willow and Deleth are loving their new gaff, all full of top toys

and climby things.

Let's hope this new place is only temporary

and they find a new home soon.

I've never really liked rats before.

But when I actually got to see them, they're really cute.

And they're really sweet and cuddly to hold.

They were cute and they were nice and shiny.

They just need a loving home.

And later, the girls who can't stand goats

meet goats that can't stand up. How does that make you feel?

When people treat their animals that badly.

Sad and upset and sorry for them.

But first, Dick addresses our wolf work in an unusual way.

I've got a bone to pick with you.

I didn't know they were your grundies.

No, I've got a bone to pick with you.

Several, actually, and some poo.

Cos you're going to go in there and clean out the wolves' enclosure.

The thing is that wolves have these slobbery-like teeth

and big, growly mouths.

You see, that's not a problem, I'm not worried.

-Cos I am going to blend in.

-Are you going to paint yourself green?

I'm not going to paint myself. This is magic potion.

When I drink it, I'll turn into a wolf.

-Right.

-I'd stand back if I were you.

If you find any magic potions at home,

please don't drink them. I'm an expert.

Argh.

-You look like my mother. Look.

-Oh.

Er, woman. Wolf.

Must have got the potions mixed up when I took them off the shelf.

Why would you have a potion to turn yourself into a woman?

Never you mind.

Anyway, best get on with the job in hand.

And here's your job in hand, old pal.

You need to clear out the wolf enclosure

that is full of gnawed bones and stinky poo.

Wolves haven't lived in the wild in the UK for around 300 years.

So, if you go down to the woods today, well, you won't see one.

You'll have to come to a place like this.

Come on, Dom, get cleaning, son.

The wolves.

Is that wee I can smell?

It probably is.

Wolves mark their territory and the food they eat

with their own wee.

Urgh.

I'd ground you for a year, Dominic Wood,

if you poo and wee all over your floor.

Again.

I think that's been finished with, don't you?

Yes, every bone looks stripped to the...bone.

Wolves can neck nine kilos of meat in a single meal.

That's like me wolfing down 25 portions of fish and chips

in one go.

Job done. Happy.

And the wolves seem happy too.

Good job. I'd hate to see them when they're not happy.

Looks like a new penny in there.

Yeah. You know. You look quite good like that, actually.

Give us a bit of your potion. Go on.

This is just cabbage water. This isn't potion.

You just wanted an excuse to play dress-ups, didn't you?

At the animal sanctuary,

Monique and Jessica are handling everything we can throw at them,

including ferret walking.

Next up for the girls, goats.

Not their favourite animal.

Nellie, the Saanen goat, arrived here

after her previous owner was struggling

to look after her properly.

She's doing fine now and is in-line for a new home

if she can pass a health check.

First, we're going to look at her eyes.

Just make sure there's no crustiness round there.

Make sure there's no discharge from her eye.

-Can you see it's all clean?

-Do goats have good eyesight?

They've got quite good eyesight.

They're prey animals, their eyes are on the side of their heads.

They can see more and look out for anything

that might endanger them.

And Nelly's eyes are looking lovely and clear.

Next, Nelly's feet need to be examined.

Domesticated goats must have their hooves inspected

and trimmed regularly.

In the wild, goats would wear down their hooves

on the rocky hillsides they live on.

That doesn't happen in grassy fields.

So, they have to be tended to by humans.

We normally trim them every four to eight weeks,

depending on how bad their feet are.

What we look out for is just to make sure their toes are nice and trim.

Did you want to come and check the other foot for me?

Monique finishes the job.

-OK. So, that looks quite nice and clean, doesn't it?

-Yeah.

All good here.

But not quite so good over here.

Billy and Gruff, here, their hooves had grown so long,

they'd started to curl round and they were so sore to walk on

that they stopped walking on them.

They started to use their knees instead.

And, if you look carefully,

you'll see they have got some sore, hard patches

where they've been using their knees to walk.

How does that make you feel?

When people treat their animals that badly.

-Sad and upset and sorry for them.

-Yeah? Well, I tell you what.

-Shall we go and make them feel a little bit better?

-Yeah.

-Is that OK, Anna?

-Absolutely. Let's go in.

-Yes.

-OK.

And close up, the goats' painfully sore knees are all too clear to see.

These lumps called calluses could so easily have been prevented

by regular hoof trimming.

When it starts walking again,

will the rough stuff on their knees still be there?

Probably. The hair that used to be there will probably never grow back.

Their knees will start to feel a bit more comfortable

cos they won't be walking on their knees.

Will it still be like that?

It will probably stay like that for the rest of their lives, sadly.

-They'll walk?

-They'll walk better on their hooves.

It won't hurt them any more.

Billy and Gruff are improving now

and could be in-line for finding a new home,

just like old pal Nellie here,

who's been passed fit and will, hopefully, be leaving

to start a new life at a new home in a few weeks' time.

And later, Jessica and Monique bark out doggie instructions.

-Lift it up and say sit.

-Sit.

Molly and Jazz are helping prepare Tally the dog

for her leg operation at a north-east vets.

-Can you see it all coming off?

-Yeah.

The operating theatre is a strictly no-go area

for members of the public, but the girls are part of the team,

-so where vet Nick goes, they go too.

-Right, girls, get scrubbing.

The leg needs to be scrubbed super clean

so no germs can get into the wound and cause an infection.

Lots of bubbles. Do it a little bit harder.

-Is that better, Kay?

-That's better.

-Foam it up, girls, come on.

OK, it's time for the serious stuff now.

-Ready for the incision, girls?

-Yup.

We just go through the skin in the first instance.

First, Nick has to cut through skin and muscle to get to the knee joint.

A little bit of blood.

-What's wrong, Jazz?

-It's gross.

-It's gross?

-Yeah.

It's a bit gory, but nobody's leaving Tally's side.

-Do you want to have a look?

-Come and have a look, Molly.

That there, can you see it? That is your ligament broken.

Ligaments connect bones together, allowing joints to move properly.

Tally's damaged one will be replaced with this artificial one

which looks like thick, plastic string.

-What is it made out of?

-It's made out of a type of nylon.

The girls have overcome their squeamishness.

I, on the other hand, have not.

-Don't look.

-Ooh.

-There we go. So, we put that through.

We're then going to put our needle through.

It's a lovely wall. I like the colour of the paint.

-It's a nice, white wall.

-Do you think he's a bit of a wuss?

-Yeah, wuss.

-A wuss.

Finally, Jazz does a quick check on Tally's heart rate.

All sound.

And then, Nick secures the ligament in position

and finally closes the wound back up.

How long will it take for Tally to come back awake?

Takes her five or ten minutes.

Kay, now, is just going to switch the anaesthetic off

and she breathes the oxygen and then we take the tube out

and then she goes through to recovery and you can sit with her.

The girls stay with the disorientated dog

until she starts to come around.

-Hello, Tally.

-Hello.

Tally's a little groggy and sore,

but, hopefully, she should be able to return home later today.

Later, Jazz and Molly get touchy-feely

with feisty, feral, fur balls.

Look at that.

-You're going to be a vet in no time, aren't you?

-Yeah.

But first, big, hairy, horned cows. Kind of.

Look at the size of that. Looks like Chewbacca on four legs.

-What is it this time? Loch Ness monster?

-Bison.

Oh, Richard, come on, please. Bison live on the plains of America.

I mean... What the...?

These European bison can be found in the wild in Russia and Poland.

-Beautiful, aren't they?

-Yeah.

Big lads. Look like they weigh a ton.

They can weigh as much as a small car.

And they can jump as far as three metres from a standing position.

-Pretty agile.

-Yeah. Amazing.

To be honest, I thought you were pulling my leg,

-especially after that UFO nonsense yesterday.

-That was not nonsense.

Little, green fellows.

I'll be meeting them in about eight seconds.

Why do you always have to go and spoil things?

Here we are on this wonderful adventure,

looking at beautiful wildlife and you...

Dick!

I'm sorry, I should have believed you.

Monique and Jessica are in Cambridgeshire helping the sick,

injured and abandoned animals at one of Europe's biggest animal shelters.

Next, the girls are helping Puddles,

named because the poor puppy was found by a roadside

in muddy water, all alone and unwell.

Your job today is to spend a bit of time with her,

so she gets more used to people. How does that sound?

Abandoned dogs can lose trust in people,

so Puddles needs lots of close up contact.

The pup is looking very settled around our team. Lovely.

-Lift him up and say sit.

-Sit.

Good skills, Jessica.

-Hello, you lot.

-Hello, there.

-So, this must be the famous Puddles, yes?

-Yeah.

Good. Beautiful and lovely and cute and fluffy and gorgeous and waggy.

-Yes.

-All of that?

-Yes.

I've got some news for you. Puppies don't stay puppies for ever.

Puppies turn into big dogs.

-You're not too keen on big dogs, are you, Monique?

-No.

No. But I think if you might want a dog in the future,

we should go and look at a big dog now.

So, shall we go and meet a big mutt?

-Yes.

-OK.

-Good. This way.

This is Twiglet the German Shepherd.

Like thousands of other dogs every single year,

she was an unwanted Christmas present.

So, she's ended up here, waiting for someone new to pick her up,

take her home and love her.

Come on, girls. You wanted big dog, here is big dog.

Monique, do you still need a little bit of convincing?

-Yes.

-About big dogs. Let's see what we can do.

Come on, Twiglet.

Looks like Monique is definitely up for confronting her big dog dislikes

in the special training area.

Twiglet, come on.

-Fetch.

-Straight from the off,

Twiglet is making Monique's mutt fears disappear.

Twiglet. Twiglet.

-Twiglet.

-Twiglet.

And the big fella's having a top time too. Great work, everyone.

-What's been your favourite part?

-Playing with Twiglet.

Playing with Twiglet. What about yours, Monique?

-Meeting the dogs.

-Meeting all the dogs.

I'm glad you've enjoyed yourselves.

Well done, you've been absolutely amazing today.

You can only get that result on Dick N Dom Go Wild, can't you?

Molly and Jazz have been helping out in the operating theatre

at a busy Newcastle vets.

The vet assistants are now called to check on some new arrivals here.

These awfully cute, orphaned, wild kittens.

Aw. They're so cute. Where do they come from?

These were brought in by the RSPCA.

They've been found abandoned and they're perhaps ten days,

two weeks old.

We think they're proper stray cats, in other words, they're feral.

They're not used to being handled.

Most feral cats aren't true wild cats.

They're pets that have become homeless and live in the wild.

So, we're going to give them a bath.

-Would you like to help me do that?

-Yes.

-All right.

-Hold really tight.

-Thank you.

-Don't let go.

Aw. Follow me then.

They might be tiny,

but, because they're feral, they're a real handful.

I'm going to slosh a little bit over.

I'm going to keep his head up and wash his paws.

Then, I'm going to bring him out.

Very carefully, Jazz eases the next kitten into the bucket bath.

KITTEN MEWS "I don't want that."

If the kittens still had Mum around, she'd be doing the cleaning

by licking them all over and that includes their bottoms.

Nearly done. Just a little blow-dry first.

Oh. Look at that angry face.

Going anywhere nice on your holidays, Kitty?

And to finish the job, the team's hard work is rewarded

with a chance to bottle feed these wild-at-heart kittens.

Even though they were born feral,

with a bit of love, they could become fantastic pets.

Look at that. You're going to be a vet in no time, aren't you?

-Yeah.

-You're not kidding, Nick.

Top class vets in the making, these two.

And there's one more treat in store for our girls.

Come on then, girls. In you come.

Tally has come around from her leg operation.

She's not only looking fine,

She's actually up and about on all fours, well, all threes.

Fear not, she'll be using that fourth leg in no time.

-Have you enjoyed your day at the vets?

-Yes.

-Good.

-Excelente.

-Excelente.

-And, Molly, do you still want to be a vet?

-Yeah.

-So, spot on.

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