Episode 9 Dick 'N' Dom Go Wild

This show features trained professionals working with

potentially dangerous animals.

So please, do not attempt to do anything

you are about to see yourselves.

BOTH: Yes?

Did you know that now, right 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, Hiba and Huda battle to save a bird of prey.

What happens if you can't fix its wing?

The fairest thing would be to put it to sleep.

Connor and Finley fix fawns.

She's determined to feed.

And Dom spends his savings on ravens.

Hoopla. Yeah! Banger!

-You off to that animal sanctuary then?

-Yeah.

Ready for a hard day's work?

Yeah.

Don't think you've forgotten anything?

-No.

-All right, then. Off you go. Good luck.

Today on Dick and Dom Go Wild, I'm in the north-east of England to

lend a hand at a busy vet's practice.

And to help me out are these two.

Spinning in today are identical twins Hiba and Huda.

Huda here doesn't like dogs.

But loves just about everything else.

I like cats, chickens, zebras, elephants, guinea pigs,

hamsters, octopus, sharks, dolphins, snails, worms.

I like them all, basically.

Told you.

Meanwhile, Hiba gets in a dither when it comes to wildlife.

Especially stuff that lives right here.

I think wildlife in Britain is boring,

and all the animals, like, stink and horrible.

So, how will the disagreeing twins cope with the ups and downs

of working in a busy vet's practice.

Well, let's see, shall we?

-Hello there, Huda, hello there, Hiba.

-TWINS: No.

-No? Hello there, Huda, Hello there, Hiba.

-TWINS: Yeah.

-We'll get there!

So, you might look the same because you're twins,

but you've got different opinions when it comes to animals.

-Yeah. I like animals...

-And I don't!

-And you want to be a vet, Huda?

-Yeah, because I want

-to help save lives.

-Good.

And I don't want to be a vet, because there's too much blood.

Do you think we can win her over today, Huda?

-Yeah.

-Yes, right. There's only one way to find out.

If we are going to be vets for the day, we've got to look like vets,

so there's one for you, there's one for you, and...

Ah. There's none for me.

This place never stops caring for poorly pets and injured animals.

It's on the case every single day of the year,

so two extra pairs of hands will come in, erm, very handy!

Jason, thanks for having us. I know you're busy,

but today you've got something special going on, haven't you?

Yeah. We've got the pet blood bank to come today.

And what's a blood bank?

It's where blood's taken from dogs, or it can be cats,

and stored for future use in an emergency.

Say, a dog's lost a lot of blood.

Well, this will be perfect for the girls,

because, Hiba, you don't like blood, do you?

No, I don't like it. I think it's disgusting.

And Huda, you're not keen on dogs.

No.

But are you going to get stuck in?

BOTH: Yes.

Good, because if you'd said no

it would have been a very short programme!

Six year old Susie the greyhound is today's volunteer.

Just like people, dogs can need blood transfusions after operations.

The much needed blood comes from healthy doggie donors

like Susie here.

First, our team need to see if Susie is a suitable blood donor.

So, girls. I know you're not very keen on dogs.

What do you think about Susie?

She looks really calm, and so I wouldn't mind having a dog like her.

She doesn't seem to be making much noises or anything like that.

Promising, yes, very promising.

OK, girls. We're going to give Susie a health check today

to see if she's OK to give blood.

We start with the head here, and pressing the gums there.

That checks the circulation, and she's got really good circulation.

So, Susie's teeth and gums are looking great.

What about the heartbeat, Huda?

-You happy with that?

-Yeah.

-Good.

Lovely.

And now it's time for a quick temperature check.

Where do you think that goes?

In its mouth?

-Any other?

-Not sure.

No, we basically don't put it in the dog's mouth,

because they'll bite it, so in a dog it goes in its bottom unfortunately.

TWINS: Ugh!

Brace yourself, Susie. This will only take a few seconds, old girl.

There we are, 39.2. So the dog's temperature is OK.

So far, so good, but there is still one very important thing to do.

Before Susie can become a donor,

a small sample of her blood needs to be checked to make sure it's healthy.

-Have you seen a blood sample taken before?

-TWINS: No.

Is it going to hurt the dog?

No, it shouldn't do.

Jason swabs a small area of Susie's coat,

and then it's in with the needle and out with a bit of blood.

See, girls? I don't think she felt that, did she?

GIRLS: No.

-Impressed?

-GIRLS: Yeah.

And off to the lab so the sample can be tested.

Later, the girls soothe brave Susie as she gets ready to give blood.

But first, Dom's sent to Surrey to save sick wildlife.

Here at Harper Asprey, they take in injured or orphaned animals

that might not otherwise stand a change of survival in the wild.

They also are willing to go out

and rescue animals that are in harmful situations.

Now today, I'm going to be joined by two lads who may be able to

help, but might not be so willing.

Let's go and meet them.

Meet brothers, Finlay and Connor.

Now, Finlay is not OK with UK wildlife.

He likes his animals all exotic.

I think African wildlife is much prettier than wildlife here.

They have all the rhinos and hippos and elephants.

Brother Connor loves sea life,

and loved his pet chicken,

until a fox gobbled it up.

I really don't like foxes.

When you see them at night they look really like black

and then they just move really creepily.

These two have a pad full of pets.

Woof!

This is our tortoise, Marvin.

This is our cat, Myrtle.

BOTH: These are our dogs.

So, let's see if we can get them

wowed by wildlife that lives in the UK.

Finlay, Connor, how are you doing? Welcome to Dick and Dom Go Wild.

-You all right?

-BOTH: Yeah.

-You two are brothers!

-BOTH: Yeah.

Now, because of the fox situation, you're not keen on British wildlife,

but I'm going to try and turn that around, OK?

-BOTH: Yeah.

-So let's turn you around as well. Off you go.

By the way, there are some really lovely overalls for you to wear.

See you.

The top team here take in over 1,200 patients every year.

Many of them are orphans whose parents have sadly been killed

in road accidents.

This morning we need to find a couple of fawns that need feeding,

and we're going to have to find them

because they're actually here somewhere.

-Just remind us what a fawn is.

-A fawn is a baby deer.

So, we're going to find some fawns somewhere in this front garden.

They are very small and very difficult to find.

-So, go find fawns.

-OK.

Young deer are difficult to spot in the undergrowth.

Their markings help them keep hidden when their mum is looking for food.

She's right there, boys.

-Found one.

-This is Minnie.

She's actually a roe fawn, so she's the fawn that you see

in the Bambi film and she's about five days old now.

Poor Minnie was born minutes after her mother was killed by a car.

Isn't she beautiful? What do you think?

-Yeah.

-Yeah. Quite cute.

She's only five days old

and now relies on Ann, who is acting as her mum.

And Jamie's around here somewhere.

His mum also died in a car collision.

I've found the other one.

Jamie's actually a fallow fawn, so he's going to be a lot bigger

than Minnie, and he's about two weeks old at the moment.

-Well done!

-And later, can Connor and Finlayhandle a full-on

fawn feeding frenzy?

Back in Newcastle, Hiba and Huda are waiting on some important

blood results from Susie the greyhound.

The team need to check if she's healthy enough to donate blood

that might save the lives of sick dogs.

And the results have arrived.

So it's approximately about half and half, the blood count there,

which is about right for a greyhound.

Does that mean that the blood's good and Susie has passed the test?

Yes. That means she's passed the test and we can go

and get the blood that we need.

Great. Now time for Susie to give to a great cause.

Lie her on her side, nice and gently. Good girl.

Easy. Taking blood from a dog is a simple

and relatively pain-free procedure.

We'll be taking about half a litre of the red stuff away from her today.

-Right, Wendy, is it time to bring on the needle?

-Yes, it is.

Right, let's go for it.

How many dogs a week do you actually take blood from?

We hold three collection sessions a week,

about 20 dogs come to each session, so that's sixty dogs.

Last year, the pet blood bank supplied

around 3,000 bags of blood to the nation's vets.

That's enough to help a staggering 12,000 animals.

Susie's donation alone could save the lives of four other dogs.

Can you take blood from one type of dog and give it to another type?

Say a Rottweiler to a greyhound or...

Yes, you could do. As long as they have got the same blood type.

Hiba and Huda box up the bag

and it could be sent to a pet emergency anywhere in the country.

It's a job well done indeed,

but what have our dog-dissing duo made of it all?

At first I didn't know that dogs can give blood.

I never knew that there was different blood groups.

But now that I know, I think it's kind of interesting.

I was really pleased to help out in the blood bank,

because it might have made a change to another dog's life.

And later, our girls get called to a grounded kestrel.

How do you think this one injured itself?

I believe it was hit by a car.

At the wildlife rescue centre in Surrey,

Connor and Finlay have been trying to find fawns Minnie and Jamie.

The fawns don't have mum,

so Connor and Finlay will need to prepare them a nutritious breakfast.

Can you crack an egg into here? Who's the chef amongst you?

-Him.

-What do I do? How do you crack an egg?

This'll be fun. Whoa! Well done.

Take one egg and whisk well.

Add a litre of milk and mix together.

Finally add some glucose and vitamins.

This mixture has the same nutrients and goodness

that mum's milk would have contained.

Stir it all together and pour into a bottle,

trying not to make too much of a mess!

OK, all we need to do now is put the tops on the bottles

and go and feed the fawns.

Now because the fawns aren't used to the boys,

they may not accept the milk.

Right, we're going to bring him over and sit him down on here.

-Oh, sit him down?

-Yeah, going to sit him down here.

Connor's going to be the first to play parent.

There you go. Great job.

-Is that strange?

-Yeah.

He's a bit of a messy eater, isn't he?

In the wild, fawns will feed from their mothers

around four times a day.

Now, it's little Minnie's turn.

That's it. You can now pick her up. Well done.

At only five days old, she's still very fragile

and needs to eat every meal if she's going to pull through.

Ah, looks like she's got a sniff of the boys' breakfast drink!

Looks like she really wants milk.

I think, you know, I think she might stand down here and feed.

There you go.

She's determined to feed.

The fawns will soon move into a bigger field

with less human contact

before being eventually released back into the wild.

Well done.

Connor and Finlay have really helped them on their journey.

Nice work, boys.

I really liked meeting the deers.

My favourite part was feeding them and getting to pick up one of them.

I really enjoyed meeting the fawns, because I've never actually

fed one and I've never actually touched, stroked one.

And later, Connor and Finlay box clever with some flighty fox cubs.

Come on. You know you want to.

But first, a big-beaked beauty takes a shine to Dom.

What you doing? Counting your savings?

Yeah. Got enough to buy a brand new bigger piggy bank.

Brilliant. But it's your turn to look after the animals today, remember?

Come on.

Unkindness.

What have I done now?

No, that's an unkindness of ravens.

You know, when you see a group of ravens hanging round together.

-A group of ravens is unkindness.

-This fellow's on his own.

-Well he's just unkind.

-Why, what's he done?

-Stole my bike.

-Oh.

-Ravens are part of the crow family, you know.

You know, like magpies and jackdaws...

What you doing?

Well, it's a flashback, isn't it?

That horrible crow job! It pooed all over my back and everything.

Yep, definitely your task today. Get in there.

I'll hold your pig, you put them on.

-Why?

-Have you seen his beak?

OK, this is the drill. I'm about to show Dom some amazing bird behaviour.

But it's going to cost him.

OK, this raven knows I'm holding shiny coins.

He needs to spread the contents of his piggy bank

all over the raven enclosure.

You see, ravens love collecting shiny objects.

Not because they like a bit of bling,

it's thought they decorate their nest to impress other ravens.

Has she got one already?

Yes.

Within minutes, the raven has nabbed one of Dom's coins

and stashed it high up in its roost.

Check this move out.

Hoopla. Yeah! Banger!

What a catch!

And it ain't just coins that ravens'll nick.

Sometimes they even go into people's houses and nick their jewellery

if they get the chance.

When they attract a partner, they then stay with them for life,

for better or for worse.

For worse. Definitely for worse. Can I have my coins back?

I'll ask.

Raven! Raven!

RAVEN CAWS

-What did he say?

-He says, he hasn't found a partner yet,

so can he keep the coins a bit longer. Is that all right?

No, it's not all right! Right, I'll have a word.

Raven! Raven!

RAVEN CAWS

Too right!

Cheeky bird!

Back in Newcastle, Hiba and Huda are working hard as vet assistants

and their next patient is this injured kestrel.

Is a kestrel a bird of prey?

Yes.

The kestrel is a bird of prey and they are basically hunting birds.

Those eyes can see ultraviolet light.

Handy, because their rodent prey leaves a trail of wee

that reflects ultraviolet light and makes lunch that much easier to find.

So, how do you think this one injured itself?

I believe it was hit by a car, so quite nasty.

An x-ray soon highlighted the problem. A bad wing bone break.

Jason pinned the bone to try and help it heal.

Today, the girls are going to find out if the operation was successful.

What happens if you can't fix its wing?

Basically, if we can't fix it,

the fairest thing would be to put it to sleep, because unfortunately

it's a wild animal and it wouldn't be fair to let it suffer.

First, the team need to sedate the bird,

which gives Hiba and Huda the chance to check out its amazing talons.

What does it feel like, girls?

-Really sharp.

-Do you know why they're so sharp?

No.

Once they've grabbed hold of their prey, they're not letting go.

The bird is now fast asleep and ready for a second x-ray.

Right, everybody, we're going to have to leave the room now,

because you can't be in the room when x-rays are taken.

It's high risk, so out that way.

And seconds later, we have an image to examine.

This is the big moment. You can see the image clearly there.

What can you tell us, Jase?

Two things. One is, the really good news is that the fracture

is healing quite nicely.

The pin has moved a little bit, but it's done its job.

I probably will remove that today

and probably strap the wing up for another week,

but there is no reason why that shouldn't be released then.

Excellent. Good news, eh, girls? GIRLS: Yeah.

And we don't mess around here.

The pin is out in no time and in a matter of minutes

the kestrel is waking up with not so much as a feather out of place.

She'll soon be ready to be released back into the wild,

but for now, Hiba and Huda are returning the bird to her cage

where she will get all the care and attention she needs.

And later, our girls discover why Gilly's tummy is so swollen.

See all that fluid?

GIRLS: Yeah.

What does that look like?

Connor and Finlay are turning into handy animals

helpers at a Surrey rescue centre.

-Is that strange?

-Yeah.

Next up is an animal Connor might not be too wild about.

Right. Now, the animals we're going to get are in here.

-Oh!

-Fox.

Small little foxes!

You guys weren't too keen on foxes, were you, initially,

so what's your feelings now, towards them?

It was mostly Connor who wasn't so keen on them stealing things.

What is it they steal from you?

Chickens. Like, pets and stuff.

These four fox cubs are all rescued orphans

and arrived here severely underweight.

The team need to round them up so the cubs can undergo a vet check.

Have you ever caught a fox before?

-No.

-No.

You can imagine which end is not so friendly.

-Head.

-Heads.

That's what we are going to be really careful of,

so that's what we're going to use the tails for.

They have very sharp teeth.

OK, boys, time to put the foxes in the boxes.

I've got hold of the head,

and now I'm going to get hold of her by the scruff of the neck.

Holding them by the back of the neck doesn't hurt them.

It's how foxes' mums pick them up in the wild.

Put her in there. In you go, darling.

Come on, you know you want to.

Finlay sounds like he's in control here.

Shall I wrap this thing round his head and then you pick him up?

-Yeah, if you do that.

-OK.

That's two. They're doing well.

And Connor is ready with a transport box.

That's number three.

Where's number four hiding?

I can see a bottom.

Gotcha! Brilliant. Four foxes hiding in their... well, you get the idea.

Now for the vet check.

If they're free from disease, they'll be able to transfer

to a new, more spacious enclosure.

Right. Off to the vet's.

And later, will the cubs make it to their new home?

Have a listen to his heart. Can you hear it?

Yeah, I can.

But first, we eye up a hard-looking fish.

What are you doing? All these beautiful tropical fish everywhere,

and you're looking at a rock. Don't get me wrong, I like rocks.

I sit on them and everything. I've even picked one up, but you know.

This is not a rock. It's a stone fish.

This big, heavy fish friend of yours, how does it swim?

Like a stone. Along the bottom. It's a bottom feeder.

Bottom feeder, right! So it feeds off bottoms.

No, it eats from the bottom of the ocean,

-you know, small fish and shrimps.

-Yeah.

The other most amazing thing about this fish is it's got 13 spines.

13? Unlucky for some.

Unlucky for you if you stood on it, because it can inject a very

nasty toxin, and if that's left untreated it could end up in death.

Hang on, I've just had a thought.

the floor that we are on now, it's made of stone.

Could be these little suckers everywhere.

I tell you what, I'll tiptoe off and try and get some help.

You stay here, right. Don't move.

Over in Newcastle, Hiba and Huda are on duty

at a busy inner-city vet's practice.

And there's no time for a cat nap,

because their next pet patient has just arrived.

This is Gilly, a five year old German Shepherd.

In you go then, Gilly. Come on, Gilly. Walkies, Gilly.

Gilly!

Ah, good girl.

Right girls, we've got Gilly here.

-Do you know what she's come in for today?

-No.

Basically, she's got a swollen tummy, and today I'm going to let

you have a go at scanning her and find out why.

First Jason shaves a patch of fur off her tummy,

while the girls are on hand to keep Gilly calm and still.

Good girl.

Sit. Sit!

Remember, they arrived here not liking dogs at all.

You'd never know that now.

So, Hiba, I'm going to let you have a go at scanning.

-Right.

-OK?

-Yeah.

Using a scanner like this will help Hiba and Huda to look right inside

Gilly's tummy, and they'll be able to see what's causing all the swelling.

-See all that fluid?

-GIRLS: Yeah.

Go back a bit where you were before. What does that look like?

-Are they babies?

-Yeah, brilliant.

Woo-hoo! As Jason suspected, it's congratulations to Gilly.

She's a pregnant pooch with a tummy full of tiny puppies.

-Can you see the head?

-Yeah.

And then you have the skeleton, there.

Look at that. Can you see that?

-GIRLS: Yeah.

-Isn't that amazing?

There's its tail.

Hiba and Huda have seen them alive and kicking

before they've even been born.

Is it possible to tell how many puppies she's having?

There is three, for a start.

Can you see the three different, four different sacks, there?

-Is it one there? Another one there.

-Yeah. Six.

Seven. Eight.

-Is that a lot of puppies to have?

-That's probably about right.

I've had a few German Shepherds have 14.

Woah!

So what's the average amount of puppies?

Probably about eight to ten, I would think.

Lovely stuff.

Before our girls are done,

time to confirm the good news with Gilly's owner.

Gilly's just had a scan and she's got at least eight puppies

and they're all healthy.

That's lovely. Thank you very much.

You're welcome.

So girls, you've had an action packed day, haven't you?

You've done the blood bank,

you've helped the kestrel with his broken wing,

and scanned the pregnant dog.

What's been your best bit?

-Helping the kestrel out.

-And what was your favourite bit?

My favourite bit was helping the pregnant dog,

because I've actually never seen a scan before.

Hiba, you thought animals were pointless and boring.

What do you think now?

I think they're all right now.

Just all right. And what about you?

I really like them even more now.

-Still want to try and be a vet?

-Yeah.

Well, good luck with that ambition and thank you girls,

it's been a great day's work.

Connor and Finlay have been grafting hard,

getting animals healthy at the wildlife rescue centre.

They've now rounded up four fox cubs that need a health check.

After a short journey, they arrive at the vet's.

-Lie him on the table.

-Thank you.

This is a massive moment for the foxes.

If they get a thumbs up from vet Gill, they'll be allowed into

their new enclosure, and that's a step away from a return to the wild.

We can just see in their ears. Their ears are beautifully clean

and you can see all the way down the ear canal there.

There's no wax and that's gorgeous. Lovely.

Clean ears, but what about those gnashers?

Why do we check his teeth and ears?

Well, it's very important that he has nice, strong teeth,

because he's going to have to catch his own prey in the wild.

He's going to live off rabbits and birds and mice

and that sort of thing,

and he needs a really strong jaw to be able to catch those.

How big do the teeth actually get?

His main teeth at the front which are his canine teeth, his fangs,

which are the ones that he's going to use to catch his prey,

will probably be about that long, a centimetre and a half or so.

They'll be big, strong teeth. He seems like a great little fox.

Excellent.

That's one fox with the all clear. Now for his three tiny pals.

-Have a listen to his heart. Can you hear it?

-Oh, yeah, there.

And it's cracking news.

So there you go, four foxes all fit and ready for release,

so good luck with that.

Now onto a secluded location where they can be monitored

from a distance and can really stretch their legs.

-Goodbye.

-Bye.

Very few people are allowed to come here,

but today we've bagged access-all-areas passes.

So, I guess this is it. This is the new temporary home, then, eh?

How long will they be staying here?

They will be in this enclosure for about three months.

We need to see that they're very settled

and that they've gone underground and they're wary of humans.

Here, right now, they are dying to get out of here.

They're just smacking their little cages about.

They're a bit nervous...

and then they're off!

First, a good sniff around their new home.

There will be hardly any human contact here,

so the foxes can learn how to be wild again.

And thanks to Connor and Finlay, they are all well on their way.

-So, boys, have you had a good day?

-BOYS: Yeah.

-You enjoyed yourselves?

-BOYS: Yeah.

Excellent. Now, you were a bit lacklustre about British wildlife

when you came here, and now, hopefully,

within the process of the day and your experience,

those thoughts have now vanished and you are now big wildlife fans.

Am I correct?

-Yes.

-Is that right?

-Yes.

Good. We have two lads here who love wildlife.

Do you know what I love most about animals?

You look like one?

No! They bring so much happiness to people's lives,

but they never ask for anything in return.

Absolutely. And, unlike a lot of humans,

you can always trust an animal.

-Absolutely right.

-Car keys?

-I gave them to you.

-I haven't got them.

I gave them you outside the...

RAVEN CAWS...

BOTH: Oh, no!

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