Episode 1 Junior Vets

Coming up on Junior Vets...

Lonely pony Brie faces tests for a life-threatening illness.

A rackety racoon undergoes delicate surgery.

And what's wrong with Ronnie's sore leg?

When pets are poorly,

wildlife gets wounded or farm animals feel unwell,

they need top vet help.

The really lucky ones come here,

to Edinburgh University's amazing, super high-tech Vet School.

And now six kids, chosen from 1,000,

have become the first ever children allowed to enrol here...

I'm all ready.

..and work alongside the school's top vets.

Who wants to take this cow's urine?

They're facing an intense training programme...

-Have you done...?

-What is this? What's that?

..and they're being pushed to the limit at animal hospitals,

vet practices,

wildlife parks and working farms.

I'm Paul Manktelow. It took me five hard years to train to be a vet,

but this lot have only weeks to show me what they're made of.

My Junior Vets have hardly been around animals before.

That's so cool.

Now they are facing real, heavy-duty vet work.

It's like everything's just so bonkers!

That is amazing.

Have they got the stomach to succeed?

I feel like a real vet.

And can they stay calm under extreme pressure?

LAUGHTER

Six raw recruits...

I can only choose...

..one winner.

The first ever Junior Vet

to win the prestigious Head Vet title...

is...

I'm in the heart of the Vet School Hospital,

where top vets of the future are training to save animals' lives.

This is where my recruits will face the challenge of a lifetime

and I'll be with them every step of the way.

Each of my Junior Vets is here for a very different reason.

Birmingham based Saira's priority is to tackle her fear of big dogs.

I really, really want to overcome my fear of dogs,

because I've had a bad experience with them in the past.

Leeds lad Will is hoping to make it as a DJ when he's older,

but he's also interested in becoming a zoo vet.

An amazing opportunity to have, because like, everybody gets to see

what they could be doing in the future.

There's no pets allowed at Amblessed's home in London,

so she's looking forward to getting close-up contact

with all kinds of creatures.

The closest I've ever got to animals

is if I go to someone's house and they've got a pet.

Bolton boy Sam is hoping Vet School will help him decide

if he should become a doctor or a vet.

I'm here to prove to myself that I can cut it as a surgeon.

West Midlands girl Lauren already volunteers at her local vets

and has her eye firmly set on my Head Vet title.

When I'm older, I want to become a vet,

just because I want to help as many animals as I possibly can.

Morgan is also a massive animal fan,

but can the West Yorkshire lad prove to Mum

he's responsible enough to have a pet of his own?

I'm not allowed a pet at home,

but hopefully, this will change everything.

Day one...

..my new Junior Vets have just arrived from all over the UK

and they're going to find out what real vet work is all about.

Welcome to Vet School

and a massive congratulations for making it this far.

Now, stay focussed, work hard

and you'll make it through the tough weeks ahead.

More importantly, you will get to help save animals' lives

so...Lauren and Morgan...

..Sam and Saira,

Will and Amblessed...

..let's get down to business.

My Junior Vets will be working in pairs to help pets,

farm animals and all sorts of unusual and exotic creatures.

It might be my new recruits' first day at Vet School,

but all of them are facing tricky assignments

and I'll be getting regular progress reports.

Only the very best Junior Vets will win today's Vital Vet Work award,

that will help me decide who will be named Head Vet.

Tower Farm Riding Stables is home to 65 horses and ponies

who all work and live happily together.

New recruit Brie has just arrived here,

but at the moment, she's all on her own.

Brie has been kept apart from the other ponies,

in case she has a highly infectious disease called strangles.

New Junior Vets Sam and Saira

are teaming up with horse expert and equine vet Matt Hanks,

to carry out Brie's test.

First up, we get into protective clothing

so we don't spread diseases around the riding school.

I feel like a marshmallow,

like a snowman, like an astronaut.

When I found out my first animal was a pony,

I was like, quite happy, but then I was a little bit wary as well,

cos I was thinking, "Oh, gosh,

"I wonder how this is going to turn out."

Ponies are very sensitive animals.

Brie keeps a close eye on all of us

and a slightly nervous Saira keeps a close eye on Brie.

This is Brie, OK? She's a little four year old Highland pony.

No problems so far. Saira and Brie are getting on fine.

The thing about horses, they're very big,

so the places that you don't want to stand are right behind her

and right in front of her,

because they can strike out with their front feet.

OK. I've not really, like, encountered horses before,

so I was really, really excited.

Right, Junior Vets, big challenge that you've got,

but I want you to do me proud, OK? See you later.

-Bye, Paul.

-Bye, Paul.

The team need to take a test sample from deep inside Brie's head.

What we're going to do is pass this camera up Brie's nose,

we're going to put some fluid in and when we suck the fluid back,

we must collect it and put it in these little containers.

And is that, like, a sample?

That's a sample. Now, who wants to put the camera in

and who wants to take the samples?

-I don't mind, do you want to do it?

-Camera.

-Sam's got the camera. Saira, you've got the samples.

-Yeah.

-OK?

And later, my Junior Vets must get that all important test sample.

I think we're quite nervous at the moment,

-but I hope it all works out for us.

-Yeah.

Saira, you've got a job to do here,

come on, Junior Vet, you can do this.

For their first vital vet work assignment,

Will and Amblessed have been called to Five Sisters Zoo

in West Lothian.

Don't look at me like that.

And it's the resident racoons that need help today.

This furry family has a number of feisty young males

who are causing problems for the zoo staff.

My Junior Vets have teamed up with exotic animal vet Kevin

to sort them out.

We've got some young males within the group, and as they get older

the racoons might start fighting, or we might have breeding

which we want to prevent, so the young boys have got to be neutered.

Neutering one of the males is a good way to keep the peace

and prevent unwanted babies crowding out the racoon pen.

It's a simple enough operation, the hard bit

will be getting their hands on one of the troublesome males

and that job has been handed to our Junior Vets.

Zoo keeper Lyn gives them a last-minute briefing.

You know it's going to be really quick, it's going to be really fast.

It could be quite dangerous as well and obviously the racoons are going

to be scared, going to be stressed. So he is going to try and bite us.

And a bite from those 40 razor sharp teeth could be very serious.

If I say, you know, I need you to move over there,

I need you to move over there, you've got to do it for me.

You've got to get there as quick as you can.

Apart from that we should be fine, as I say, just listen

to the instructions when you're in there and we should be good to go.

I'll keep them down.

The team get straight to work with nets and poles

and begin edging the racoons towards a corner of the enclosure,

making it easier to target one of the jumpy males.

So maybe try and get this one up here.

It was really cool to be with, like, an animal that's not, like,

you don't usually see around England, because they come

from America, don't they? And it was quite scary, but it was good.

Safely capturing animals

is a vital skill for anyone who wants to work with wild creatures.

Right, guys, if you can put a net up that side

and bring him back this way for me.

Impressive work.

Will and Amblessed have helped send one straight into Lyn's net.

Right, we've got a racoon, Kevin.

But is it a male?

So, how do you tell if it's a female or male?

Excellent question, Amblessed, there's only one way to find out.

RACOON SNARLS

Checking this out is something the racoon is not too keen on!

Racoons might look little and cute,

but they're actually quite aggressive.

HE SNARLS

Result. The team have captured a young male, called Cyril.

-Got your adrenalin pumping now.

-Yeah!

-Yeah!

And later, they face up to their first ever surgery.

So the plan is, you'll be monitoring his anaesthetic,

Will, you're going to be joining me

and actually doing the surgery with me.

Back at the Vet School's small animal hospital,

Lauren and Morgan are about to meet their very first patient.

This is Ronnie, an eight-year-old fox terrier.

Ronnie's usually a playful little chap,

but owner Stuart has noticed his poor pet

develop a painful looking limp recently.

-Hi, my name's Morgan.

-Hi, I'm Lauren.

He's hoping the Junior Vets and surgeon Sam Woods

can help work out what's wrong with Ronnie.

So, how can we help you today?

Ronnie's just had a sore foot for the last few weeks.

The team's worried Ronnie might have more than just paw problems,

so they must carry out a thorough examination.

Put them in your ears, OK?

I want you to look at the clock.

15 seconds, count how many beats.

By monitoring Ronnie's heart rate,

Morgan might be able to pick up on any serious illnesses.

Ronnie was really cool, because he was calm

and he didn't really mind us testing on him.

A very fast heart rate could be an indicator of stress

or even a potentially fatal heart disease.

Well, there's two beats at a time, but I counted 15.

OK, so you're absolutely right,

so what you really hear is two beats so you hear bo-bum,

and if there's 15 of them in 15 seconds,

then there's 60 of them in a minute.

Great news, Ronnie's heart rate sounds healthy.

Now, Lauren examines his gums. Pink gums are a sign of good health.

-Yeah.

-Lovely. All right.

Finally, Morgan checks his ears for signs of infections.

What am I looking for?

OK, what you look for, you're looking for any redness

or any wax that you can see in there, anything like that.

-No, all fine.

-You can always have a bit of a smell,

-just check that they don't smell too nasty, no?

-No.

Morgan's happy with his examination,

but it hasn't given up any further clues to Ronnie's problem.

Lauren now focuses on his lower leg.

Touch the base of his paw, just up onto this bit of his leg there,

so I'll just help hold on to him. Keep going, that's it. Good boy.

Good boy.

Then the upper leg.

And then finally, up to the shoulder

cos that's at the top of the leg.

DOG YELPS

-OK.

-'That doesn't sound good.'

Something is definitely wrong with Ronnie's left leg.

HE YELPS

-OK, good boy.

-It's sore, isn't it, darling?

Poor Ronnie is clearly in pain

and Lauren is determined to work out how to help him.

So, would you say that yelp was a symptom of something,

or would you say he was just a bit annoyed with you touching him?

He didn't like me extending his left,

that makes me wonder, is there something going on in his shoulder

that's causing him a bit of discomfort?

We now have to rule out whether it's toes that are causing the problem,

or whether there is something actually going on in his shoulder.

To find out, the team need a closer look inside Ronnie's leg.

And later, they uncover vital clues

that might bring about a remedy for Ronnie.

-Look at that.

-Yeah.

-That must be painful.

Every one of my Junior Vets

are working with animals that need their help,

and I'm getting regular updates on their progress.

I'll be awarding Vital Vet Work awards

to star performers at the end of the day.

These daily awards either go to Junior Vets working in pairs,

but they can also go to stand-out individuals.

And the more they get,

the better the chance of winning my Head Vet title.

You can see how you get on as a virtual vet

in the Junior Vets game on the CBBC website.

Don't forget to look for the special game code

at the end of today's show.

Will and Amblessed are at a zoo in West Lothian.

They've captured a male racoon called Cyril,

who needs an operation that will help calm him down

and stop unwanted babies overcrowding the enclosure.

Vet Kevin quickly sets the Junior Vets to work.

Amblessed has to manage the anaesthetic,

a drug that will keep Cyril safely unconscious during his op.

120.

I had to take his heartbeat, his respiration rate

and his temperature occasionally, but it was harder

because it was really warm in there.

This is a big responsibility for my new Junior Vet.

Any mistakes could result in her missing a sign

that something is wrong.

414.

Will is assisting Kevin with the op, which means he must scrub in.

Now you can start scrubbing that.

It's a critical job for every surgeon.

Even the smallest amount of dirt could cause an infection

and endanger Cyril's life.

I've never been in an operation before,

so it sort of gave me the real life sense of being a vet.

This is Will and Amblessed's first ever experience of surgery.

It's a huge challenge, so I'm going to lend them a hand.

Are you happy with his condition under anaesthetic?

Can you tell me what's going on?

Yeah, he's doing quite well, so he has around 120 heartbeats a minute,

which is good.

What happens if his heart rate goes up?

That means he...he might be starting to wake up.

Right, OK, that's important, isn't it?

-You really don't want him to wake up during anaesthetic, do you?

-No.

And also, you don't want him to go too far into the anaesthetic either

so, you're doing a really important job.

Amblessed has Cyril's vital signs under control...

He's stable and doing well?

Yeah.

..and gives the go-ahead for Kevin and Will to start the neutering op.

OK, then we're going to start.

The team are removing Cyril's reproductive organs,

so he can't have any more unwanted babies.

We're going to put clamps on here and here

and that's where you've got to concentrate...

-To stop it from constantly bleeding.

-Stop it from bleeding here out.

It's a tense procedure. Amblessed needs to stay focussed

on counting Cyril's heart and breathing rates.

So we're going to place one clamp here.

It's a bit gory, but Will needs to keep his focus.

We need another clamp,

same style clamp again or one of them, that'll be fine.

It was the first time I'd actually

been in an operating theatre and I wasn't sure

that he was going to make it and what the outcome would be.

So if we have one of the lengths of suture material...

Cyril has been successfully neutered so Kevin stitches him up.

We've finished surgery, guys.

Amblessed has to do a few last checks

on heart rate and temperature...

-Can you read it?

-37.6.

-That's it.

..before Cyril is given an injection to wake him up.

He should start recovering now within about ten minutes.

That was a solid first time performance

from both of my Junior Vets today.

Didn't want to, like, get it wrong,

so that the animal could be in danger of its life.

You never know how someone who's never been exposed

to that before is going to react.

They coped with that situation very well indeed.

Monitoring the anaesthetic was really important,

because numbers were rising or dropping,

so I'm really proud of myself.

And the great news, Cyril's made a full recovery

and is enjoying life back in the racoon enclosure.

Back at the small animal hospital,

Lauren and Morgan are investigating Ronnie the fox terrier's

painful looking limb.

HE YELPS

They're hoping a radiograph, or x-ray image,

can shed a little more light on the problem.

Do you want to pop him up onto the table for me?

This won't hurt Ronnie,

but he'll need a mild sedative to settle him down

and keep him nice and still.

Will he be fully unconscious?

He won't, we're just giving a sedation,

it's not a full anaesthetic, so he'll still be able to hear things,

but he's going to be much more sedate than he would be.

So his muscles will all go weak now.

Ronnie's clearly nervous,

the Junior Vets do their best to calm him.

It's all right, matey, it's all right, sweetie.

Lauren helped Ronnie keep calm so when we was testing on him,

and seeing what were wrong, that he wouldn't move or jump.

That's perfect.

Ronnie is positioned for his x-ray.

We want it absolutely side-on, so if you can have a look at that,

-see if you think it's straight.

-Yeah.

Exposure to x-ray radiation can be harmful,

especially to young people, so our Junior Vets leave the room.

-Do you think the dog's going to be OK?

-Hopefully.

Within seconds, there's an image ready to be examined

that might help solve the mystery of Ronnie's painful leg.

We'll pop across the corridor and develop it.

Lovely.

Oh. That is so cool.

But it's not wannabe vet Lauren

who's the first to identify a possible problem.

It's Morgan, who thinks he's spotted something wrong

with Ronnie's left paw.

Morgan thought he saw something on the foot.

-Look at that.

-Yeah.

-That must be painful.

It did look quite peculiar, it didn't look particularly normal.

Morgan has got it spot-on.

It seems Ronnie has suffered a suspected fracture

to his sesamoid bone, a bone that's part of the paw.

That's really the area where Ronnie had that swelling,

that soft tissue swelling. It could be he's had that since birth.

It could be that that's been a trauma.

But it's looking like double trouble.

Sam suspects that Ronnie has developed arthritis in his shoulder.

So, I'll book him back in for a CT scan at a later date.

Today's hard work will mean Sam can fix a course of treatment

that will help relieve Ronnie's pain.

And before going home, Ronnie can enjoy a well-deserved rest.

Good boy, Ronnie.

Both my new Junior Vets impressed me on their first case.

I really enjoyed it and doing this has made me really up my game

cos I want this more than ever.

Morgan, very keen on the digital imaging, and I think he'll do well.

The experience today definitely makes me want to be a vet

even more than it did, because it's exactly what I want to do

throughout the rest of my life.

Lauren, really keen to do everything, really impressed.

And the latest news is,

Ronnie is enjoying exercising again and is back to his old, happy self.

Back at the Riding School,

Sam and Saira need to test pony Brie

for a serious disease called strangles.

If the tests come back positive that she had it,

then it's very serious. It can spread inside her body, it can get worse,

it can make her feel ill, but, most importantly,

it could spread to other horses and make them ill as well.

They're using a special piece of kit called an endoscope.

This is the camera that's going to go up her nose

and I can make it move around any direction that I want.

We're about to go in and test Brie to see if she's got any disease

or infection in her body, and we'll end up getting a little test sample.

-Good girl.

-The endoscope is inserted up Brie's nostril.

It might look uncomfortable, but ponies have big noses.

There's not even a sniffle from brave Brie.

-Sam, can you come here?

-Yeah.

-And you hold on to the skirt.

This is Sam's big moment. It's a delicate, expensive piece of kit.

He must stay in complete control at all times.

Right, when I say go forward, you go forward, OK?

Go in Sam, OK, stop, come back.

They move the scope through Brie's nasal passage

towards her middle ear. Once there,

they need to look for signs of inflamed tissue

or thick, liquidy pus. Both are signs of strangles.

It was quite nervous when I was putting the endoscope up,

because we were really near the brain.

Right, can you come back a wee bit, Sam?

Just really a slight little bit, OK.

I was wondering whether she could feel it or not,

whether she was a little bit scared and I was thinking like,

"I wonder how she's feeling inside."

Here we go, look at this, we are in the horse's middle ear.

They're now in position for Saira to take the test sample.

It's all down to you now, come on, Junior Vet, you can do this, OK?

You force it in, fast as you can. Push it in.

Saira inserts a thin tube down inside the endoscope.

-Stop. Can you see the tube appearing? There's your tube?

-Yeah.

That's your tube, now, I want you to squirt that liquid in.

-Go for it, yeah.

-All of it, yeah?

The liquid will mix with any pus at the back of Brie's throat

and make it easier to collect.

-A little hard to push.

-It's hard to push, yeah?

Suddenly going from leading our normal lives

to putting cameras up a horse's nose, I'm thinking

it's a bit crazy, really.

Saira must now use a plunger to suck back a sample of the liquid.

Pull the syringe back, pull this plunger back.

-'Carefully, Saira.'

-Bring it all back.

-Stop.

Got it.

That's our sample. That's fantastic. Perfect.

Job done, now the Junior Vets can comfort Brie

and examine their handiwork.

That's quite cool.

That was real hands-on work

for my new Junior Vets, Saira and Sam.

Sam handled that endoscope like a professional,

and followed my instructions very carefully.

I'm really impressed with Sam.

It was a great fun experience, I had a really good time and hopefully

when I'm older, I'll be doing it a lot more.

Saira did really well, she put the fluid in quickly and efficiently

which is important, we don't have much time.

For someone of my age to be able to do that kind of a thing,

this is absolutely amazing, and I think I'll probably remember this

for the rest of my life.

It's been a long, hard first day

for every one of my new Junior Vets.

But who will earn the first Vital Vet Work award?

It's time for me to make my decision.

I need to pick out today's top performers

and it's not going to be easy.

Will and Amblessed got stuck in with an unusual first vet job,

dealing with Cyril, the feisty racoon.

They didn't back out of the challenge

and concentrated throughout their first ever surgery.

Lauren and Morgan proved themselves as top vet detectives in the making,

as they went searching for clues to help surgeon Sam

mend Ronnie's mysterious leg injury.

But Saira and Sam were outstanding.

They kept their nerve and got that difficult test sample

from Brie's nasal passage.

It's been a very tough decision to make on day one of Vet School.

It's the end of your first full working day at Vet School

and what a tough day, but there was one team that stood out

above the rest, and that team was...

..Sam and Saira.

You are today's top Junior Vets, so well done, guys.

All my new Junior Vets have shown a real appetite for vet work

and a determination to succeed, but it was Saira and Sam's focus,

overall performance and team skills that won the day.

They are the first ever Junior Vets

to be awarded a Vital Vet Work badge and it's well deserved.

-Amazing, it's fantastic.

-Yeah.

Cos obviously, that's the first time

we've done anything like that, and then to know that we've done it

really well and then we've won the challenge as well,

that's a really good feeling.

The reason why we've won is probably our team work

and how we work together. Amazing. Yay!

Think you can cut it as a top vet and make animals better?

Head over to the CBBC website now and use today's game code...

..to unlock a special case

in your very own waiting room.

Next time...

there's no let-up for my Junior Vets

as they race to help horses...

learn to turn sheep...

..and are confronted with major surgery.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd