Smallie, Bumble and Winnie The Pets Factor

His leg's stuck where?

Oh, I think that's for you.

I'm Stacey Dooley and I love animals of all shapes and sizes,

but sometimes, just like us, our furry friends get sick.

And, thankfully, when they do, they can come to places like this,

where amazing vets can fix them up.

Meet rookie vet, Rory.

I do love a friendly rabbit.

It smells like dog sick. Eugh!

Every pet's best friend, Cheryl.

Hello.

Oh, I really think you hurt her!

The coolest vet in town, Cat.

Come on, honey.

Well, that's fine. You just sweep the floor while you come on in.

And always caring, gentle James.

Oh, you're gorgeous.

Oh, you're at me!

They're the vets with The Pets Factor.

Coming up today on The Pets Factor...

James gets in deep water to help a cat with an injured leg.

-Right, Smalley.

-See how it goes.

-When you're ready.

Good boy.

Cheryl operates on two loved-up bunnies

so they can finally be together.

What a brave boy.

And Rory meets a young pup with a teenage problem.

And he has spots on his face.

First, we're off to Bristol to see what James is up to.

Eh?

Hi.

James has been caring for animals for almost ten years,

and he certainly has a way with pets.

Oh, isn't she gorgeous?

She's so fluffy.

Vets' practices are really scary places for pets,

so they need a friendly face and lots of love.

Hello, Stu.

But James's gentle manner isn't always appreciated by his own pets.

When it comes to my geese, I am not exactly Doctor Dolittle.

My horrific gander attacked me this morning.

-Can you believe it?

-What did it do?

-Jumped over the fence.

It comes for you and it gets its wing up and it started bashing

at me with its wing.

So it went...it went hop over the fence, and it went bang, bang?

Something like that. Exactly.

Fortunately, his patient today is a little friendlier.

Smalley the cat is here with his owner, Sarah.

This generally happy little chap is a cat small by name

and small by nature.

Especially compared to his big brother, Largey.

When Smalley has fun, he forgets his size and plays it big.

Recently, this miniature moggy made a giant leap

that was a little bigger than he thought.

Now Smalley has badly damaged his knee

and is stuck indoors recovering,

while his brother, Largey, has all the fun.

Oh, we can't let you go out.

We don't really know what happened to Small, but he was on our bed and

it was quite clear that something had happened immediately.

He had a very, very pronounced limp and he could barely walk.

It happened a month ago, and this water-loving moggy

isn't getting any better.

Now surgery is the only way to fix it.

Smalley's got to have the operation,

because he can't go outside and he loves to go out.

He's an outdoor boy, so we want to make sure that he's got the

opportunity to enjoy his life as much as he can.

If anyone can make that happen, it's James, the vet.

So...oh, isn't he gorgeous?

He is gorgeous. He just is.

Now, then, Mr Man, hey.

So, I'm just go to have a little feel of this leg now.

Hopefully, it won't be too painful for me to do this. Good boy.

Smalley has damaged what we call his cruciate ligament,

which is basically the bit that holds his knee together.

He is going to be in a serious amount of pain.

He's a little bit painful for me to do that.

I think, rather than getting him really painful now,

before we do the operation, we need to get him asleep,

so that he can't feel us having a good manipulation,

-if that's OK.

-I completely agree,

-so that he has the least stress that he possibly can.

-Exactly, exactly.

-Thank you very much.

-So, let's get him back into his basket first.

-OK.

-He's quite keen to get back in.

-Yeah.

Come on, sweetie pie.

Poor Sarah, she's been so brave with Smalley but it is so hard

to hand your pet over for such major surgery.

Oh, it's always so difficult, isn't it?

But, you know, James is absolutely fantastic and very gentle with him.

There we go, Smalley.

It's time to go to Cheryl's practice in Essex.

Nothing makes Cheryl happier than being surrounded

by animals every day.

Hey, Lola.

He is beautiful. Aren't we?

Being a vet is the best job ever.

All the challenges.

I wouldn't change it for the world.

And today, Cheryl's latest patients are Sweta's very first pets,

bunnies Bumble and Winnie.

Well, Winnie, she's quite energetic.

She likes running around a lot.

Bumble, he just likes sitting down, cuddling.

He's the hungry one.

Sweta's determined to prove to her parents that she can be

a great bunny-owner.

It took ages to convince them,

but it's really good that we've got them now.

In the wild, rabbits live in big groups and, as pets, they live much

happier lives if they aren't lonely.

But at the moment, bezzie mates Bumble and Winnie live separately.

That's because Winnie is a girl and Bumble is a boy.

And now they are grown up, they can't share a hutch because,

as much as their owner Sweta loves rabbits,

she doesn't want that many.

So, they're booked in for a quick operation

to stop them having babies.

Come on in with Bumble and Winnie.

After today's trip to see Cheryl,

Sweta's hoping Bumble and Winnie

will finally be able to move in together.

Hello, Bumble.

Why did you decide to get rabbits?

-We really want a dog, but we thought we'd start with rabbits.

-OK.

But Sweta's mum still isn't convinced.

Have you ever held them?

No, I don't like pets.

CHERYL CHORTLES

-She's scared of most animals.

-Really?

Before their operation, Cheryl needs to make sure that these bunnies

are fit enough surgery.

-So, eating well?

-Yeah.

So, we'll check that they're nice and clean.

You're perfect.

You've been really good, Bumble.

Let's weigh you, then. You're a bit smaller, I think.

Yeah, one kilo. They're really healthy.

Although Winnie and Bumble are nice and fit,

the operations will still be risky.

Rabbits do have a higher anaesthetic risk, but we really look after them

and we have the best protocol that we can to look after them,

and they're healthy and they're young.

Don't worry, Sweta, they're in safe hands with Cheryl.

-Bye-bye.

-Bye.

With Nick the nurse on hand to put Bumble under anaesthetic,

Cheryl wastes no time in starting the op.

Well, so far, his anaesthetic's quite stable, so that's good.

We'll be nervous until he is running around, won't we?

We may do this operation hundreds of times a year,

but during that operation the patient is our number one priority.

-Done?

-Yes.

That's the first operation over,

but the most dangerous part is bringing Bumble back round.

We're not out of the woods until he is up and hopping around.

So now we reverse his anaesthetic and try to wake him up

as quick as possible.

Hello, there!

This rabbit is going to jump up in a second.

That's good. That's just what we want.

"Look," he says, "I'm looking around."

What a brave boy.

Stay with us as Cheryl takes on more tricky surgery with little Winnie.

Let's go, let's go.

We don't want her to be in here for any longer than she has to be.

And James comes up with a bright idea to help Smalley the cat.

Come, Smalley. Come for a little swim.

Next, we're off to see Rory in London.

He's the new vet at his practice.

I've only been a qualified vet for just over a year,

so I guess you can say I am still a bit of a puppy.

Woof!

All right, I may not be as adorable.

You are so cute.

But at least I'm better behaved.

Yeah, you eat that, that's perfect.

One of Rory's fellow puppies is Blue.

He's the one with the four legs and the fur.

The other puppy-like creature is his owner, four-year-old Tyler.

These best buddies love playing together.

Blue, the French Bulldog, is one year old,

but he has a teenager's problem.

Are you going to get his biscuits?

Tyler's mum, Emily, is one of the receptionists at the vet's.

She noticed some nasty zits popping up on Blue's face about a month ago.

What's this?

And they're not getting any better.

What happens to his spots?

They pop and then they go away and then they come back.

-They do, don't they? Do you think we need to take into the vet's?

-Yes.

Tell me what's going on with Blue.

He's got spots on his face.

-How long has he had the spots on his face?

-For ages.

They get really, really big and then they just pop.

Like, last night, he had two that popped last night.

Even I get a spot from time to time, but for Blue,

it just keeps coming back.

I definitely need to put an end to this.

It doesn't take long for Rory to spot what the problem is.

Because he's got those folds, that's why it is happening.

He's getting, effectively, puppy acne.

Puppy acne can be really common,

especially in these little bulldog breeds like Blue.

But, usually, by the time they're a year old, it clears up.

The hair follicles in Blue's skin get irritated

and pop up as red spots, which burst from time to time.

So, Blue needs his face washed every day.

But dogs can't wash their faces.

No, they can't - that's why you've got to do it.

Your mummy has to clean those out and use wipes and things

to make sure his face stays nice and clean.

So, we get underneath his chin,

and we just...

With the help of this antiseptic scrub,

those nasty spots should clear up.

Give it a nice little clean, like that.

Hey, Tyler, look. See? He loves it.

Do you have to wash your face?

Mummy, do I have to wash my face?

You do, you need to wash it right now. You've got crumbs everywhere.

And jam doughnut on your face.

See, if we left that there, what would happen?

You'd get a sticky face, wouldn't you?

And spots.

And spots. There we go.

But you have a spot near your eyebrow.

I do have a spot right there, don't I?

-Kids are brutal.

-I love kids!

Ouch.

Hmm, seems everyone needs to get scrubbing.

-Thank Rory.

-Thanks, Rory.

But if Tyler and his mum keep Blue's face clean every day...

See you later.

Bye-bye, Rory.

..he'll soon be spotless.

Let's head back to Bristol to see James and Smalley.

Super cat Smalley has been playing a little too hard and now needs an

operation to fix his injured knee.

It's a big surgery, so James is teaming up with the boss, Steve.

I'm so pleased Steve is coming in on this with me, because when it comes

the bones and joints, he really knows his stuff.

Steve and James have fixed lots of dogs with this injury,

but it's rare in cats.

Smalley's joint is so tiny, this is intricate surgery.

-STEVE:

-The difficulty on this is the size, really.

Everything's so small that we are using a special surgical kit that we

normally use for eyes, really delicate little instruments.

If you're squeamish look away now.

This is fiddly stuff, but as James and Steve open Smalley's joint...

This is just all over the place.

It is, isn't it?

..the extent of the damage is revealed.

I think this joint is actually in a worse state than we thought.

I would say this is probably the worst cat's knee joint

that I've dealt with, surgically.

We need to get all of this damaged bit out of this joint,

otherwise Smalley will always have a limp.

This is a more tricky repair than we thought we were facing.

Having said that, cats are remarkable and

they do extremely well with surgery.

So, fingers crossed for Smalley.

If you're squeamish, look away now.

OK, I'm going to drill a little hole through the top of the tibia here.

Joint surgery is intense.

It's hot, it's fiddly, you're really having to concentrate.

But it is so cool.

Steve and James now attach nylon thread

to hold Smalley's knee together.

And after an hour of gruelling surgery,

it looks like they've done it.

I am happy that the tension we've put on there is right.

So, that implant is doing its job

of keeping that knee stable. We're done.

This is just the beginning for poor Smalley.

He now has a long road ahead of him before he's fully recovered.

He'll go home and it will then be up to eight weeks he'll need

to be rested for,

but all the time encourage that joint to heal up really nice

and quickly, so he can eventually get back out and playing with his

brother and doing all the things cats love to do.

Let's head back to Essex to see Cheryl and those rabbits,

Bumble and Winnie.

These Netherland Dwarves are in for an operation to stop them

producing hundreds of extra baby bunnies.

But operating on rabbits is always a risky business.

I'm always nervous with rabbits.

Bumble's surgery was quick and went without a hitch.

But because Winnie is a girl, she needs a bigger internal operation.

Let's go, let's go.

We don't want her to be asleep for any longer than she has to be.

Now Winnie is under anaesthetic,

she's taken into theatre, where Cheryl gets straight to work.

A rabbit's spay is much more tricky than a dog or a cat, because

they're - especially this one - they're so small.

You're always under pressure with the time and the anaesthetic,

so it is so stressful.

Cheryl works fast and in less than ten minutes,

the main part of the surgery is nearly over.

-Her spay's been really good.

-Super.

You can properly start turning it down now, Nick.

-Off?

-Yes, please.

As soon as the operation is over,

Cheryl and Nick need to wake Winnie up immediately.

-Is she all good, Nick?

-Yeah, she's all right. She's coming round.

Ah, that's perfect. Hello, sweetie.

She's got beautiful eyes, hasn't she?

Both Bumble and Winnie must now rest up as the anaesthetic wears off.

They'll both be hopping around this afternoon and back outside tomorrow

and live a normal, happy bunny life.

One month later and Bumble and Winnie are back home

and back together.

They're much happier because they're not lonely any more,

and when it's cold they can cuddle up together.

Don't they make a lovely couple?

I love a HOPPY ending.

There you go.

Let's go back to Bristol to see James and Smalley the cat.

It's four weeks since Smalley's knee surgery and today might be

a whole new adventure for this fun-loving moggy.

-How are you?

-Very good, thank you. More to the point...

Good. Hi, Smalley.

-..here's my little boy.

-Yeah.

After weeks of being cooped up in a cage, I have got a really good

idea of how to get Smalley back on his feet quicker.

I'm going to put him in water.

It's not as crazy as it sounds.

This might look like a weird doggy water gym,

but this is healing hydrotherapy.

This is really cool.

So, the resistance of the water in the treadmill helps to build up

Smalley's muscles and, once they are really strong,

that'll help support his knee.

Vet nurse George has helped loads of dogs with joint problems

get better like this.

Not so many cats, though.

Right, Smalley.

This is a big ask from Smalley.

You know, hydrotherapy is a quite a scary thing.

There's lots of smells, there's lots of noises.

The last thing we want is for him to jump and hurt himself even more.

-Right, Smalley.

-Let's see how he goes.

-Are you ready?

-Good boy.

There's only one way to find out.

Smalley, this is your big moment.

Oh, Smalley.

There we are.

Come on, Smalley, come for a little swim.

Check out his moves.

A few more of these sessions will really help Smalley

speed up his recovery.

London Fashion Show, eat your heart out. This is a catwalk, isn't it?

One step at a time.

Smalley's had enough for today.

You did it, Smalley.

You are so clever.

I have to admit

I am really surprised that worked.

Smalley, I'm so proud of you.

Well done, little Smalley.

-He looks really proud of himself, doesn't he?

-I'm really proud of him.

I feel like I could start welling up. Look at him.

Mr Champion.

And with Smalley well on his way to recovery,

George and James have plenty to celebrate.

-We did it!

-Yay!

-That was so good. I'm so happy!

-We did it!

-Amazing.

-Great stuff.

How amazing was that?

I cannot believe how much Smalley loves being in the water.

Oh! Hello, my little girl. You on the mend?

I wonder how Blue, the French bulldog, is getting on.

Hey, dude. How are we doing?

Yeah!

After six weeks of treatment on his puppy acne...

-How's that chin looking?

-Amazing.

..this handsome boy is spot free and much more kissable.

Oh, look at that. It's beautiful.

Wow! That was a snog!

That's it for this series of The Pets Factor.

Hey!

But we will be back with more animal antics.