Butterfly, Coco and Gaz The Pets Factor

I'm Stacey Dooley.

I love pets and hate it when they're ill or injured.

When they are, help is at hand at places like this,

with amazing vets going above and beyond to make them better.

Meet rookie vet Rory...

Oh, I do love a friendly rabbit.

It smells like dog sick.

Eurgh!

..every pet's best friend, Cheryl...

Hello. Mwah!

Ow! That really hurt!

..the coolest vet in town, Cat...

Come on, honey. That's fine.

You just sweep the floor while you come on in.

..and always caring, gentle James.

Aren't you gorgeous?

Oh! Don't attack me!

They're the vets with The Pets Factor.

Coming up on today's show...

..vet Cat meets her match...

..a feisty feline called Butterfly...

CAT HISSES

..Rory's forced to operate on Coco the Doberman,

in search of a swallowed sock...

We don't really know what we're going into,

so it's all a bit up in the air.

..and Cheryl helps a bulldog puppy with a serious case of the sniffles.

He has some green gunge coming from his left nostril.

Did it just start this afternoon?

Literally just this afternoon.

But first, we're in Sheffield with Cat the vet.

For more than ten years,

thousands of pets have walked through these doors,

all hoping to be fixed up by Cat and the team...

Are you hiding from me now?

Yes!

..and every one has their own unique character.

We see them all here - happy pets...

..reluctant ones.

A lot of the time, they're just nervous.

But sometimes, they are downright stroppy.

Butterfly's not a fan of the vet's.

But recently, she's been a bit of a regular.

But unlike an actual butterfly...

..this moggy is a real bruiser.

She spends her days outside, getting up to all sorts of mischief.

One day, she came home with a very nasty cut on her tail,

so her owners took her straight to the vet's,

where she was bandaged up.

Now she's recovering at home with her family...

her feline friend Gadget...

MEOW!

..Jack the terrier...

MEOW!

..and not forgetting Snakeyo the snake.

Poor Butterfly is banned from going outside until her tail is better,

and that's making this adventurous moggy miserable.

For her, being inside, she's not particularly keen on it.

She's being very vocal at the moment, meowing,

and sometimes hissing at us.

She's been more grumpy than usual.

Well, best of luck with this one, Cat.

A week after her accident,

Butterfly is booked in to check if her nasty wound is healing properly.

Hi, Butterfly.

Hello, my love.

Bless Butterfly. She is a bit of a handful.

So we're going to need to sedate her

so she's not scared or angry when I touch her tail.

But that does mean we're going to have to inject her,

and I'm not sure how that's going to go.

Be brave!

SHE HISSES

OK. There we go. I know.

I've dealt with hundreds of cats who are stressed and anxious

because they're in a strange place.

Right, let's pop you back, babes.

But you do have to be careful.

I quite like my face the way it is.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

Ooh!

In you go. There you go.

No, stay there. Yes, I know.

Cool.

Give her five minutes, and she'll be much more sleepy.

And Cat's right. Five minutes later, and this moggy is groggy.

Time to find out how that tail is healing.

So, little Butterfly, let's see

what's going on underneath your dressing.

PARROT SQUAWKS

If you're squeamish, look away now!

It might look a bit scary,

but, actually, her tail's healing really, really well.

What we're looking for

is that the tissue is really pink and healthy

and that there's no nasty yellow bits or any crusty bits

that could indicate infection.

We're just going to use some water and some antiseptic

to give it a good scrub.

Lovely. Clever little Butterfly.

Now the wound is clean, Cat can put Butterfly's dreaded bandage back on.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that one day,

Butterfly might let us change her dressing, conscious,

but we shall see.

A couple of hours later,

it's clear that day might be a way off

and Butterfly has her "cattitude" back.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

Go on, in there!

Don't worry, Butterfly.

It's time to go home.

Here she is!

And one look at her owner,

and this ferocious feline turns into a pussycat.

BUTTERFLY PURRS

Stay with us, as Cat attempts the impossible...

Thank you. Cheers, bye.

..a bandage-change on a wide-awake Butterfly.

Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!

DOG BARKS

Next, we're with Rory in South London.

Most of the patients Rory sees are cats and dogs.

But that suits him just fine.

Am I a cat person...

MEOW!

..or a dog person?

WOOF! WOOF!

Hmm.

CLOCK TICKS

I love them both, but I think I'd have to say dog person.

Hello, how's it going?

I think the dog is my spirit animal.

They're so cheeky and curious.

Oh, OK! Hi. Yeah!

But sometimes, a dog's curiosity can get the better of them.

Puppies will eat anything, and Coco is no exception.

SLURP!

But she seems to have an extra special favourite dish -

stinky socks.

And she's only gone and swallowed one whole.

This time, it's never come back out.

So it's vet Rory to the rescue.

So, Coco seems to really like dirty socks,

and we need to get it out.

She was in the vet's just over a week ago

after eating a DIFFERENT sock...

Hey, trouble.

..but luckily, that one came out the other end.

Right, time for another IV.

This time, she's not so lucky.

Up we go.

The thing about something like a sock

is they can be really tricky to find.

It could be in her stomach, it could be in her intestines.

We just don't know.

Are you going to be so good? Yeah!

First up, an X-ray.

It won't show the sock itself,

but should help point Rory in the right direction.

Oh, you're so clever!

X-rays.

And the X-ray has shown some areas that don't look quite right.

There's some odd places, especially round the colon,

and some of the intestines are quite lumpy and bumpy,

where they should be really smooth.

Rory thinks the sock is stuck in her intestines.

It's all going to be OK, isn't it? Yeah.

So the only option now is surgery.

This one is going to be a biggie.

Time for my lucky hat.

This is a pretty serious surgery.

We don't really know what we're going into,

so it's all a bit up in the air.

I'm not going to lie to you - this is really nerve-racking.

Squeaky bum time!

And I simply cannot do surgery in shoes.

I have to be comfortable.

Best not let Coco get a whiff of those socks, Rory.

Join us later on a stomach-churning hunt...

Oh, oh, crikey, that's awful!

..when Rory delves deep inside this Doberman...

Oh, you silly dog!

..and vet Cat calls in the cavalry...

THEY SQUEAL

..to help bandage Butterfly's tail.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

SNAKE HISSES

DOG YAWNS LOUDLY

But next, we're with Cheryl in Essex.

Come on in, girls. Hi!

Puppy patients are usually a joy for Cheryl and her team.

Good boy!

They're all escaping!

I love puppies!

Good puppy.

Most of them are in

for their first health checks and vaccinations.

But sometimes, more worrying cases come through the door.

Jane has a litter of nine French bulldog puppies at home,

but there's one she's become concerned about.

Come in with the puppy.

Little Gaz is not even four weeks old.

You're beautiful, aren't you?

But he's looking under the weather.

So, what have you noticed?

He has some green gunge coming from his left nostril.

All the other puppies are absolutely fine - it's just him.

OK. You can never be too careful with puppies, cos obviously,

they go downhill so quickly.

A runny nose might not seem like a big deal,

but for a puppy this young,

it could be an early sign of pneumonia,

which could be really serious.

We don't want to take any chances,

so I was going to recommend us taking a quick X-ray of him,

just so we can make sure he doesn't have any early signs of pneumonia,

cos, obviously, that would change our treatment.

We'll do that now. I know!

Because Gaz is so young and vulnerable...

Come on, handsome.

..Cheryl doesn't want to sedate him for the X-ray.

Little Gazza. We're going to just tape him,

so hopefully he stays in position.

"No," he says, "I'm not going to."

You want to go that way round instead?

Sticky tape.

A vet's secret weapon for dealing with wriggly puppies.

X-ray.

Such a good puppy! Was that scary?

This quick chest X-ray will show up pneumonia straightaway.

So it's the best way to diagnose the problem.

So, this is his chest.

That's his heart, and these are his lungs.

So, if he had pneumonia, we would see a large patch of white.

So, is little Gaz OK, Cheryl?

No pneumonia.

Perfect heart, no broken ribs, no trauma.

Everything looks perfect.

I think you're going to be OK, Gaz.

Aren't you?

Such good news that Gazza's OK.

Looks like it's just a runny nose.

Cheryl cleans up Gazza's little nose...

Oh, you don't like that?

Good puppy.

..before taking him back to his owner, Jane.

Here he is.

It's good news. X-ray's completely perfect.

No sign of pneumonia.

You're lucky.

With lots of TLC and regular checks...

-Thank you very much.

-No worries.

..little Gaz should grow into a tough puppy.

See you later.

MEOW!

SHE LAUGHS

MEOW!

WOOF!

Back to Cat in Sheffield and that mardy moggy.

Butterfly, flutter by this way!

Previously, Cat hasn't dared change her tail bandage

without sedating her.

Stay there. Yes, I know.

But today, she must be feeling brave.

How's she doing?

Er, not happy.

She's going to try and change Butterfly's dressing

while this feisty cat is wide awake.

-MEOW!

-Oh!

I mean, you do like to be

quite dramatic about the whole thing, don't you, darling?

She's going to go for the shoulder.

Are you going to go up? She likes to be up high, doesn't she, I hear?

The problem is, it still sticks out behind you.

Oh!

Removing a bandage like this should be a pretty simple job,

but we ARE dealing with Butterfly.

Charlotte, do you want to come round the other side?

I know.

Here's chief cat-wrangler Charlotte and her trusty towel.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

-Calm down!

-I think it might take more than that, though.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

Oh, dear! Oh, dear!

Don't take it out on poor Charlotte.

You will find nobody braver than a vet nurse

in the face of an angry cat.

BUTTERFLY YOWLS

They are all that stands in between us vets and a mauling.

Well, we're only trying to help, aren't we?

But finally, Butterfly allows her to get her hands on that tail.

There. Good girl.

So, they always look a bit sticky and disgusting

when you take them off.

-Yeah.

-But this is beautiful, beautiful healing tissue.

It's definitely on the mend, but the battle's not over yet.

Cat still has to get a fresh bandage on.

I'm not sure I can watch!

THEY SQUEAL

Butterfly, this is enough.

Right, do you know what? I'm going to go and get a little mask for her

so she can't see where she's going.

This mask might make Butterfly look like a superhero,

but it's going to keep her safe and calm for the dressing.

So, we're going sheepies today.

You know, we really should see if they do ones with butterflies on.

THEY LAUGH

Right, then, my sweet.

There we go.

It's a result for vet Cat...

Free the beast!

..whose bravery has paid off.

-We'll see you soon. Thank you.

-Bye-bye.

She's not that bad.

There's a lot of drama when it comes to Butterfly,

but generally, it's fine.

She's so fluffy!

Back to Rory in South London and that dog Coco, who swallowed a sock.

This daft Doberman has developed an unhealthy taste for socks.

And one is now stuck somewhere inside her.

Assisted by nurse Andy and new-qualified vet Blaze...

-Are we happy?

-Yeah.

-Ready to go?

..Rory's going in.

PARROT SQUAWKS

If you're squeamish, look away now.

So, let's see what we're dealing with.

Ooh, well, there's something straightaway.

What is that?

Coco's small intestine looks red and swollen,

so Rory thinks it's clear where the sock is.

Massively thickened there and a completely different colour.

Now he has the difficult job of cutting a hole

in the small intestine wall.

Oh, you silly dog!

You silly, silly dog!

It's time to remove it, I think.

And it doesn't take long for Rory to start pulling the huge sock out.

Oh, yeah!

Ha-ha! Amazing!

I'm not using that sock!

Now the sock is out,

Rory and his team must flush the organs with saline

and stitch Coco up.

Coco's owner has got a bit of work to do

with training her not to eat smelly socks.

Or any socks, for that matter.

OK, that's her done.

Time to have a look at this.

Oh, gross!

Oh, it stinks!

Oh, crikey, that's awful!

I'm going to be sick!

That has got to be one of the worst things I have EVER smelt.

Oh, know. I can smell it, still!

It's caught in the mask.

Four hours after the operation...

Hey, sweetie.

..Coco is ready to go home.

And she's looking very sorry for herself.

Hello. Mwah!

Coco's really sleepy, still,

but she's got lots of pain relief on board, so she's nice and comfy

and she'll be going home this evening for some TLC on the sofa.

I know! Tell me about it!

# I just wanna be part of your symphony

# Will you hold me tight and not let go?... #

After an anxious day waiting,

owner Carl and his daughter Scout have come to take Coco home.

There we go. Who's that?

Lots of TLC tonight.

-Thank you.

-Not a problem at all.

Don't eat any more socks!

SLURP!

Ha-ha-ha-ha!

WOOF!

HISS!

There you go.

Let's go back to Sheffield with vet Cat.

Hi, Butterfly.

Remember the feisty girl Butterfly...

-SHE HISSES

-OK. There we go.

..who gave Cat a run for her money?

LAUGHTER

Well, three weeks on, and what a transformation!

Just look at her!

No collar and no bandage.

She's a different moggy altogether.

Oh, it's lovely to hear her purr.

That's what makes Butterfly Butterfly.

She's got the loudest purr in the world.

SHE PURRS

But after weeks of being grounded, today's a big day.

Oh, Butterfly, look!

She's been allowed outside for the very first time.

She found next door's milk!

Bye, Butterfly.

Ah! The sweet taste of freedom!

That's it. She won't come back for the next few days.

No, she won't. In the sunshine!

Bye-bye, Butterfly.

Stay out of trouble, this time!

She is quite a character, isn't she?

Let's just hope she looks after that perfectly-fixed tail.

Hello, mate.

And if you're wondering about Coco, the dog who swallowed a sock...

Less than a week after surgery to remove that stinky sock,

she's already back on her feet.

And in future, owner Carl will be keeping a close eye on his socks.

Don't they make a good pair?

DOG BARKS

Next time on The Pets Factor...

Sadie...

..vet Cat has a dirty job on her hands,

cleaning out this spaniel's floppy ears.

Oh, and it's stinky, isn't it?

And James operates on Hepsy the rabbit

and has a heart-stopping moment.

She's just decided to stop breathing.