Hepsie, Poppy and Sadie The Pets Factor

I'm Stacey Dooley.

I love animals and I hate seeing them sick.

But when they are, thankfully they can come to places like this,

where amazing vets will go the extra mile to fix them up.

Meet rookie vet, Rory.

I do love a friendly rabbit.

Smells like dog sick! Yuck!

Every pet's best friend, Cheryl.

Hello.

Oww!

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!

They're the vets with The Pets Factor.

Coming up on today's show...

James operates on Hepzi the rabbit, and has a heart stopping moment.

She's just decided to stop breathing.

For Rory, it's lights out to see Poppy's poorly eye.

That's a puncture wound, and that is what is causing her all her issues.

-Sadie?

-And Cat the vet has a dirty job on her hands

cleaning out this spaniel's floppy ears.

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

Phew!

But first, let's head over to James in Bristol.

-Hi there.

-He always has his hands full fixing up

the city's poorly pets.

Oh!

From loving lurchers...

Oh, you're a very nice boy!

..to cuddly cats...

-Oh, hello!

-..and even tiny tortoises.

Oh, look at him!

So many gorgeous pets come through the door,

I just cannot resist a sneaky cuddle.

Today, it's fluffball bunny Hepzi that's drawing in the crowds.

Hi!

And what a surprise,

James has found the time to pop in for a quick squeeze.

Hello! She's so fluffy, isn't she?

Owner Ellen has brought Hepzi in for her annual pedicure.

That's where she's having her claws shaped and trimmed.

Like any self-respecting lop-eared Angora Lionhead cross,

Hepzi loves a pampering.

At home in her deluxe summerhouse, she enjoys top to tail,

5-star treatment.

Although when it comes to keeping her nails in tiptop condition,

it calls for a trip to the salon.

I mean, the vet's.

She's so fluffy!

And looking after Hepzi today is her number one fan, vet nurse Claire.

Vet nurses are a crucial part to our team,

and Claire has been here for 12 years, and believe me,

she knows her rabbits from her Rottweilers.

She probably could teach me a thing or two!

The first thing I've got to do is find your feet.

They do look like they've been cut recently,

cos they've got quite a square edge.

I trimmed the edges, but I always get too scared to go any further.

This needs a steady hand.

One wrong snip could cause Hepzi a lot of pain.

But Claire is a pro.

In the wild, bunnies would naturally wear their nails down

by digging in rough ground.

But we sort of pamper our bunnies,

we pamper our bunnies with their own summerhouses

and their own carpet and...

She has a sandpit!

She genuinely has a sandpit.

Back to looking her beautiful best,

Hepzi can return to her life of luxury.

A new day and another horde of pets to see.

Hang on, those two look familiar.

That's Ellen and fluffy bunny Hepzi.

-Hello.

-Hiya.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

-Oh, we saw you...

-Yesterday.

-You're back, yeah.

Yeah, I found a lump on her chest.

Oh, dear, OK. Is that just something new, have you seen it before?

-I've never noticed it before.

-Have you not? Oh, OK.

So, shall we have a look?

-Yeah.

-OK, come on through.

Ellen has done the right thing.

You should always check a lump or bump as soon as you find it, really.

Right, where am I going?

If you lift her up onto her back legs,

it's literally where your hands will be.

-Let's have a look.

-Right in the middle.

Oh, there, OK. It almost feels there could be a ball of hair, doesn't it?

That it's just matted up. But actually, I don't think it is,

I agree, I think it is a lump.

There is actually a little bit of blood coming through there as well,

a little bit of discharge from it.

It could be a cyst, or it could be an abscess, or if I'm honest,

I'm a bit worried it could be something a bit more serious

so I'm not prepared to take any chances.

For the fact that she is otherwise so well,

I would probably suggest we remove it.

-OK. Yup.

-Which, I know is a little bit scary with bunnies,

with their anaesthetic risk and things,

but I do think getting rid of it is probably our best course of action.

I think so, yeah.

Join us later as James gets to the root of Hepzi's nasty problem.

Let's go to Sheffield to see Cat the vet.

If there is one thing you need as a vet, it's a strong stomach.

Oh, yes, we see blood, guts, gore, goo.

I love a bit of goo!

But there is one bodily fluid we get covered in all the time.

You're not joking!

Even pet tortoise, Colin, is getting in on the action today.

-Has he weed on me?

-Yeah.

Oh, Colin!

Colin, that's not very nice!

I don't mind the gross stuff.

People think I'm weird.

Sadie? Come on in, darling.

Well, today it might be your day, Cat, because Helen's

springer spaniel, Sadie, has something nasty lurking

in her lugholes.

When did you first notice they were a problem?

Well, it has been an ongoing problem.

She's had quite a few ear infections.

Oh, my darling! Yes, they are a bit gooey, aren't they?

It's a real problem for the dogs with the floppy ears.

They are so hairy, the air just can't get into them.

You can see that all the skin is really thickened and really dry,

look at that. Then we've got all of this goo down there.

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

Phew!

Poor Sadie has got one of the worst ear infections

I've seen in a long time. She must feel really awful,

so we are going to get her checked in straightaway

and get it all cleaned out.

So, you can come and stay with me for the day, how do you fancy that?

No answer. You don't look that enthusiastic, my love.

-Come on, then, Sadie.

-But a deep clean like this...

Right, my darling.

Off to sleep, good girl.

..is not going to be very pleasant for poor Sadie.

This is why we put them under a general anaesthetic,

because it can be as painful as actual surgery.

Stick around, as Cat discovers that it's not just

Sadie's waxy ears that are a worry.

Look how red her tummy is, just there.

That is not normal.

And Rory deals with a feisty feline...

Does she always do this a little bit?

..who doesn't want his help.

Oh, no, you go back in there.

We are back with James in Bristol.

Remember Hepzi, the lop-eared Angora Lionhead cross bunny?

This lady of leisure is used to a life of luxury.

But today, she's been rushed in to see vet James,

to deal with a serious looking lump hidden under her fur.

He needs to remove it straight away,

with the help of Hepzi's biggest fan, vet nurse, Claire.

Oh, Hepzi.

You're so fluffy, you can't see it.

We did her nails yesterday, but we did not see this.

Now James has shaved through Hepzi's mounds of fluff,

he can see the lump clearly.

And it's not a pretty sight.

Ugh! Look at that.

This is actually quite ulcerous, it's not very nice underneath there.

So, we thought initially that this could just be a cyst, but actually,

now I've clipped it up, it does feel a little bit more solid than that.

So, the best thing to do,

let's get the lump off and then we'll make a decision from there.

To remove the lump, James has to operate,

which means Hepzi needs to be sedated for even longer.

The problem with small animals like rabbits is that the longer they are

under anaesthetic, the greater the risk that they won't wake up.

So, this is pretty high pressure.

But as Claire tops up Hepzi's anaesthetic,

she takes a turn for the worse.

Just since I've given her a second lot of sedation,

she's just decided to stop breathing.

We are not panicking, but we just

need to really keep a close eye on her.

This does happen with rabbits.

They are really difficult to operate on.

So, it's really important that nobody panics

so we can get this sorted out as quickly as possible.

But thankfully, there's soon signs of life.

I think that was a little breath.

-Yeah, that was a little breath.

-Has she started?

-Yeah.

-Good.

Thank goodness.

Bunnies always like to test the team.

She's a bit more stable now.

So, I'm going to continue.

I think speed is of the essence here, isn't it?

Let's just try and crack on and get this done as quick as possible.

With no time to waste, James gets to work.

Looking at that, if that was in a dog or cat

you might think it's quite a small lump but actually,

when you think about the size of a rabbit, proportionately,

that's actually quite big.

It's the equivalent of maybe finding a tennis-ball sized lump

on our bodies, maybe,

so it's definitely a good idea to get rid of it.

If you're squeamish, look away now.

So, I'm just breaking down these tissues that are connecting the lump

to the underlying fat in the muscle.

Right, we can breathe, breathe a sigh of relief now.

It's a really good idea to regularly check your pets over for lumps

or bumps because the sooner they are picked up, the better.

The fact that Ellen has found this lump so early

I suppose you could say, she has saved Hepzi's life.

And thanks to James and the team,

it looks like this fluff ball will be back with her owner in no time.

At the end of the day, we all just want the same thing, don't we?

We all just want Hepzi to come through,

a nice smooth operation in there,

and get her home later on today, that's all anyone wants.

Actually, I want Hepzi to come home with me.

Yeah!

I want Hepzi to come home with me today.

Bad luck, Clare, Hepzi is going back to her real home.

But there's still time for this very important bunny to get spoiled

with a five-star suite in the office.

Hello, pickle.

Hello. We do get quite attached to our patients because

she is a cool rabbit. She's got a personality.

Time to see Rory the vet in London.

I love cats.

You're so lovely.

You are! Especially the well-behaved ones.

You did so well.

But I cannot resist the challenge of the naughty ones, too.

Oh, you fierce, fierce lion.

Not playing ball today, mate?

Oh, there we go, look at that, he's flicked it all everywhere.

Because he scratched my hand.

And Rory's latest naughty feline patient has been brought in

by sisters, Ruby and Pearl.

She does scratch a lot.

And she's very mischievous.

Poppy is quite the explorer.

And will fight with just about anything she comes across.

But now and again, that gets her into real trouble.

And this time, she's come home with a mysteriously sore eye.

Cue Poppy's next adventure to the vet's.

Poppy, please.

So, how can I help, guys?

Her eye's infected.

Oh, dear. Do you know if anything caused it?

Can you think of anything off the top of your head?

No, we think it came from outside.

Poppy might have a sore eye...

But it's not stopping her putting up a fight with Rory.

Does she always do this a little bit?

-Yeah.

-She's always like this, is she?

-Yeah.

-OK.

That's it, that's it, that's it.

I know, you go back in there, then.

You have a little chill. You have a little chill out.

Rule number one of being a vet, always come home

with all your fingers.

Now Poppy looks to be calming down,

Rory needs to investigate what is making her eye so sore.

We are going to pop some dye in that eye.

Poppy's eye might look fine...

We'll give it a go, oh, there we go, look at that, perfect.

That was good, wasn't it? But this dye will show up any problems.

Can you see the centre of her eye?

-Yeah.

-Can you see how it's green?

-Yeah.

-Can you see that little round thing?

-Yeah.

-That's a puncture wound, that's what's called

a corneal ulcer.

Something really sharp has pierced a hole in the middle of Poppy's eye.

I think she's had a fight with another cat and probably got a claw

right in her eye. Ouch.

I'm just going to turn the lights off and watch the eye.

-See that?

-Yeah.

-Now you can see it really clearly,

and that is what's causing her all that issue.

OK. Perfect.

Now, it does look quite deep.

If we don't treat that and if we don't get on top of it

nice and quickly, it can, what's called, "melt."

OK.

And I do really mean melt!

The front of her eye could just melt away and even burst.

But now Rory's found the problem,

these antibiotic drops should help it heal.

Now, hopefully, she's not going to be too annoyed.

So, if you just go behind, she can't see it coming

and then you can just... I know, sweetie...

..do that.

I hope Pearl, Ruby and mum Elodie were paying attention,

as they'll need to do this every day for a week.

-So, you know what you are doing with the drops?

-Yes.

-Great.

Keep a close eye and keep her in for me and I'll see you in a week and

-we'll have another look. See you later, guys.

-See you.

There you go.

Time to get back to Sheffield with Cat

and the spaniel with the bunged up ears.

Those gruesome waxy lugholes need flushing out.

It's a mucky job that's even going to put gore-loving Cat to the test.

It's just utterly clogged.

Completely full of wax.

But before Cat can get anywhere near the wax buried inside,

she needs to tackle the layers on the outside.

Just getting out some of the worst bits of the wax.

Although I would be very careful about doing that at home,

it's a job I would probably leave to the professionals.

If you're squeamish, look away now!

Yes, I'm quite happy to leave that horrible job to pros like you, Cat.

Look at that. Imagine having all of that down your ears.

Golly, it really smells, doesn't it?

Poor old Sadie, and your nose is twice as sensitive as mine

and a lot closer to your ears.

Time for Cat to venture deep inside.

Right, let's start flushing.

She needs to use this massive syringe to inject fluid

right down into the ear canal.

This will loosen all that goo so she can clean it away.

It's a long time since I've seen ears as bad as Sadie's.

It just isn't right.

Sadie has actually got some really sore, thickened skin.

Look how red her tummy is just there.

That is not normal.

That just starts to tell is that it's not just

a straightforward ear infection.

Cat suspects Sadie has a skin allergy

that is at the root of her problem.

What we're doing is taking a swab of the ear,

and that goes in this little tube.

And the lab will be able to tell me exactly what bacteria is growing

in Sadie's ears, so I can pick exactly the right medicine

to make them better.

And with her other ear flushed out,

it's finally light at the end of the tunnel.

It's an awful lot cleaner now.

Once those lab results are back,

she'll get the treatment for her skin condition

that she desperately needs.

There she is.

All you want to do is be off home.

Yes.

Well, I'm going to cook her a chicken and rice for her tea.

And then she'll probably just have lots of fuss.

You're so cute.

Let's go back to James in Bristol now.

Remember Ellen's pride and joy rabbit Hepzi,

who had a nasty tumour removed?

Well, just look at this lop-eared lovely now.

Hepzi's back to her full self. Within about two days after surgery,

she lived inside for a couple of days.

And within two days, she was hopping around,

demolishing her treats and toys and just being her normal self.

Hopping around everywhere.

This certainly is one pampered pet.

Check out her crib.

This old summerhouse is for Hepzi to hang out in,

and these days, Ellen is keeping a much closer eye on her.

I'm much more observant when I'm picking her up

in that area to make sure

that she hasn't got any more lumps so I'm really,

really glad he's sorted it and it's all off.

Thanks to James and Clare,

Hepzi can now continue her life of luxury in Ellen's back garden.

Hey? Happy days, Hepzi, happy days.

And get that summerhouse, what a lucky bunny she is.

Now, what about poor old Sadie with those gunky ears?

Well, this springer spaniel has definitely got her spring back.

I just love to see her so excited

and just full of life and bouncing about.

It's nice to see that back again.

And now that nasty skin allergy is also being investigated,

she's got plenty to shout about.

Next time on The Pets Factor,

Cheryl performs a tricky operation on a much-loved Jack Russell.

I'm really nervous about this.

I would hate for anything to go wrong.

And Rory's patient gets into a bit of a flap.

I know, I know.