Episode 1 Animal Frontline

-RSPCA Control Centre...

-Is the cat still breathing...?

-'No.'

-You don't think it's breathing...

Every 30 seconds, someone calls the RSPCA

about an animal that needs help.

I'll pass this information to the officer...

From neglected pets to injured wildlife...

..for the trained inspectors, every shift is a challenge.

It's disgusting.

We can't leave this situation as it is.

Now, they tell us what it's really like

on the animal front line.

No day really is the same.

We have piggies! It never ceases to amaze me.

I go to bed thinking about it and I wake up thinking about it.

What makes a good RSPCA inspector?

Nerves of steel, a stomach of iron...

and a sense of humour!

Today, a call to help a not-so-cunning fox...

The dogs rescued from terrible neglect...

It must have been so enlightening for the dogs to get released

from the prison that they seemed to be in.

..and a wild duck chase.

-What are you doing with the duck?

-..for Inspector Claire Fisher.

Oi!

I just remember thinking, "Has this really just happened?"

He's just nicked the duck!

In central London, a cat has come a cropper.

Inspector Claire Dew is sent to investigate.

-CAT WHINES

-Hey!

SHE MAKES KISSING SOUND

CAT WHINES

'This huge, blue Burmese cat'

is completely splat in the bottom of this basement area,

just miaowing pitifully.

-CAT WHINES

-That's a bit of a long way for a big fat cat to fall down!

Well, you can't stay down there, can you?

The cat could be injured, so Claire needs to get to it fast.

'My initial thought is, "There's no way I can rescue this cat."'

"I can't climb down and out again with a cat in a basket,

"without any equipment." So, my first thought is,

ring the fire brigade and get them to come out with a big ladder,

which is what we would do normally on a job like this.

This may not be a black cat, but it still seems luck is on its side.

There were a team of tree surgeons working in the road,

cutting down trees, so I went and asked one of them,

"Is there any chance you could help me rescue this cat?"

He had a look and said, "Yeah, absolutely."

-Yeah, I'll go down there.

-I can give you some heavy gloves and stuff,

and a big towel thing to wrap it up in.

If you're prepared to do that, then let's give it a go, yes?

Coo-el!

'It's not the first time I've asked people to help, but it's not often,'

or never before, have I asked a man to abseil into a basement for me.

Cor, how exciting!

He basically set up his abseiling equipment, and off he went!

Thank you so mu... Ooh, finger!

Having given the gentleman some

advice on how to handle the cat, and what to do, he just

went off and did his job - abseiled in there, picked the cat up...

CAT WHINES

That's it!

Slam the lid down. You star!

Absolutely!

'He passed it up to me, and job done,'

in less time than it would have taken to even ring the fire brigade.

I'm not abandoning you, I'm just going to go and scan it in the van.

I'll be back in one minute.

Claire gets a closer look, and the cat seems fine.

So, her priority is to find the owner.

So, I microchip-checked it in the van,

and it was microchipped to an address very nearby.

The cat may be local, but its name is from further afield.

Chairman Miaow!

-SHE MAKES KISSING SOUNDS

-Hey, Chairman! Miaow!

Claire gets straight on the phone to its owner.

This is a brilliant example of how the microchip worked immediately.

Hello! I'm currently in possession of your cat, Chairman Miaow,

which a tree surgeon has very kindly just rescued

from a very deep basement in Haverstock Street.

Claire arranges to get the mischievous moggy back to its owner.

Thank you! Bye-bye.

It's a job well done.

I'm really grateful. Thank you so much for your help.

-No worries.

-Thank you so much.

-Cheers.

It was a more dramatic day for the tree surgeon and myself

than the cat - it was probably quite normal for the cat.

It didn't seem fazed at all.

So, on this particular occasion, he kicked the dog in the mouth...

'Yeah.'

Last year, calls from the public

prompted more than 150,000 investigations

into animal cruelty and neglect.

They can be some of the most difficult cases to deal with.

You have to be quite hard-fronted.

There are going to be calls where you have to think, "It's just words,

"let's prioritise it, get it out to the officer and get it dealt with."

There will always be a call

which will take my breath at some point.

I don't think I expected, when I first joined,

to see some of the really terrible things that I've seen.

But quite frankly, look at what we're capable of doing

to each other - I'm no longer shocked about what we do to animals.

The calls that knock the wind out of you and knock you for six

are the ones that you least expect, and it can be the most

innocent-sounding call can turn into something awful.

In Northumberland, Inspector Trevor Walker

has been dealing with one such case.

We initially received a call from a member of the public,

identifying that there appeared to be a number of dogs

in the upstairs of the property.

They didn't know the condition of the dogs - all they knew

was that the dogs were there, and the dogs were barking.

We entered the property through the kitchen door,

and it was at that stage, when...

we probably realised just what

poor conditions there were inside the property.

There was...

..a box in the right-hand side, with a cat

and some kittens in there.

The cats are alive, but in poor condition.

Trevor and his colleagues then make their way upstairs.

There was a bed, there was just faeces, that were...

literally glued, attached, concreted, whatever you want to say,

they were actually fixed to the mattress.

But the most shocking sight was still to come.

Walked into the next room -

there was just three balls of fur...

..two of which I thought were just...

..lumps of fur that were probably dead.

And I moved towards them, and they both moved -

erm, you know, they kind of flinched back.

The matted piles were actually Shih Tzu show dogs,

but it was impossible to recognise them as dogs of any breed.

You couldn't see any discernible points of...

noses, eyes, ears, feet, tails - there was nothing there.

Instead of them being tiny Shih Tzus

that are probably a foot long and maybe a foot high,

the coats actually probably stretched for maybe four or five feet.

And I can truthfully say that this is the most

depressing sight I have ever seen.

And I've seen some fairly horrendous situations.

It was clear all the animals needed emergency help,

and they were rushed to a local veterinary practice.

The staff there were shocked by what they saw.

Exhibit number TVW/1 -

we believe she is a female Shih Tzu called Holly.

The dogs needed treatment,

but they were also now evidence in a criminal case.

This dog is TJW/4.

We believe she is a five-year-old female Shih Tzu called Lacey.

We've got no idea how long it has taken

for the coats to get to this condition.

It is truly distressing to see - to see dogs that must have...

..been in this situation for literally

months and months and months and months.

It would have restricted their ability to move,

to hear, see, smell, taste.

Horrendous.

It's like being buried alive.

In court, the owner of the dogs, seen here with her solicitor,

admitted causing suffering and neglect.

She was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended,

and was banned from keeping animals for life.

It's been an absolutely excellent result.

This lady has now received a disqualification

for the rest of her life.

And this will obviously help animal welfare,

and prevent any animals being inside her property

and being neglected again.

Removed from her care, the road to recovery

for all of the dogs got under way immediately.

Under anaesthetic, the vet team began to remove the dogs' fur.

We are currently working on his ear, which appears to have been

folded in on itself, with all the hair which was attached to it.

This is the hair that was attached to the ear.

The first few clips of the hair

that was hanging round the front of the faces...

Just for them to be able to hear...

It must have been so enlightening for the dogs to actually get released

from the prison that they seemed to be in.

This is what came off the right forefoot.

Each one has its own bag of fur, that was removed from the dog,

and this is like the equivalent of a 20 kilo sack of dog food.

Amazingly, under the fur, the dogs were in remarkably good condition.

This is Angus, after we have finished clipping him off.

To be rescued, and have that problem removed

must have been literally a new lease of life.

And now, all three, including Molly here,

have new, caring homes.

Good girl!

And Molly is even an award-winning show dog.

Best in Show.

That's you!

The Best Rescue Dog.

How many badges can you get? How many?

Thankfully, the filthy prison Molly escaped from

has been replaced by regular walks in the great outdoors.

There she goes!

When we take her into the wood, you get a sense

that she's completely bombarded by

the, you know, the sensory experience that she has.

Clever girl - go on, then, play!

It's nice to be able to be in a horribly distressing case

that ends so well, with three tiny, tiny toy dogs

being re-homed in really nice locations.

So, from a personal point of view, it's really, really fulfilling,

and very pleasing.

Dealing with the unexpected

is second nature to RSPCA inspectors.

But even 10 years on the job hasn't prepared Claire Fisher

for what's in store today.

It was one of those jobs where we just needed Benny Hill music.

And then that would have been the perfect set-up.

It was like a joke, it really was.

Claire's on her way to a terraced house in Liverpool,

but she's not looking for a regular pet.

It's the kind of job that you get, that you think,

"Duck? In a yard? Really?"

This is not the kind of area that I would expect there to be a duck.

We shall see.

Frustratingly, there's no-one home.

But Claire doesn't want to leave

till she has got to the bottom of the call.

I'm not happy until I see a duck, and how it's living - I'm not happy.

Undeterred, Claire perseveres.

I've just found that the alley gate is open,

so I'm going to go and have a nosey.

We have to be a little persistent at time, erm...

sneaky, even - whichever way I can get to see that animal

is going to happen,

because I have to see it's being kept in the right way.

I was a little sort of, erm, hesitant

about what I was going to find, if anything -

and that's when, I don't know, all hell broke loose!

Oi!

What are you doing with the duck?

A youth was running down the alley with the duck flapping everywhere.

Oi!

And I just remember thinking,

"Really? Has this really just happened?"

He's just nicked the duck!

That little lad has just robbed the duck.

The boy and the duck have disappeared into one of the yards.

Come on, then, clever!

I will find that duck. You need to just come out now and show me it.

Mate, you can't just nick somebody's duck.

I mean, this whole thing's just a joke!

The lad ran off - I can't find which house he's gone into.

So, I figured, while I'm in the alleyway,

I'm going to have a quick look in the yard,

and see where this duck was being kept.

It's not a pretty sight.

The first thing I can see is the water area,

like a little pool area for the duck.

Not the nicest. Technically, it's got a pond,

but it's dirty, there's rubbish in it.

It's minging, basically. You know, there's a chair in it.

If I was a duck, I wouldn't want to go in that.

You know, foxes, cats - it's just not secure.

The way it was being kept, as it was,

it just wasn't suitable.

The living conditions are bad, but more importantly,

the duck is still missing.

Once I'd left the yard, there was another local lad...

-I've just spoke...

-Who's got the duck?

He's got a hoodie on, so tight around his face,

he looks like a little Eskimo.

He went in their yard and legged it with the duck...

-Two of them, yeah.

-Have they taken two ducks?

Yeah, two ducks were in there!

The man claims to know the whereabouts

of not one, but two ducks.

Ducks - multiple. I just thought there was one, but there were two.

And I'm thinking, a) who are you?

And b) where on earth are the ducks?

The witness claims the duck owner

is keen for Claire to take the ducks away.

But Claire can't do this without the absent owner's consent.

I need a signature. I'm more than hap...

She really...

But who are you...? Yeah, but who are you to her?

Are you a friend? Her cousin?

He wasn't in a position to give me a signature, as a cousin.

So, the best next thing was,

get this girl on the phone, and I want to speak to her on the phone.

I at least want a verbal that she will give me these ducks,

and that she doesn't want them.

Who's the lad that ran off with them?

But why did he run off?!

The duck-snatchers, it seems, were trying to help the owner.

This is just...nuts.

Claire is led to the place where the man says they're being kept.

Did you know who that lad was, that ran off with them?

It was you, wasn't it?

THEY ALL LAUGH

You probably stressed it out more running it down that alley.

You have.

Eventually, Claire gets hold of the duck owner.

Hello...?

On the phone, the owner advised that

it was actually her partner that had got the ducks.

He'd left, and she didn't know what to do with them.

She was in fact more than happy for me to take them

and find them a new home.

With the owner's consent, Claire can now retrieve the ducks

-from where they're being kept...

-Do you want to show us where they are?

I've then gone into this guy's house -

the man who's claiming to be a cousin...

Hello!

..and there are two ducks... on the carpet, in this bedroom.

So, I just think, "Just get the ducks, and just...go."

Hands full, Claire heads for her vehicle.

There was a fleeting thought in my mind, of...

How I'm going to get my keys out of my pocket, I've no idea!

I'm not that soft!

< CHUCKLES

And with Claire off the scene, the duck-owner's "cousin" comes clean.

To be honest, I'm only a friend of hers, I'm not a cousin or nothing.

But I'm not going to tell them that, am I?

Think they're grasses, to be honest, for taking ducks off kids,

know what I'm saying? They were kids' pets, like.

It's wrong, what they've done, taking ducks off them,

but I was going to cook them, so I'm even worse, aren't I?

I was going to keep them and cook them,

and have duck - duck and pancakes!

But to Claire, this job has been no laughing matter.

It obviously sends out a bit of a serious welfare issue.

I'm feeling both of them - granted I've only got one hand on each,

at the minute, but I can feel that they're both underweight.

Erm, they're not a normal pet,

and I wouldn't advise anyone to get them

unless you really know what you're doing.

OK, we'll take you to the vet's and get you checked over.

Who was he calling soft girl? "How are you going to open your van?"

Once I got those ducks in my van,

and I knew I was on my way to the vet's,

I was just relived, to be honest.

Thanks for the runaround.

-Thank you very much.

-< Pleasure.

Concerned for their health,

Claire takes the ducks for an immediate check-up...

-Hey!

-Hi!

..with vet Alan Humphreys.

These were in a... back yard in Liverpool...

The vet was, erm, fairly happy with their condition.

Eyes are nice and clear - there's no discharge from that.

No bruising to the beak.

Feel down the neck, let's feel the crop...

DUCKS QUACK Can't feel much here,

-so I think they could do with some food.

-OK...

He did agree that they were underweight, they need feeding up.

-That can be re-homed.

-OK, fabulous.

After a rest and a good feed and drink,

the two rescued ducks can look forward to a new, safe home.

Come on, then, girls!

I know two people who own ducks.

They are both vet nurses,

they know ducks inside and out -

that's the kind of person that should be owning a duck.

When did you last have clean water? Oh, God bless them!

I'll leave them here for tonight,

and...sort them out in the next couple of days.

FOX CALLS

Every neighbourhood in Britain has its resident urban fox.

Their nocturnal habits mean we rarely see them...

-FOX CALLS

-..except when they're in trouble.

And what animals are you calling about today?

What's your concern with the fox?

Some people may consider them a menace, but when they're in trouble,

the RSPCA treat them just like any other animals.

Urban foxes are all over the place.

They're coming more and more into our spaces, looking for food,

and they're getting hurt more.

In Inspector Jaqui Miller's patch, in the north-east,

urban foxes are thriving.

Today, she's on her way to one that needs help.

-It's in there - one of the lads went in...

-Yeah?

..and it was sitting on the seat.

Had to be in the biggest one possible, didn't it?

I think it had just gone in there to hide,

because it had some injuries and was feeling slightly unwell.

It's in there, it's alert, it's lying on the ground.

Erm... I've got a feeling it's probably

going to give me a bit of a runaround.

I don't think it's as... collapsed as what they think it is.

It would have been scared, it would have been wary,

and it's fight or flight.

Erm, do I give in, and just go with the flow,

or do I try and fight, and do a runner?

Jaqui approaches the fox slowly.

It's all right, sweetie...

Any sudden moves, and it could run.

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

From the fox's point of view, it's more scared of us

than I am scared of it.

Just a minute - watch the door...?

It's all right, sweetie.

Do you want to bring it up towards the fox? It's not going anywhere.

Come on!

With the fox contained, Jaqui can get a closer look at its wounds.

Right, use the sides, not the...

It was perfectly alert and active,

erm, except some injuries on its front left leg.

It had a small wound here, on its muzzle,

that I could see at that point.

Erm, obviously aware of all these people looking at it,

and what was going on around it, it would have been scared.

I'm going to get the vet to have a look at it,

and then maybe with just some minor emergency treatment,

we can release her back to site.

But the fox's fate will rest on the vet's assessment.

When we actually got the fox out, and the vet got a good look at it,

she was concerned that it might actually be a fractured jaw.

If it is broken, then...

she's not going to...

It's not fair to put her back out if she's not going to survive.

No - she's not going to be able to eat properly if it's broken, so...

It's a wild animal. If it hasn't got its jaw working correctly,

it can't hunt and it can't feed.

So that, based on what the vet was presented with,

she might have had to make the decision to put that animal to sleep.

I'll just need to have a feel of her...of this bit.

Lisa the vet sedates the fox so she can examine it properly.

Worst case scenario is, she'll not be woken up, she'll be put to sleep.

You know, it's not nice, but it's better than her suffering,

and, you know, starving.

It looks like the fox has been bitten, probably by a dog,

but luckily, it doesn't seem serious.

There's a fairly deep bite wound there,

but the jaw bone seems to be intact.

Thankfully, she had a good look,

and it just actually turned out to be quite a superficial wound.

Her jaw's normal. It's just the wound, and that just needs to heal.

There should be no reason

why she can't fend for herself and eat and stuff.

The vet herself, as far as she was concerned,

as long as it had had its antibiotics and it had had its pain relief,

it could be released back out into the wild, and it would be fine.

An hour later, and back near the timber yard,

the fox is ready to go home.

We released her that afternoon.

It was really, really nice to see,

because you don't get to see it that often, with wildlife.

It took her a few seconds to find herself,

and figure out where she was...

Come on, then, sweetie! Let's give her a bit of encouragement.

But eventually, she did. She just hopped out...

And we're off!

She ran out under the bridge,

and it was...it was just too perfect.

It just confirms why I do it - little things like that.

I can have 100 bad days if I've got one good one like that.

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