Episode 7 Animal SOS

Good afternoon, RSPCA Control Centre.

What animal is your call regarding today?

In the UK, someone calls the RSPCA every 30 seconds.

Exactly what did you see?

So they're left outside in all weathers

and they've got no bedding or shelter from the rain.

24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

I don't want you to go too close to it because swans can be very,

very dangerous.

When an animal needs help, the emergency line is open.

Do you know something, I've had non-stop calls for the past hour.

All right, take care, bye-bye.

Got a bit of a rough throat now.

It's cos I don't shut up.

Filming as the calls come in...

And when inspectors respond on the ground...

I'll pass this information through to the officer.

So close!

..rescuing everything from injured wildlife

to neglected pets...

..every shift is a challenge.

Rhea one, RSPCA nil.

There's no such thing as a typical day as an RSPCA inspector.

Get... Oh, my Lord!

We never know what we're going to deal with.

No two days are the same.

-You're keeping a dog out there, it's disgusting.

-Whoa there!

At times you feel like you're banging your head against a brick wall.

It's dirty, sweaty...

It stuns me sometimes, the smells that I come across.

Sorry.

There's not a lot of glamour in my role.

But even if you've just helped one animal...

Hey, mate.

..it's worth it.

Today, amazing Grace the rescued dog who's made a remarkable recovery.

The rescue mission to two terrified swans.

And inspector Keith Hogben fights to remove a dog

living in shocking conditions.

I wouldn't have been doing my job properly if I'd left the dog there.

Animals that need help turn up in all sorts of places.

The inspectors don't get to choose where the job takes them.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

And that means they get into some unusual

and often unpleasant situations.

There's all maggots crawling round in the bedding.

Our job is not remotely glamorous.

You're generally going to come home smelling.

Yeah, it's generally pretty disgusting.

We have piggies!

I still think people think it's a nicey-nice job. And it's not.

It's horrible.

Half the time you go home and throw everything in the washing machine.

It's not often I'm lost for words. But I am now.

Today, inspector Jayne Bashford is on her way to a call about cats

reported to be living in appalling conditions.

Jayne is joining Staffordshire Police to execute a warrant

to get into the house.

Three cats have been seen inside the property in filthy conditions.

We could do with getting in there, really, to find out what's

going on and assess whether there's any suffering at the moment.

It's a strange mix of emotions on the morning.

It was excitement that we could get in there, and also,

you can't forget that there's

potentially a person living in there.

Is that person OK?

You can't even see in there, it's condensed up, isn't it?

Ah, there we are, there's a torty cat.

And there's another one eating food in there as well.

So that's at least two.

There was no exit point for any of the animals in that property.

All the windows were shut, and there were no cat flaps visible.

The police officers formed the opinion that they

would need to force the door to gain entry.

It soon becomes clear that there's no-one home.

That is really, really, really vile.

Good Lord.

Sorry.

I know it sounds like a cliche,

but seriously, I'd never smelt that level of, um,

squalor

just from opening a front door.

I mean, we haven't even entered the property yet.

And that is literally what they've been living in.

Really not looking forward to that, I have to say.

We're issued with a full-face respirator mask,

I've never had to use that, to date.

Beautiful.

I personally didn't want to take any chances

in terms of what could be in the air in that property.

Kitted up to deal with the worst the house has to offer,

Jayne and vet Steve Odell can finally get inside.

Oh, my life!

The floor is just a porridge of mashed-up paper,

urine and faeces.

You can't actually walk without treading on stuff.

My goodness me.

Jayne thought there were at least three cats inside,

but it's quickly clear there are far more.

There were lots of cats inside that house.

You could hear wheezing, coughing. You could see that they were

all infested with fleas - they were scratching very, very heavily.

You can see marks on the inside of the window where cats have

been clawing at some point.

I certainly don't think that it's ridiculous

to describe that house

as a house of horrors for those animals.

I'm a bit speechless, really.

Is it reasonable to keep...for an owner to keep a cat or cats in...

-In that.

-..in that environment? And the answer to that is no.

-It's just...

-I know.

My concern, obviously, is the animals,

but it's also sad to think that there's a human being living in

there. I haven't found anywhere that somebody could actually lie down.

Haven't even... At this moment in time,

I haven't seen anywhere that somebody could sit down

in that property.

Vet Steven decides that all the cats need to be removed from the house.

Right, let me make some phone calls.

But with so many animals to deal with,

Jayne calls for reinforcements.

I'm really not exaggerating, if you've got a respirator, wear

a respirator, wear eye protection, wear everything you possibly can.

You know what you've got to do.

You want to do it as quickly and efficiently as you can,

because nobody wants to be working in those conditions for any

longer than you possibly have to.

Within minutes, eight cats are brought out of the house.

It then became a bit of a nightmare situation to try

and round up all the cats in that property.

In the back bedroom,

there's a single divan bed with a drawer missing.

They've counted a further 11 cats just in that drawer.

It's going to be a long one.

Over the next two hours, the numbers keep rising.

Oh, you guys are awesome.

I'm surrounded by a sea of cats.

The team removes a staggering 26 cats from the house.

Jayne's next job is to get them

all to the vets to be thoroughly checked over.

Black and white, domestic short-haired.

Live fleas.

Every single cat was riddled with fleas.

Oh, I know, darling.

They all had ear problems.

Would've normally noticed the smell of that, but of course,

in a house that is as filthy and as smelly as the one we've just

been in, there's no way on this earth you could sort of smell that.

That's just horrible.

Jayne will be investigating why the cats were left in this condition.

Come here, big boy.

So for now, they'll be treated

and looked after in a local animal centre.

It's that feeling of satisfaction that there are 26 animals

that are no longer in that environment and you can sit

down at the end of the day with a cup of tea and think, "Yeah, OK.

"That's good, that's a good day's work. That'll do for me."

Rescuing animals from human neglect is just one part of an RSPCA

inspector's job.

They're often just as busy freeing animals from trouble

of their own making.

Take our next call.

Two lovebirds have become separated on a building site in Lancashire.

They can't get out to be reunited,

and their separation is causing upset.

Swans will pair up for life,

so obviously they always want to be with each other.

They do get distressed when they're separated.

As in this case.

They could hear each other, they were calling to each other.

But obviously couldn't see each other, due to the high sides.

They've already been rescued from the building site

once before by animal welfare officer Nick Green.

Unfortunately, they've obviously come back and gone straight back

in there, not realising that they're going to get trapped in there.

It's a job for the water rescue team.

We've got the first swan in here.

Second swan's in the larger pool.

But if we start with this one, everyone all right with that?

OK, cool. Let's go.

But with a ten-foot drop to get into the pits,

Nick also needs to ring the fire brigade for help.

Hi, right, it's Nick calling from the RSPCA.

Just wondering if we could have your assistance on a job

we're on at the moment.

The team get kitted out for what will be a precarious rescue.

They are very large pits, very deep. Lots of hazards in there.

You could see that just by looking at them,

you could see bits of metal sticking out.

They obviously felt safe in there, but to sort of us,

it was just not suitable long-term for them.

The pits may be contaminated, so they need full dry suits

and kit to help catch the birds.

I've got swan bags, yeah. I've got a swan hook as well.

We've got one in that side, we've got one in this side.

The fire brigade arrive and secure ladders down to the first pit.

So just be really careful.

In the water, there was hazards basically everywhere.

Every time you took a step, you could feel something.

There is a hard bottom, but underfoot, is very difficult.

There's a lot of mud, as well, which made it very hard to walk in it.

Just take a step forward, Nick, I'll come the other side of you.

The rescue team needs to move slowly,

as they can't be sure what's underfoot.

Using their swan hooks to guide them,

they make their way across the pit.

The idea was to corral the first swan into the corner,

just to limit its movement.

What we don't want to be doing is chasing them round

for a long time, stressing them out.

As Nick gets close, the swan makes an unexpected bid for freedom,

but Nick gets it with the swan hook.

Come on, Nick, OK?

With a firm hold, Nick carefully makes his way back to the bank.

The swan's placed in a bag, and quickly winched to dry land.

Once we'd rescued the first one, we came out,

just gave that a quick check over and make sure it was OK, which it was.

The first swan is safe.

Now the team need to catch its mate.

Who's looking like a far trickier customer.

Nick, Nick, just cut across.

They clearly don't understand we're trying to help them.

They think we're trying to hurt them.

They use the rope to corral the swan into a corner.

That'll do ya.

But it's so scared, it dives for cover behind some fallen branches.

Oh, don't do that. Hang on, Nick, hang on, hang on.

Let's get this out of the way. So, hold the pole.

Worried the bird will hurt itself, one of the team makes a move.

Sh, sh, sh!

HE SIGHS

Once they've got a firm hold of it, the swan's put in a bag

and lifted to safety.

The job went perfectly.

The birds were caught very quickly, as least stress as possible.

Nobody was injured.

With the swans safely in the back of his van,

Nick bids what he hopes will be a final farewell to the building site.

The swans' new home is a secluded canal nearby.

Popular with other swans.

I think what I'll do is go down here.

That for me is the best part of the job.

Actually going through the whole process of a job,

rescuing them and releasing them,

you can physically see that the animals are a lot happier.

The first bird is quick to get into the water.

And after a slightly undignified entry...

..the swans are finally reunited.

That went brilliantly. They're happy, so obviously I'm happy.

And you can see they're going off together, happy as Larry,

so, that's a great job all round.

Hopefully, this time these two intrepid travellers will stay put.

If they go back again, we may have to get them out again.

I don't think they will.

I think they've learnt their lesson.

So, hopefully, they'll stay on this nice canal,

and not go back in that way.

Animals being kept outside in bad conditions

are sadly common calls for the RSPCA.

In South Wales, inspector Keith Hogben is on his way

to his latest call, about a dog in a back yard.

Apparently, it's just living in hazardous conditions.

There's loads of building materials, all over the garden.

They're saying it hasn't got any shelter.

It's never let in the house.

So, we'll go and have a little look and see what we find.

It doesn't take Keith long to find a property

that fits the caller's description.

Just looking over the back here, there is a garden here

that's full of hazards, so to speak.

It's probably worse than I had imagined.

DOG BARKS

Living amongst this was this little,

tricoloured, collie-type crossbreed dog.

DOG BARKS

Hello, you! Hello, darling!

What are you doing out here? Eh?

DARK BARKS

The dog was nice, alert and active.

And seemed happy enough,

but the conditions he was living in was far from ideal.

There was metal, glass

that the animal could have injured itself on.

He's literally only a couple of feet away from a...a rusty nail

sticking out from a piece of wood.

No animal should have to live like this.

This is disgusting.

HE CLICKS TONGUE

And the dog may need urgent medical attention.

Dog's got quite a lot of hair loss.

I've just noticed its claws are quite overgrown as well.

DOG BARKS

It had quite a few lumps and bumps on it,

and what I believe, one of them was weeping, like a wound.

Keith goes round to the front of the house to try and speak to the owner.

I really want the vet to have a look at that dog now.

So, we...we'll see what they say.

Erm, see how their attitude is as well.

Her son answers the door.

I've had a call about your dog, out the back.

I've had a complaint about how the dog's being kept, you see.

And Keith wants to speak to his mum on the phone.

I've had a call about your dog,

and how he's being kept out the back.

Yeah, well, perhaps, I beg to differ with you there,

whether it's safe for him outside.

Going by the state of the garden etc.

Keith goes through the house to get a closer look at the back yard.

Ringo! Hello, darling.

And the dog Ringo.

Hello, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you.

I'm hoping the gentleman's going to sign him over to the RSPCA.

He's just speaking to his mum on the phone at the moment.

And at least we can get Ringo

out of this disgusting situation he's being kept in.

Keith thinks the conditions are so bad

that the only solution is for the family to sign Ringo over.

Very nervous, aren't you?

We're all pretty fair people, RSPCA inspectors, you know?

Where there's a failure in duty of care,

you try to work with the owners to put it right.

But I felt in this occasion, things had gone too far.

I wouldn't have been doing my job properly

if I had left the dog there.

The family agrees it would be best to allow Keith to take Ringo.

-HE SHOUTS

-The dog is not fine, sir.

But a family friend has other ideas.

Sir! I appreciate that, but you're keeping a dog out there.

That's disgusting!

Obviously, the young lad was quick to point out

why the dog was living out the back.

The house was in a... Being renovated.

There was lots of building work going inside the house.

And this was their justification for keeping the dog outside.

It was no excuse really.

With Ringo now in the care of the RSPCA,

Keith wants to get him to the vets.

I've got Ringo now.

I'm really pleased the dog came away with us when it did. Yeah.

You never know, that night he could have injured himself,

or the following day...

You just don't know.

So, I'm pleased we removed the dog from its predicament.

Come on then.

OK, darling. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Gently going to lift you.

There we are, darling.

There's a nice soft bed for you to lie on.

At the vets, Ringo undergoes a thorough examination.

It's all right, darling.

He has painful growths on his legs, fur loss, and overgrown claws.

Should this dog have seen a vet

sooner than we brought it to you today?

The vet concluded that the dog had been caused unnecessary suffering,

and hence I would go back to the property

and carry out a full investigation.

But when Keith returns to the family's house,

he gets some perspective on why it's been difficult to care for the dog.

It turns out the family, in the last 18 months,

have had three close family members pass away.

So, there was shocking circumstances,

why, perhaps the dog had been left in these conditions.

I'm pleased to say that, you know,

we're not pursuing a course of prosecution

because these people need a break.

Come on, then, in this one.

We've got to act with compassion

as well as, perhaps, have our hard hat on sometimes.

Erm, you got to...you got to look at all aspects of a job

and take that into consideration.

Ho-ho-ho! That's it.

Oh, nice.

Ringo is now fit and well, and ready to be rehomed.

Every year, the RSPCA finds new homes for around 11,000 dogs.

Many have been neglected,

but occasionally cases will come along that shock everyone involved.

Grace.

Good girl.

This is Grace.

All done. All done!

Today, she's enjoying life with a new owner and canine companion.

But three months ago, she was on the brink of death.

When Leeds inspector Sally Bamforth arrived at the call,

she couldn't believe what she saw.

I was absolutely horrified.

I'd never seen a dog in such a poor condition,

in my entire career with the RSPCA.

She was literally a complete skeleton.

I'd never seen such a thin dog that was still alive.

Her body was just covered in sores.

It was just in an absolute, terrible state.

Sally rushed to the vets, and with emergency medication,

Grace made it through the night.

Without a doubt the people that called saved her life.

Two weeks after Grace was picked up, Sally is back to see her.

Grace has been kept in isolation at a local boarding kennel,

because she was suffering from a number of infectious illnesses.

Aw, good girl.

The one thing I think which, like I say, was her saving grace,

was that she had a very good appetite.

I think they were quite surprised because she was so unresponsive

in every other respect.

But with her condition improving, it's time to take her to the vets,

to assess her progress.

I was absolutely delighted when I saw her,

cos I saw such an improvement already in that short space of time.

Come on, sweetheart.

When we took her for the follow-up vet appointment, she was walking,

she was looking around.

Although she still looked really bad,

I could really start feeling some hope that she was going to recover.

Let's have a listen.

All right.

Grace needs a thorough examination from vet Laura

to assess her condition.

Her heart sounds fine, so that's good.

-Her ribs, they're just not as prominent as they were...

-No.

..so even though she still looks really thin,

she is a lot better than she was.

Things have certainly improved.

She's still quite scabby,

and this bit just looks a bit infected still, here.

But some parts of her body still need time to recover.

Right there. Look at her tail. That's horrible.

I know.

But it's Grace's weight which will be a key factor

in determining how quickly she can be rehomed.

How much was she when we first came in? It was 11...

11.2 when she first came in,

and now she's 14.6, so that's...

Yeah, it's just over two weeks, too,

so is that a very good weight gain?

It's a really good weight.

That's a very good weight.

In a couple of weeks, she'd put on over three kilogrammes,

which for such a short space of time,

for a dog that was in such a poor condition,

is really quite incredible.

This is one of the worst cases that I've ever seen.

I've never seen a dog as thin as she was,

so that's why it was touch and go at first

about whether she'd ever make it,

but she looks like she's well on the road to recovery now.

It's a big improvement for Grace,

and Sally's investigation work has also paid off.

She's managed to track down the dog's original owner.

I've been really determined that the matter go to court,

which it now is, and I'm very hopeful that obviously, in doing so,

we're going to prevent the individuals involved

ever doing this to another dog.

Come on, sweetie-pie. Come on.

Now, three months later, Grace has made a full recovery.

Not you.

Much to the delight of new owner Carol.

We wanted a new dog, just to fill a hole,

cos I lost my husband in September,

and I needed something to take, not take his place,

but just give me something to do,

and also as a companion for my other dog, Sam.

We met Grace and we fell in love with her instantly.

She's such a pleasant personality.

She's had a great impact on, on our lives.

Erm...

She just...

..she just helps to fill an empty space in my life, basically.

And in Sam's, too.

Cos Sam missed my husband.

He used to get on his bed, on an afternoon, and keep him company.

And Grace just takes that place for him as well.

As well as me.

We just wouldn't be without her now.

In just a few months,

Grace has undergone a remarkable transformation.

She's living proof that however badly a dog is treated,

she can come back from it and lead a very happy life.

She just needs the love and companionship of a loving family.