Episode 1 Pet Island

Pets, don't you just love them?

In this series, we're going to meet plenty of people

who really, really do.

It's like having more children.

It's as easy to have two or three as it is to have four or five.

Our obsession with them has even turned some pets into celebrities.

The internet loves her. She always gets loads of compliments.

We would have a sort of core following.

There's ones that read it every day.

Our love for them appears to have no bounds.

Later, we're in Kildare

with one of Ireland's most glamorous couples and their dogs.

Oh, they're absolutely beautiful. I was intrigued by them.

In Belfast, we meet internet sensation Loca...

Just topped last week.

In fact, it just hit ten million, this particular video.

..but first we're in Castlebar to find out

It's the exciting, chin-up sound.

a young couple in love, not just with each other,

Today, they're taking them for a walk.

Ferrets love human contact and, if trained,

can get on well with other pets.

And Darragh's got Walter. He's four years old.

Tom Jones bosses the dog around but Raffy bosses everyone around.

Ferrets love the craic and their playful nature

but it would have been conventional pets, like cats and dogs.

So, when I met Jackie, it was my first contact with ferrets

but they grew on me very quickly. They're very interesting animals.

Took you a while to get used to the smell, though.

Something that's difficult to get used to.

It smells like a mixture of onions and mustard.

He did let one there.

He heard you talking about it. Yeah.

OK. But...

Up until I met Darragh

they always used to sleep in the bed with me.

Just there, like, you know. I'd always sleep in this position.

Then Walter would always have to be up near my chest

and sometimes near my face.

But then, when I met Darragh, obviously, things had to change.

But not because Darragh was there

and I don't want them in the bed with us.

part of the body on Darragh, which would be, you know, south.

Ferrets sleep for up to 20 hours a day

and have lightning fast growing toenails,

which need to be trimmed every ten days.

Ferrets are finicky about their nails,

they don't like them being clipped.

So a good thing to use is peanut butter.

What you do is, basically, put the peanut butter there.

They lick it off.

So, you just take right in front of the quick and you just...

..clip like that.

So, see there, the wick is there, so just in front of the pink.

And then the back ones.

The back ones are really sensitive.

So don't take too much off.

When they get excited, they'll do a sound like,

you know, it's like...

SQUEAKY CHATTER

Basically, it's the exciting, chin-up, sound.

And they do, when they're angry, they'll let a hiss.

You know, they'll just be like... SHE HISSES

..you know, and that's, basically, saying, back off, you know.

That's your warning before they bite.

They do later bark, as well. It's known as a bark.

It doesn't sound anything like a dog bark.

The first time Raffy ever heard the guitar,

he just let an almighty, like... SHE GRUNTS

And it's really loud. We were, like, "Whoa! What the hell was that?"

He's only done it about twice in his whole seven years.

So, it's, if he does it, it means he's really, really scared.

Reactions from people when I'm out for a walk,

I don't mind if someone says to me, "That's cruel,

"you have that ferret on a harness.

"That's really cruel. It's a wild animal."

Deep down, it's a good reaction and they mean well.

They don't want to see a wild animal on a harness

but you've to educate them and say, "It's actually technically

"domesticated for the last 2,000 years.

"It's on a harness for its own protection.

"It's quite comfortable. They like it

"and they're out on a happy walk."

But also people would, like, shout, like, "Freak".

But I've had people, like the keeper in the park

thought it was a small dog and asked me what kind of dog was it?

Was it related to the Chihuahua?

So I was like, "It's a ferret" and he asked me what a ferret was

and I said it was related to the badger.

He was, like, "Get away from me!"

He thought it was going to crawl up his leg.

Which is another myth. They don't crawl up your leg.

In Kildare live some of Ireland's most fashionable pooches.

Oh, they're absolutely beautiful.

I was intrigued by them and intrigued by their walkers.

Martin Bailey and his fiancee Jennifer Duggan

have five Maltese and an Old English Sheepdog called Guapo.

We get a lot of reaction, especially with Guapo,

people don't get to see that much. So, they're like, "Oh, my God!"

You don't see them in full coat either. The breed too well. Yeah.

When we go out together, Guapo's a fairly strong dog,

so Jennifer wouldn't be able to handle him.

He's very powerful to move. I'll usually handle Guapo.

Jennifer mostly takes the girls.

Jennifer likes to do a bit of power walking,

so she tends to move quickly. They love the attention.

Definitely, they do. Mimi is so good with children, isn't she?

She always wants to climb up on the children. She's so good.

The children are on their level. They're not towering above them.

So, I think, they're better with children

because they are such a small dog.

Kids love Guapo because he looks like a big bear.

They just want to hug him.

With so many dogs living in the house,

there is a complicated pecking order.

The way it stands now, Mimi's in charge of the house. She's ten.

She's the first dog we've ever had. She rules the roost for everybody.

And this little one, Millie, tries to be the boss. She is the boss.

The boys are not the boss at all. Guapo is not the boss of anybody.

He's terrorised by Mimi.

None of them are neutered.

I don't necessarily agree with it, unless there's reason to do it.

When the two girls are in season, basically,

what happens in the house is, I go upstairs for two weeks

with the two girls, so the boys are not near them, whatsoever.

And then, because I hold Millie in my arms all day,

Guapo would get the scent of her off me,

so he tries to get on top of me.

So it's great fun when they're in season. Great fun.

Here, girls!

For anybody that shows dogs, it's quite normal to have

six or seven dogs around the house, running around.

Ours are all around the house.

They all sleep in the bedroom. I think it's great.

It's like having more children. You know, it's as easy to have...

two or three, as it is to have four or five.

They all, kind of, bring each other together. And...

It's so hard because we haven't been away together in years.

So it's either, like, I go away by myself,

or Martin goes away by himself.

Or we all go away in the camper, which Jennifer hates. I hate that.

In you go. Up, up, up.

Today, Martin is preparing Guapo for a forthcoming show.

Good boy.

Getting them ready for a show on Saturday.

He always does well in the ring, just hoping the judge likes him.

Hoping he'll get green star

to tip him over the post for the annual champion,

which is the most amount of green stars in the year for this breed.

Guapo is, I've dreamed of him as a child.

I had his name picked.

It used to be my name, my nickname, it's Spanish for "beautiful boy".

He fits the bill totally.

I started showing him, didn't know anything about showing.

I brought him in the ring and I didn't know how to handle a dog.

He got placed and I couldn't believe it.

He's done brilliantly.

He was junior champion and he's Irish champion,

international champion.

Well, this is how I groom an Old English for the whole coat.

So, usually, I lie him flat.

Start, say, halfway down and I'll part the coat.

All the way down, down as far as the head.

I'm looking for any mats that I'll find along the way.

If I find any, I'll have to work them out with my fingers.

You can see a mat there.

He loves the show, yeah. He's excited.

Grooming for the show, he knows where he's going.

They know, when the grooming starts, and the washing,

he knows it's show time.

I wouldn't change him for the world. He adores Daddy.

He loves Daddy, yeah.

He's very attached to Mammy, too, but he loves his daddy also.

Hidden away in Belfast lives one of the world's most famous pugs.

One, two, three, four.

At the minute, there's six of them altogether.

Two boxers, Lucy and Layla. Two pugs, little Alfie and Loca.

And, at the moment, two cocker spaniels,

who've joined us from Australia.

I wanted a small dog for me because the boxer is definitely his.

And we went to get our pug and came back with these two.

Alfie was actually the runt of the litter and there was just two left.

And we picked Loca and we couldn't leave him behind.

There was something about Loca

that made her stand out right from the beginning.

She just walked a little bit differently. She had a goosestep.

When we took her to the vet, he said it could be cerebellar ataxia.

As far as she's concerned, she is completely normal.

She enjoys everything that the other dogs enjoy.

She needs a wee bit more help to do it.

She used to run along with the rest of the dogs.

She used to try and join in and it was quite funny watching her

but, at the same time, it was quite inspiring to see,

despite her difficulties, she still stuck with it

and tried and took part in everything

everybody else did.

Mal fell in love with Loca,

so much that he wrote a song about her

and put it on the internet.

This was Loca's first video, The Pug That Couldn't Run.

Really, it was designed for family and friends.

We discovered by this time that she had a little problem.

It has to be admitted, it was quite funny, her attempts.

So we put this video together, just for a bit of fun.

We went away that weekend and I expected to get, maybe,

20 or 30 views because we told our family that we put it up.

The first night it was up to a couple of hundred.

The second night it was up to over 1,000, which absolutely amazed me.

And just topped last week, in fact, it just hit ten million,

this particular video.

This very unique dog has won the hearts of millions

all across the globe.

Some people have actually come back and said they were suicidal

and it stopped them.

Now, you may wonder why that would be but, for whatever reason,

that, actually, yes, makes you stop and think.

Following the success of the video,

Mal and Alena are shooting a calendar with Loca

and the other dogs.

This is a group photograph we're going for here now.

Getting them all to stay as a group is the hard part.

You come up beside me, Alena, and tell them all to sit. Sit!

Most of the photographs of them together, in the end,

are just pure luck.

You take hundreds and hundreds and you think I haven't got one.

THEY GROWL AND BARK

Hey! Hey! That's next door's cat. It's called Taz. Taz is a huge cat.

He's more like a tiger.

And he's scared of nobody, including all the dogs.

And he teases them endlessly.

Loca is last in the chase, as usual.

It is time for Loca's personal portrait.

This is her most favourite thing in the world.

Her very favourite thing. Cream with cake.

Cream with cake, as she calls it. What's that?

And she won't be fed the whole cake!

She likes these photoshoots because she gets all the special treats.

We've made some fantastic friends all around the world

and we just want to keep that, sort of, tootling along.

We were told that there may be some form of operation

that might assist her.

But it's very high risk and there's no need for it.

She doesn't know there's anything wrong with her.

As long as she's happy, we're happy.

There's no point risking something

to make her do something she doesn't need to do.

That was the point of the video.

Whether she could run, or not, she still has a good life.

Jackie Hopkins has kept ferrets for years.

Her oldest two, Raphael and Walter are getting on a bit though,

Raphael in particular.

There was a time when he got really sick.

He got gastroenteritis.

A-ha! Starting to cry now. But, um...

SHE SOBS

It was...

I get emotional when I think of it because Raffy won't be here...

Maybe for our wedding he won't be here and...

That's the part that people don't see about ferrets.

What you have to deal with, health-wise, you know.

Jackie has decided to have a photoshoot done with Raphael,

so as to remember him in years to come.

When you have any animal, you like to look back and see pictures

and, you know, remember them when they were healthy

and I can look back and say, you know, that was a good day,

when he wasn't so sick.

He could go outside and enjoy it.

Cos there will be days when he can't move, you know.

So that's why I'm going to get the photos taken, so...

She has hired pet photographer Agne Puskoriene.

Agne loves working with ferrets,

despite the obvious challenges.

So... Happy and relaxed. Just take him out of your cardigan a bit.

Good girl. That's good.

One of my friends took pictures of them

but Agnes takes gorgeous pictures of all pets, so that's why it's

great to get her because she tends to get them at their best.

TOY SQUEAKS

All ferrets are horrible to photograph, actually.

They are one of the worst pets you can photograph

but that's why I love photographing them

because you just have to work really, really fast with them.

Ferrets have a sweet tooth,

though some common foods can make them sick.

It's malt paste.

You can use peanut butter but malt paste is a healthy treat, as well.

Sometimes I use sliced bananas, as well. They'll eat that.

They're crazy for sweet food but you should never feed them it.

Just as a treat. To make them pose.

Do that again. Just kiss on the forehead.

Kisses!

You can make a makeshift harness.

Kind of baby hammock for your ferrets by using your scarf.

Just swing it around your neck.

Yes, yes, you like my scarf.

They love soft fabrics.

I think they like the attention they get.

You know, it's all the attention that other people give them.

"Wow! Look!" Then, they feel that

and they just like the attention you're giving them.

You know, as long as they're comfortable.

Never force them into something they're not comfortable with.

You can always get a nice, comfy harness to fit them.

They'll let you know if they don't like it.

Oh! That's perfect.

You can snuggle with them, if you want.

If I had Jackie on her own, I'd be posing her,

I'd be telling her what to do but because she has the ferrets,

she's just very calm and I can just pick my camera and shoot

and I get these lovely moments and she's kissing them

and cuddling them and if she was just here standing,

she would not look like she is.

She'd probably be quite nervous and quite tense.

With the ferrets, she's just flowing through it.

This is how pet ferrets play. It's called a dook. They dook.

This is them dooking.

They're just misunderstood, like so many animals.

Even their wild counterparts, badgers, minks, stoats,

they're misunderstood.

People, if they just take time to understand them,

and research them, get to know them,

they'll realise that, you know, they're the most lovable,

affectionate little animals you could ever know.

Yes!

And any of my friends who have ever thought, like,

you know, they're vicious,

have just fallen in love with them and see that side of them.

You really have to spend time with them and see that they're

so affectionate and they crave our attention.

In Kildare live Martin and Jennifer with their six dogs.

Today, Martin is bringing Guapo and New York to a show in Dublin.

All right, babes. See you later! See you, Millie!

Say, "Bye, Daddy!" Bye, Daddy!

Bye!

Today is an important event

and Martin hopes his dogs will be placed.

I don't particularly like the shows.

I don't like going.

I prepare them all for shows but I wouldn't go to the shows.

I'm the behind stage mummy, rather than front stage.

I love spending the day with him and New York.

It's like lads' day out.

We spend the day there, we have lunch together,

I don't go into the canteen.

Jennifer cooks liver for them for show, I'll have sandwiches.

I never leave them unless I go to the bathroom or go in the ring

with the different one, otherwise I never leave them at show.

Martin would ring me from the show and I'll say,

"Give them a big case from Mammy." And he'll give them a big kiss.

Finally, it is showtime.

I haven't been to bed yet. I've been up through the night grooming.

To get them all ready is very hard,

so I haven't gone to bed yet.

I had a shower at 20 past five and straight out the door.

He's still actually wet from washing him last night.

He was only washed about four, half four.

That's kind of late, so I'm trying to stick some powder in

to dry him up before he goes in the ring.

He's not looking right yet.

I'm just going to run through his top coat.

I'm just going to backcomb his head coat.

I'd be happy to get the grade, the excellent grade,

and anything after that is a bonus.

Across the hall is Martin's biggest rival, Colm Hastings from Cork.

Colm has recently brought in a new puppy from America,

who he hopes will defeat Guapo in the ring.

I'm here with my young girl, young baby.

She's young and she's a work-in-progress.

Anything can happen, that's the beauty of this, you know?

The reality is you can only win so much

and when you've won as much as you have with one dog,

then start on something new - a fresh challenge.

I'm like Manchester United, in transition.

That's basically it, like. So you can't be at the top all the time.

Like I say, I won't hand it back if I get it.

The time has come for Martin and Guapo to strut their stuff.

Here we go!

Ah, so, Martin's a nice guy.

He is what he is. He's a flamboyant character.

I'm quite sure Martin has an outfit

for every hour of the day, day of the week. You know, good for him.

Stop.

Unfortunately, Guapo is defeated by a bigger male.

Thank you very much.

Well done.

Not good because his movement was very good.

So can't knock him on his movement and she said the coat texture

was very good and I was saying he's improved,

and she said, "Yes, definitely."

So I'm surprised there, but he's went well, so I'm happy.

Got the grade. Got a good reserve green star.

So another day, looking for another one.

Finally, it is time for the bitches.

She won her class for starters then she got the green star

which is best bitch.

Then she beat the best dog for best of breed. I'm well pleased.

For a young baby, that's nice. You know, brilliant.

Win, lose or draw, I'm happy.

That's a lie!

That's a lie. No, I want to win.

It's a competitive game, it's a competition.

But you have to have a reasonable level of expectation.

Martin has a second chance with Maltese New York

and hopes that a visiting judge from the UK will give him gold.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Cheers. Thanks, Jason. Yes, thank you very much. Jason.

He got his class, which is champion class, which is lovely to win.

So I'm chuffed with the win because she's a breed specialist.

Obviously, she liked them and she likes his movement.

I imagine that's what she was going with.

Jason's been doing very well with his dog.

The difference when you win under a breed specialist,

she's a UK breed specialist and

she'll be looking at UK breed standard, I imagine.

New York is a UK breed standard.

Meanwhile, for Colm it's another win.

Having brought in a new dog from America, Colm is enjoying

a lot of success.

This has given Martin food for thought.

I'm just going to buy a new dog at the moment,

another one I can show alongside Guapo.

This would be a fully grown pup. He's six months old now,

so he's going to be fully grown. Big as Guapo, if not bigger.

Martin intends to travel to Italy on the lookout for a new pup.

I will miss Martin when he's away, yeah.

But I think the dogs will miss him more than I will.

Basically. Honestly, no, I will

because we are always together.

She won't tell me she misses me but when I'm away she'll ring me

and she'll be upset and then I think that's good

because absence makes the heart grow fonder. Yeah.

And Jennifer will probably tell me she loves me

quicker when I'm away than she will when I'm sitting here next to her.

I do miss you. I will miss you.

Finally, on Pet Island we meet Northern Ireland's budgies.

Budgie fancying has always been a working man's sport

and this competition is taking place in the local Orange Hall.

The top breeder in the north is David Boyd.

These are the budgerigar awards, all the various awards.

They're very nice to take home

because they're lovely in the bird room and they're great prompts.

On a bad winter's day when you're feeling a bit down,

when you can look at these then you feel a little bit better.

These are our cups here as well.

Over the years we've done away with so many cups

because people didn't want them.

My wife hated getting loads of cups coming home.

So what we try to do now is give rosettes.

Like many of the breeders, David is also helping out as steward.

Number 121, then. John, please.

They are categorised by colour and by type.

So you would have a spangle, which would be a type of budgerigar

with a marking on its wings.

Then you'd have your various colours, like a Lutino

which is a completely yellow bird - a lovely bird.

So that's how we categorise them.

We are now on to the next one, which is opaline,

green or blue cerise, any age.

We've a very good system in place. It means no bird can be overlooked.

Every bird is judged because every bird has an individual number.

It's quite complex for the guys here

but it means no-one comes and has put a lot of effort in to their bird

and their bird's not judged.

This system completely ensures that everybody has equality

and everybody's bird is judged.

Today's head judge's Davie Henry,

a legend within the budgie world.

That's a good green one. Lovely, isn't he?

Yep, a lovely bird.

A wee bit raw round here.

Well, we have a standard, we're looking for type and condition.

Well, it gets me amongst the birds, you see.

I'm the oldest one.

I'm trying to lead by example.

Even in old age you can still keep budgies.

They're like everything else, the livestock has to be fed,

has to be looked after.

If you don't look after it, well, you bring them in the show bench

and the judge can tell whether the bird's been that.

It's time for the budgies to strut their stuff.

Time to select Best In Show.

Now we've reached, in my opinion, the best seven birds in that

particular champion class.

So if we do that, we award seven points.

If there was eight points, you start with eight, seven, six, five, four.

We only go as far as seven.

So we pick the seven best birds in various sections,

put them all together and see which is the best of the whole lot of 'em.

That's the best bird in show.

The colour, the condition, perfect.

Nothing wrong with his feet.

Very well trained. Well, I saw him early this morning

and knew he was hard to beat

but I daren't tell anybody that.

David, whose bird is that? Mine.

How many did you win today, David?

I think I won everything which was a major award.

Every major award.

It is another perfect day for David Boyd and his budgies.

I think I'll get a big photograph at home because to win

so much in one day has been absolutely phenomenal.

Davie Henry is one of the top judges, knows what he's looking for.

To achieve this today,

well, I just can't say any more than I'm over the moon.

I just love the whole demeanour of them

and how they can be so proud, the cock birds,

and display themselves so beautifully.

Really is a big challenge to win but every show's different.

You go out next week and the birds could be nervous,

don't win a thing. You just have to take the rough with the smooth.

At the minute, I'm riding the crest of the wave. Long may it continue!

The competition has brought together not just all sorts of budgies,

but all sorts of people.

It has been a successful day all round at Killowen Orange Hall.

The show went really well. We've had people from all over the province.

When you see people coming to it and feeling free to come

and welcome, it's great.

I wouldn't like it to be just one side of the community.

It's welcome to everybody.

No matter who they are they get a warm welcome

and they'll get a bowl of soup, the same as I get a bowl of soup.

Everybody is treated equally.

Next time on Pet Island, we follow Martin to Italy,

shopping for a new puppy.

He likes you. Yes, course he likes me.

Belfast Pug Club have a Halloween party.

Pugs are hilarious, so dressed up pugs are even better.

And in Donegal, we meet internet sensation Hummus.

Hummus means the world to us. She's our fur baby.

Yeah, she's become our child, I think. Yeah.

Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90 second update.

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