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This time on Vets 24/7, | 0:00:02 | 0:00:04 | |
could it be the end of the line for a collapsed alpaca? | 0:00:04 | 0:00:07 | |
I'm mostly worried about his neck or his back. | 0:00:07 | 0:00:10 | |
He's not moving his limbs very much. | 0:00:10 | 0:00:14 | |
Partner Gareth Field treats an ungrateful patient. | 0:00:14 | 0:00:18 | |
Hey! Just bit me. Hey? | 0:00:18 | 0:00:21 | |
Feisty! | 0:00:21 | 0:00:22 | |
And exotic vet Lance Jepson encounters a python in distress. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:27 | |
-She's heavy. -Yeah, she's about 6 stone 2, | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
last time I weighed her. | 0:00:29 | 0:00:31 | |
From Swansea to Neath, and the pets that they treat, | 0:00:34 | 0:00:37 | |
this is a week in the life | 0:00:37 | 0:00:38 | |
at one of the largest veterinary practices in South Wales. | 0:00:38 | 0:00:42 | |
This is Vets 24/7. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:45 | |
Early morning on Gower | 0:00:52 | 0:00:54 | |
and large-animal vet Gwen Rees is responding to an emergency call. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
We're in a bit of a rush to get there, something that's collapsed. | 0:00:59 | 0:01:04 | |
There's a lot of things that it could be, | 0:01:04 | 0:01:06 | |
but most of them are things that need to be seen sooner, rather than later. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:12 | |
Oh, that doesn't look...good. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:14 | |
Snap, a pet alpaca, was discovered motionless half an hour ago. | 0:01:16 | 0:01:20 | |
Has he been moving his legs at all? | 0:01:23 | 0:01:26 | |
Nothing. | 0:01:26 | 0:01:27 | |
It's definitely in shock cos the heart rate's very high. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:31 | |
Just going to take his temperature. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
The freak accident has been a shock for Snap's owner, Simon. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:38 | |
Ice has formed here on a wet patch | 0:01:38 | 0:01:39 | |
and he's obviously slipped on it and it looks like he's done the splits. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:44 | |
The good thing, | 0:01:44 | 0:01:45 | |
I know that he hasn't been lying in it for too long, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:48 | |
cos there's people coming back and fore all the time. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:50 | |
At the moment, I'm mostly worried about his neck or his back. | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
He's not moving his limbs very much. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
Has he been picking his head up off the floor at all? | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
-He does respond when I... -Yeah, he responded when I came up to his head. | 0:02:02 | 0:02:06 | |
He knows we're here, but... | 0:02:06 | 0:02:08 | |
What I want to do is to get him in, I'm going to give him | 0:02:08 | 0:02:12 | |
a big shot of steroids... | 0:02:12 | 0:02:14 | |
-Tidy. -..which will help to reduce any swelling or inflammation | 0:02:14 | 0:02:18 | |
that there might be in his neck or his back, on his spinal chord. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
But we need to get him nice and warm as well. | 0:02:22 | 0:02:24 | |
As Snap is taken off for further treatment, | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
his partner, Crackle, can only look on. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
In Swansea, the St James vets | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
have been caring for animals for over 100 years. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:42 | |
As the practice hospital opens for business, | 0:02:44 | 0:02:47 | |
Georgina has arrived with her pet to see partner Gareth Field. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:51 | |
-Right, I'm Gareth. I'm a vet. This is Batman, is it? -It is. | 0:02:53 | 0:02:56 | |
-That's a good name for a little rat. How's he doing? -It's actually she. | 0:02:56 | 0:03:00 | |
-Oh, OK. Sorry. -She was meant to be a boy. But she's all right. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:04 | |
Do you want to show me the lump? | 0:03:04 | 0:03:05 | |
She'll be happier if you do it, rather than me. | 0:03:05 | 0:03:07 | |
It's just underneath the armpit, by here. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:10 | |
OK, let's have a look. Oh, yeah. Just there. | 0:03:10 | 0:03:12 | |
-OK. -She doesn't seem very bothered by it. -Has it been growing quickly? | 0:03:14 | 0:03:18 | |
-Very quickly. -When did it come up, initially? | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
-About three weeks ago. -Hello. You're cute, aren't you? | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
Rats are quite prone to getting sort of lots of little lumps | 0:03:24 | 0:03:28 | |
and they can get mammary tumours, so like breast lumps in ladies, really. | 0:03:28 | 0:03:33 | |
So we can certainly remove that today. | 0:03:33 | 0:03:36 | |
-We'll do our very best for her. -Bye-bye. | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
-See you. -Bye. -Bye. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:42 | |
It's sad to say, | 0:03:45 | 0:03:46 | |
but a lot of people don't want to do this sort of thing for a rat, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:50 | |
so it's nice when you get somebody like her | 0:03:50 | 0:03:52 | |
who wants to do the operation and give Batman a go. Yeah, it's good. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
Back on Gower, vet Gwen is busy | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
turning Snap the alpaca's stable into an emergency room. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:08 | |
At the moment, because of the shock, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
it means that all his blood vessels | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
in the more sort of distant parts of his body | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
are sort of closing down | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
and that's not helping with the hypothermia. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
There we go. | 0:04:25 | 0:04:27 | |
I'm just giving what's called a bolus, | 0:04:27 | 0:04:30 | |
which is like one quick injection of some concentrated fluids, | 0:04:30 | 0:04:35 | |
which have got a really high level of salt in. | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
So, treating the shock is basically what I'm doing. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
Most sort of deaths in trauma cases would be due to shock, | 0:04:41 | 0:04:44 | |
or deaths in any cases, really. | 0:04:44 | 0:04:46 | |
It's a lack of the blood circulating in the body. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:49 | |
It's more movement than you've done in a while, anyway. | 0:04:49 | 0:04:52 | |
This drip will provide vital fluids | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
and the next few hours will be critical for Simon's pet. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:01 | |
If he pulls it out, it's not the end of the world | 0:05:01 | 0:05:03 | |
-because he's up on his feet, so he's had enough of it... -Notify you? | 0:05:03 | 0:05:07 | |
Yeah, give me a ring. | 0:05:07 | 0:05:08 | |
I'll pop back this afternoon anyway to check on him. | 0:05:08 | 0:05:11 | |
Can't ask for anything else. In the lap of the gods now. | 0:05:12 | 0:05:15 | |
Just for him still to be here, I didn't think he'd last ten minutes, | 0:05:15 | 0:05:19 | |
prior to calling the vet. So...yeah, touch wood. | 0:05:19 | 0:05:22 | |
Back at the practice, | 0:05:27 | 0:05:28 | |
it's a big day for Billy the dancing macaw. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:31 | |
MUSIC PLAYS | 0:05:31 | 0:05:32 | |
Dance. Dance...dance. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
Good boy. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:37 | |
-All right? -How are you? -Do you want to bring him through? | 0:05:40 | 0:05:44 | |
The Robertson family aren't sure if Billy is a boy or a girl. | 0:05:44 | 0:05:48 | |
Come on, Billy. Let's have a look at you. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:50 | |
Keen to know the truth, | 0:05:50 | 0:05:52 | |
they've brought their parrot to see exotic specialist Lance Jepson. | 0:05:52 | 0:05:55 | |
-Last time, you said you think he's a girl. -Yeah. But we'll find out... | 0:05:55 | 0:06:00 | |
I hope you're wrong. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
-I've got a 50% chance. -Yeah. -So, you know... | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
-Um... -Why do you think that, Lance? | 0:06:05 | 0:06:07 | |
The reason I think he may be a girl | 0:06:09 | 0:06:12 | |
is actually we've got a bit of a gap in the pelvic bones. Normally... | 0:06:12 | 0:06:18 | |
Basically, it boils down to females have to lay eggs and males don't. | 0:06:18 | 0:06:22 | |
I want to have a listen to him. | 0:06:22 | 0:06:24 | |
Yeah, so I'll go out of the room. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
Yeah, OK. That's the way we're going to do it. That's fine. | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
He pouted at me last time. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:31 | |
-Yeah, that's fine. So, I'll towel him up. -Good luck. | 0:06:31 | 0:06:36 | |
HE LAUGHS | 0:06:36 | 0:06:37 | |
He should be used to it by now, shouldn't he? | 0:06:37 | 0:06:39 | |
PARROT SQUAWKS | 0:06:42 | 0:06:43 | |
Watch that beak. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that. | 0:06:43 | 0:06:46 | |
PARROT SQUAWKS LOUDLY | 0:06:46 | 0:06:49 | |
So what we're doing, we just took blood samples, so we can DNA sex. | 0:06:50 | 0:06:55 | |
The thing about a lot of the parrot family | 0:06:55 | 0:06:58 | |
is that both sexes look the same to us. | 0:06:58 | 0:07:02 | |
Presumably, they can tell the difference. | 0:07:02 | 0:07:05 | |
Now, obviously, Billy here isn't too happy about the whole thing. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:09 | |
PARROT SQUAWKS | 0:07:09 | 0:07:11 | |
There you go. Leave him settle for a moment. | 0:07:11 | 0:07:14 | |
I've taken a small blood sample, | 0:07:17 | 0:07:19 | |
which we'll send off to the lab for the DNA sex. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:22 | |
-OK. Lovely bird. Lovely bird. All right. -Thank you very much. | 0:07:22 | 0:07:26 | |
Good, thanks very much. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
Cheers. Bye. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:29 | |
The lab results will reveal all in a few days' time. | 0:07:29 | 0:07:32 | |
Next door, in the prep room, Batman the rat is under anaesthetic | 0:07:36 | 0:07:40 | |
and is about to face the surgeon's knife, | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
as vet Gareth prepares to remove the lump. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:46 | |
It is quite a delicate operation. | 0:07:46 | 0:07:48 | |
It's obviously a lot smaller than it would be in a cat or a dog. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:51 | |
And there's also the risk that a little blood loss to a rat | 0:07:51 | 0:07:56 | |
can be quite a lot, really. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
We're just making a skin incision to start with. | 0:08:02 | 0:08:05 | |
It's important to sort of do the operation as safely as you can, | 0:08:05 | 0:08:09 | |
but mostly because of the much higher risk of the anaesthetic. | 0:08:09 | 0:08:12 | |
So far, her breathing's been very stable, hasn't changed. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:16 | |
Sometimes, I think, particularly for people who don't own rats, | 0:08:16 | 0:08:19 | |
"Oh, it's only a rat. What are you doing this for?" | 0:08:19 | 0:08:22 | |
But she's still a lovely pet and part of the family, | 0:08:22 | 0:08:25 | |
so it's just nice to be able to do the operation | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
and give her a chance, really. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:29 | |
There we go. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:31 | |
Transfer that into there. | 0:08:31 | 0:08:33 | |
Perfect. OK. So now we just need to close her up. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:37 | |
Rats are notorious for being able to chew their wounds open | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
and take their stitches out, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
so it's important to try and get it as neat as you can, | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
so that the rat's more likely to leave it alone. | 0:08:44 | 0:08:47 | |
So that's the hope. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:51 | |
On Gower, vet Gwen is returning to check in on Snap the alpaca, | 0:08:58 | 0:09:02 | |
who collapsed on ice this morning. | 0:09:02 | 0:09:04 | |
All right, little one. | 0:09:07 | 0:09:08 | |
Aw! | 0:09:12 | 0:09:14 | |
All right. | 0:09:19 | 0:09:21 | |
All right. | 0:09:21 | 0:09:22 | |
Can you sit up? | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
Hmm. | 0:09:29 | 0:09:31 | |
Not looking much happier. | 0:09:31 | 0:09:33 | |
I'm a bit worried that we're not even trying to make an effort to stand. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:38 | |
He's obviously either hit his head or something on the ice, | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
cos that was thick ice and he's gone straight through it. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:47 | |
Anything else, he wouldn't be like that now. | 0:09:47 | 0:09:49 | |
Are you able to give me a hand? | 0:09:49 | 0:09:50 | |
We'll just try and pick him up onto his feet and see if he can take any weight at all. | 0:09:50 | 0:09:54 | |
Oh. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
There we are. | 0:09:56 | 0:09:57 | |
OK. | 0:10:00 | 0:10:03 | |
We certainly look better now that we're on our feet. | 0:10:03 | 0:10:05 | |
Just leave him go for a minute. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:08 | |
Oh, you want to eat! | 0:10:12 | 0:10:14 | |
Well...you look a little bit better, now you're on your feet! | 0:10:16 | 0:10:19 | |
You're not supposed to be eating. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:21 | |
Getting up and eating is a pretty good sign, usually! So... | 0:10:23 | 0:10:27 | |
I think that's called a Lazarus moment. That's why you do the job. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:33 | |
It doesn't happen often. Well, look at that! | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
-How do you feel? -Oh! Relief! | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
The power of the vet, innit! | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
Aw! I love my job! | 0:10:44 | 0:10:46 | |
In Waunarlwydd, Billy the macaw | 0:10:51 | 0:10:53 | |
is recovering from his visit to the vet. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
Loves a Sunday lunch. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:57 | |
But he's got his own bowl, with the seeds and everything. | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
-But we've taken him out so he can enjoy his Sunday lunch. -Yeah. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:04 | |
-He always loves his dinner. -He's quiet, yeah. | 0:11:04 | 0:11:07 | |
If we don't put his down when we put ours down, | 0:11:07 | 0:11:09 | |
he tries to come over to us. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:11 | |
Whatever he drops, the dog will eat! | 0:11:11 | 0:11:13 | |
So it saves us cleaning it up as well! | 0:11:13 | 0:11:16 | |
She's underneath him every time he eats. Aren't you? | 0:11:16 | 0:11:20 | |
Billy is more than a pet parrot. | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
He's part of the Robertson family. | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
He was my dad's bird. My dad passed away with cancer. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:30 | |
And I didn't meet my dad till I was 15. My dad and my mum had split up. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:35 | |
So, I got quite close to my dad, since I was 15. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:40 | |
The last photo I've got of my dad when he was unwell | 0:11:40 | 0:11:43 | |
was me and my dad standing by his cage. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
So, yeah, it means a lot. | 0:11:45 | 0:11:48 | |
I think he's more than part of the family - | 0:11:48 | 0:11:50 | |
he's a bit of my dad as well, like. | 0:11:50 | 0:11:53 | |
You going to dance? | 0:11:53 | 0:11:55 | |
HE WHISTLES | 0:11:55 | 0:11:58 | |
The DNA results eventually confirm | 0:11:58 | 0:12:00 | |
that Billy the dancing parrot is in fact a girl. | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
Back at the hospital, partner Gareth is making sure Batman the rat | 0:12:07 | 0:12:11 | |
has recovered from her operation. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:13 | |
Just going to check on Batman, see how she's doing. | 0:12:13 | 0:12:17 | |
We've got to try and find her though, somewhere. | 0:12:17 | 0:12:20 | |
She's hiding. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:24 | |
Oh, there she is. | 0:12:24 | 0:12:26 | |
Hello. | 0:12:26 | 0:12:28 | |
How are you doing? | 0:12:28 | 0:12:29 | |
How are you doing? | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
Oi! | 0:12:32 | 0:12:35 | |
You're feeling defensive! | 0:12:35 | 0:12:36 | |
Just bit me. Hey? Feisty! | 0:12:38 | 0:12:42 | |
She's all right, isn't she? I think she's awake! | 0:12:42 | 0:12:46 | |
So she's looking good. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:47 | |
Batman's owners, Georgina and James, will have to make sure | 0:12:47 | 0:12:51 | |
she doesn't nibble the wound with those sharp teeth. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
There you are. Sorry about the wait. | 0:12:53 | 0:12:55 | |
-It's OK. -Just finishing off the final touches to the buster collar. | 0:12:55 | 0:12:58 | |
-There you are. -They won't stay long. -No, exactly. There you are. | 0:12:58 | 0:13:02 | |
-Oh, hello! -How are you doing? | 0:13:02 | 0:13:04 | |
-Aw! -She had one little nibble. -I did hear! | 0:13:04 | 0:13:07 | |
That's the nurse's sort of vague attempts at a little buster collar. | 0:13:07 | 0:13:10 | |
Good luck trying to get that on her! | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
And basically, sort of scooping it over her head... | 0:13:12 | 0:13:14 | |
Which isn't going to happen. | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
-Yeah, but that's as an emergency, if need be. -OK. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:19 | |
-But hopefully, Batman will live to fight another die. -Yeah! | 0:13:19 | 0:13:24 | |
That was the lump there. So it was a fair size. | 0:13:24 | 0:13:27 | |
That's horrible. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:29 | |
It's not the nicest. No. | 0:13:29 | 0:13:31 | |
A bit grim, isn't it? | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
But we'll keep hold of it, so if you do want it analysed ever, | 0:13:33 | 0:13:36 | |
-we can do it. -Thank you. | 0:13:36 | 0:13:38 | |
-Thank you. -Bye. -Take care. | 0:13:38 | 0:13:40 | |
It's nice when you sort of do an operation and send them home. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
It's always satisfying. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:46 | |
Some patients are just too big to come to clinic. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
In Neath, one of the UK's leading exotic specialists, | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
Lance Jepson, is on a home visit. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
-I've come to have a look at this python. -Yeah, she's at the back. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:04 | |
A rescued 16ft-long python, Baby Worm, | 0:14:05 | 0:14:07 | |
has been having breathing difficulties | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
and just examining her is going to be a challenge. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:13 | |
-Are you going to come out? -Do you want to do it? | 0:14:13 | 0:14:15 | |
Grumpy. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:18 | |
Oh, and a bit snotty. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:19 | |
Oh, she's heavy, you know? | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
Yeah, she's about 6 stone 2, last time I weighed her. | 0:14:23 | 0:14:26 | |
-Is she? -Yeah. -OK. I've got her. -Right. -Oh. | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
Right, if I can have the business end. | 0:14:34 | 0:14:37 | |
-Everybody OK? -Yeah. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:39 | |
Good girl. | 0:14:39 | 0:14:41 | |
See if she'll take a breath. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:44 | |
Well, there's no sign of any mouth rot. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:46 | |
She's got quite a lot of mucus in there. I'm just waiting to | 0:14:46 | 0:14:49 | |
see if she'll take a breath. | 0:14:49 | 0:14:50 | |
And then we'll maybe get a quick look down her windpipe if she does. | 0:14:50 | 0:14:54 | |
I think she's going to just hold her breath. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:57 | |
What I want to do, while I've got the opportunity, | 0:14:57 | 0:14:59 | |
is to try and take a swab. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:00 | |
-When did she last feed? -She hasn't fed since we've had her. | 0:15:00 | 0:15:04 | |
-You've offered and she hasn't taken it? -Yeah. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:07 | |
OK. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:10 | |
Right, will you take her head, please? OK. Thank you. | 0:15:10 | 0:15:13 | |
A lot of people will buy a snake, which is 3ft long, | 0:15:13 | 0:15:18 | |
and there is that thing about, OK, it grows to 16ft long, yeah, fine. | 0:15:18 | 0:15:22 | |
I can cope with that. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
But actually there is no real perception | 0:15:24 | 0:15:28 | |
of what a 10ft, 12ft, 16ft-long python, | 0:15:28 | 0:15:32 | |
how big it actually is | 0:15:32 | 0:15:34 | |
and what it entails to look after it. | 0:15:34 | 0:15:36 | |
We rescued her from Newport and she came back to us then. | 0:15:36 | 0:15:41 | |
But she's with us for life now. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
Baby Worm is getting all the care she needs now | 0:15:45 | 0:15:48 | |
and Lance will keep an eye on her condition in the future. | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
Back at the main practice in Sketty, | 0:15:55 | 0:15:57 | |
there's one little patient who can't seem to stay away. | 0:15:57 | 0:16:01 | |
Batman the rat was admitted overnight for chewing her stitches | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
and vet Sarah Martin is going to sort things out. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
A natural thing for them to do is | 0:16:09 | 0:16:11 | |
if something different is there | 0:16:11 | 0:16:13 | |
that they will try and nibble. | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
Right, Batman, let's have a little look. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:18 | |
Employing her best Blue Peter skills, | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
Sarah thinks she's found the answer. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:30 | |
Challenging is the word, all right! | 0:16:30 | 0:16:32 | |
And I think we've accepted that challenge. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
That's why we're still here at the moment, trying to come up with stuff. | 0:16:35 | 0:16:38 | |
But yeah, small animal, small wound, | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
but massive problem at the moment. | 0:16:41 | 0:16:43 | |
Batman must wear this customised collar, | 0:16:43 | 0:16:47 | |
or her wound will fail to heal. | 0:16:47 | 0:16:49 | |
Let's see if we can slide this over her head. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
How long it's going to stay there is a different story, | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
or whether it's going to fit, in fact, may be a different story. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:59 | |
I think if I can get her ears past it, this might be a winner actually. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:03 | |
Just need to stay still, sweetie. | 0:17:04 | 0:17:07 | |
She doesn't look delighted. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:12 | |
I don't think she'll be able to get it off, mind. | 0:17:12 | 0:17:15 | |
At least she's not immediately taken it off, | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
which is more success than we've had so far. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
Vets sometimes don't know what's coming through the door. | 0:17:25 | 0:17:29 | |
-Hi there. Come in. -One fat cat. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:34 | |
I'm Gareth, I'm the vet. How are you doing? | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
Jean and her son Jeff are worried about their family cat. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:41 | |
-This is Tiger, is it? -Yeah. -How long have you had Tiger for, then? | 0:17:41 | 0:17:45 | |
-A month. -Oh, right. -It was about November. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:49 | |
October the 8th is on it, I think. | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
He was quite a large cat when we had him. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:55 | |
-I just think that he's got larger. -He's got fatter, has he? | 0:17:55 | 0:17:59 | |
-He's got fatter, yeah. -He's just like that, in the house. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:03 | |
-He's not moving. -He's not moving around much, is he? -No. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
That's exactly how he is all day. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
To be honest, I'm quite worried about him. | 0:18:09 | 0:18:12 | |
He is big, he's very skinny and it's his belly that's very big. | 0:18:12 | 0:18:16 | |
You can see his shoulder blades are sticking out. There's no fat on him. | 0:18:16 | 0:18:20 | |
Having a feel inside him, he's got some lumps in his abdomen. | 0:18:20 | 0:18:24 | |
They feel like growths, unfortunately. | 0:18:24 | 0:18:27 | |
I hadn't thought of that. | 0:18:27 | 0:18:29 | |
All this sort of lump here is like a... Just there. | 0:18:29 | 0:18:32 | |
That's like a big lump inside him here. | 0:18:32 | 0:18:35 | |
It's in the region of his kidney. | 0:18:35 | 0:18:37 | |
So what you're telling me... | 0:18:40 | 0:18:42 | |
I oughtn't go back with him? | 0:18:42 | 0:18:45 | |
Possibly not. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:47 | |
-I'm worried that it's not good news for him, really. -OK. | 0:18:49 | 0:18:53 | |
Really, it depends on whether we sort of just spend ten minutes | 0:18:53 | 0:18:57 | |
getting an answer for you and that would be a little scan, | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
which won't hurt him, it's like an ultrasound scan that ladies have. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
I want to be sure for you and him that we're doing the right thing. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:09 | |
Yeah. No way could I just keep him like that. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:14 | |
We'll see what the results are, but if he's not eating | 0:19:14 | 0:19:17 | |
-and he's got no energy. -He's going to get worse. -Yeah. -Yeah. | 0:19:17 | 0:19:20 | |
-OK. -OK? -OK. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:22 | |
That'll be 10-15 minutes. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:24 | |
Gareth is so concerned about Tiger's condition | 0:19:25 | 0:19:29 | |
that he immediately scans him to prove his diagnosis. | 0:19:29 | 0:19:32 | |
-Sweetie. -All right there, boy? | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
There we go, my darling. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:36 | |
-Good lad. -Good boy. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:38 | |
That's the lump that we can feel, sort of here. | 0:19:38 | 0:19:41 | |
That is his kidney. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:42 | |
I'm just going to gently do his measure. | 0:19:42 | 0:19:45 | |
In a cat, they should be about that size. About sort of 4x3cm. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:50 | |
That's measuring about sort of 7cm long. So quite big. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:54 | |
And Tiger's blood results confirm Gareth's worst fears. | 0:19:54 | 0:19:59 | |
Yeah, he's in sort of massive kidney failure. | 0:19:59 | 0:20:03 | |
So it all fits in with kidney disease, really. | 0:20:03 | 0:20:07 | |
I think it's bad news for Tiger. | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
So we'll have to go through and speak to his owner | 0:20:09 | 0:20:12 | |
and I think it might be kinder to let him go, to be honest. | 0:20:12 | 0:20:15 | |
The care of livestock and farm animals | 0:20:22 | 0:20:25 | |
make up a quarter of the vets' workload. | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
Today, Gwen Rees is heading to the Neath Valley | 0:20:28 | 0:20:31 | |
to curb a young stallion's manly ways. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
Storm's already a father of four | 0:20:34 | 0:20:36 | |
and his owner Nicola wants to stop him breeding. | 0:20:36 | 0:20:39 | |
I've had him since he was 16 months, so close on nearly four years now. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:44 | |
So yeah, he's my pet, my baby. | 0:20:44 | 0:20:48 | |
Sedating an animal as large as Storm doesn't come without risks. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:53 | |
OK, if you just give that to me... | 0:20:53 | 0:20:56 | |
If everyone else walks away. | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
Good boy. Good boy. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
Good boy. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
All right. Steady, boy. | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
So if you just basically... like that, really. | 0:21:08 | 0:21:12 | |
I'm going to be in there. Perfect. | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
I wouldn't change him for the world, to be honest, | 0:21:15 | 0:21:17 | |
but it needs to be done. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:20 | |
You wouldn't want them to go through pain, the same as a child. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:28 | |
They are like our children. So he'll have a lot of love later. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:33 | |
Watch him now, as he gets up. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:36 | |
The main risk is when he gets back up again, so we'll be here anyway. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:40 | |
Whoa, boy. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
If you could just sit on his head, please. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
-Good boy. -Steady, Storm. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:48 | |
-Good boy. Good boy. -We're almost there. -Good boy. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:52 | |
Good boy. | 0:21:52 | 0:21:54 | |
OK. OK. | 0:21:58 | 0:22:00 | |
I'd rather he would have waited maybe one more minute to wake up, | 0:22:00 | 0:22:03 | |
until I was away, but everything else was absolutely fine. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:07 | |
Ready to come off anyway. | 0:22:07 | 0:22:09 | |
Whoa, boy. Not yet. | 0:22:11 | 0:22:13 | |
OK. | 0:22:14 | 0:22:15 | |
Storm's a bit woozy after his anaesthetic | 0:22:15 | 0:22:18 | |
and as he finds his racing feet, | 0:22:18 | 0:22:20 | |
he could be a potential danger to himself | 0:22:20 | 0:22:22 | |
and the people trying to help him. | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
Whoa, boy. | 0:22:24 | 0:22:26 | |
Calm down. Calm down. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:28 | |
Good boy! | 0:22:28 | 0:22:29 | |
I'm alive. The horse is castrated. | 0:22:29 | 0:22:32 | |
I try not to tell people I enjoy castrating things. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:36 | |
I do wonder why I'm single sometimes! | 0:22:36 | 0:22:39 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:22:39 | 0:22:41 | |
In the practice hospital, vet Gareth's got the difficult task | 0:22:47 | 0:22:51 | |
of breaking the bad news of Tiger's diagnosis to his owners. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:54 | |
Tiger's fine. He's been really good. | 0:22:54 | 0:22:56 | |
-He's just having a cuddle off one of the nurses. -Yes? | 0:22:56 | 0:23:00 | |
-It's not very good news though. -No. | 0:23:00 | 0:23:03 | |
-Um... Basically, he's in sort of severe kidney failure. -Yes. | 0:23:03 | 0:23:07 | |
-His kidneys have packed up. -Most cats do...go that way. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
-It's common in old cats. -It's common in old cats. | 0:23:12 | 0:23:14 | |
-There isn't really any treatment for him. -There's nothing for him. | 0:23:14 | 0:23:18 | |
No. I think it's probably the kindest thing to let him go peacefully. | 0:23:18 | 0:23:21 | |
-So is that OK? -OK, then. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:24 | |
We'll give him an injection, he falls asleep very gently, | 0:23:24 | 0:23:27 | |
so he won't feel anything, he won't suffer. | 0:23:27 | 0:23:30 | |
Hello, darling! | 0:23:30 | 0:23:33 | |
Are you going to leave me? | 0:23:33 | 0:23:35 | |
Are you going to leave me, Tiger? | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
Are you purring? | 0:23:38 | 0:23:39 | |
TIGER PURRS QUIETLY | 0:23:39 | 0:23:41 | |
Are you purring? No. | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
You've been telling me for about four days, leave me alone. | 0:23:45 | 0:23:51 | |
I don't want to be bothered. | 0:23:51 | 0:23:53 | |
You don't want to see him being put to sleep, do you? | 0:23:53 | 0:23:57 | |
I don't think I want to see you put the needle in. | 0:23:57 | 0:24:00 | |
That's totally understandable. Lots of people don't, that's fine. | 0:24:00 | 0:24:04 | |
-I don't think I could do that. -That's fine. | 0:24:04 | 0:24:07 | |
Sharon will give him a big cuddle and he won't feel anything, he'll gently fall asleep. | 0:24:07 | 0:24:11 | |
And he'll fall asleep. Well, that's all he's been doing. | 0:24:11 | 0:24:13 | |
And I've got to be sensible about it, haven't I? | 0:24:13 | 0:24:17 | |
I love you more than you love me, evidently. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:20 | |
OK. Right. | 0:24:21 | 0:24:24 | |
Good boy, aren't you? | 0:24:24 | 0:24:25 | |
Thank you very much for your kindness, all of you. OK? | 0:24:30 | 0:24:34 | |
-All the best. -And thank you for all you've done. -OK. -Thank you. | 0:24:34 | 0:24:38 | |
-Goodbye. -Bye. | 0:24:38 | 0:24:39 | |
It's very sad, isn't it? | 0:24:45 | 0:24:48 | |
It's always sad, no matter how many times you sort of have to do it, | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
but you have to remember that you're doing it for the right reasons, | 0:24:54 | 0:24:58 | |
doing it for Tiger's sake and it's the kindest thing, really. | 0:24:58 | 0:25:02 | |
Animals give lots of joy, but it's always that sad moment | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
that comes when you have to sort of let go, really. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:11 | |
In his case, I think, if we tried to help, | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
we'd just be prolonging things and it's kinder to let him go. | 0:25:14 | 0:25:18 | |
All right, my sweetie. | 0:25:18 | 0:25:20 | |
There's a good boy. | 0:25:20 | 0:25:23 | |
There's a good boy. All right, my darling. | 0:25:23 | 0:25:26 | |
There we go, good boy. | 0:25:26 | 0:25:28 | |
He'll fall asleep now. Good boy, Tiger. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
There we go. Good boy. | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
He found a good home in the end. It's a shame it wasn't for long. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:37 | |
Jean couldn't face life without a pet | 0:25:44 | 0:25:46 | |
and a few weeks later she adopted another rescue cat call The Guvnor. | 0:25:46 | 0:25:50 | |
In Bonymaen, Georgina and James are making sure that Batman the rat | 0:25:55 | 0:26:00 | |
is following the vet's orders. | 0:26:00 | 0:26:02 | |
She hates it! She's getting so much stuff stuck in it. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:06 | |
Yeah, you can see now, | 0:26:06 | 0:26:07 | |
that's all she does is dig and try to get it off. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
But it is for her own good. | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
Yeah. | 0:26:13 | 0:26:14 | |
I looked after a friend's rat when I was little and it was amazing. | 0:26:14 | 0:26:19 | |
It used to come and sit on your lap and you could tickle its belly | 0:26:19 | 0:26:23 | |
and it would roll around and stuff. It loved people. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
It changed my views on rats, basically. | 0:26:26 | 0:26:29 | |
They're a lot cuter than you imagine. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:32 | |
I wasn't sure about them in the beginning, but I do like them. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
Hopefully, I can take that off in a few days when she calms down. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:40 | |
The customised collar worked | 0:26:42 | 0:26:44 | |
and Batman's wound eventually healed up nicely. | 0:26:44 | 0:26:47 | |
Three days after his "dancing on ice" accident, | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
Gwen is visiting Snap the alpaca | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
to see if he's ready to return to the field. | 0:26:57 | 0:26:59 | |
All right, Snap? | 0:27:01 | 0:27:03 | |
Yeah, that looks really... That looks fine, doesn't it? | 0:27:03 | 0:27:08 | |
Hey, dude. Remember me? | 0:27:08 | 0:27:09 | |
Probably not. You were pretty outers last time, weren't you? | 0:27:09 | 0:27:12 | |
Right then, boy. Love your hair. It's like mine in the rain. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:16 | |
Come on, then. | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
At last, Snap and Crackle can be reunited. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:23 | |
# Je t'aime | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
# Je t'aime | 0:27:28 | 0:27:30 | |
# Oui, je t'aime. # | 0:27:30 | 0:27:33 | |
It's really quite emotional, watching him go back and run over like that. | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
Oh, look at them! Aw! | 0:27:37 | 0:27:39 | |
Aw, they're reunited at last! | 0:27:42 | 0:27:44 | |
Aw! Awesome! | 0:27:47 | 0:27:49 | |
Happy ending! | 0:27:49 | 0:27:51 | |
You've got to try and remember the good stories, | 0:27:51 | 0:27:53 | |
because they definitely carry you through the bad ones, | 0:27:53 | 0:27:56 | |
and today's one of those good stories. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:57 | |
Just seeing those two alpacas running towards each other, | 0:27:57 | 0:28:00 | |
I got really choked up! | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
It was really nice. Yeah, it's definitely a day to remember, today. | 0:28:02 | 0:28:05 | |
I love it. I'm chuffed! Walking on air! | 0:28:05 | 0:28:08 | |
Next time on Vets 24/7, | 0:28:12 | 0:28:13 | |
partner Gareth Field gives a cat a Hollywood smile... | 0:28:13 | 0:28:18 | |
Even with his pointy canines, they look OK. | 0:28:18 | 0:28:21 | |
He'll still look tough! | 0:28:21 | 0:28:24 | |
..70-year-old Tommy the tortoise is in trouble... | 0:28:24 | 0:28:27 | |
He's gone with me, through thick and thin. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:30 | |
Everybody's laughing that I'm getting upset about a tortoise. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
..and newest vet Rebecca Lee gets her hands dirty. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:37 | |
Gosh, she's got... BREAKS WIND | 0:28:37 | 0:28:40 |