0:00:02 > 0:00:04Britain is a nation in love with its animals.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05How are you doing?
0:00:05 > 0:00:08We own 27 million pets...
0:00:09 > 0:00:12..and 900 million farm animals.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13Very frisky one.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15All of them...
0:00:16 > 0:00:18..need vets.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Over the course of their final year,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24ten students at the prestigious Royal Veterinary College
0:00:24 > 0:00:28in Hertfordshire are taking what they've learned in the classroom...
0:00:28 > 0:00:29Do it.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32..and putting it to the test
0:00:32 > 0:00:36in practices, farms...
0:00:36 > 0:00:38This is all new territory for me.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..and state-of-the-art animal hospitals.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45It's a whirlwind of back-to-back work placements.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Sounds like an unhappy monkey!
0:00:47 > 0:00:49Nice and quick good.
0:00:49 > 0:00:50And they can't afford to fail...
0:00:52 > 0:00:53..a single one.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54I need to do my job properly.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56- I need to do it better.- Going in.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It's the most challenging stretch...
0:00:58 > 0:00:59Whoa!
0:00:59 > 0:01:02..of a very long journey...
0:01:02 > 0:01:04I have a serious problem with my hand shaking.
0:01:04 > 0:01:05..to become...
0:01:05 > 0:01:06- Well done.- Gassy!
0:01:06 > 0:01:08..fully qualified young vets.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10Saved a life today, which is good!
0:01:32 > 0:01:35It's early March, and there's only a month to go till the students
0:01:35 > 0:01:37start their final exams.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Our young vets are near the end of their practical placements,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and running out of time to learn the vital skills
0:01:43 > 0:01:45they need to get out there and practise.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50This next month really is make or break.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53When they graduate, the support network is going to be taken
0:01:53 > 0:01:56away, and it's very important to give them increasing
0:01:56 > 0:01:59amounts of responsibility, then it won't be such a shock
0:01:59 > 0:02:02when they have to make some big decisions out in the outside world.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Good God alive! Never again.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Final year student Dru Shearn already has a job lined up
0:02:11 > 0:02:13at a mixed practice in Somerset.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16120.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19But he won't be working anywhere if he doesn't graduate,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and he's got one more placement he must pass - working
0:02:23 > 0:02:27in the Intensive Care Unit at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Hello...
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Dru's first patient is an 11-month-old Labrador called Alba,
0:02:33 > 0:02:35who's critically ill.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The vets think she has New Forest Syndrome -
0:02:38 > 0:02:42an extremely rare condition which causes rapid kidney failure.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Some dogs with this disease have been seen at the hospital before,
0:02:46 > 0:02:48but not one of them survived.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51This is Alba - she came into the emergency
0:02:51 > 0:02:53and critical care service last night.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56She has this kind of strange mystery illness that
0:02:56 > 0:02:58I actually really know nothing about.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01I've kind of heard whisperings of it, and heard of a few cases,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04but I don't actually know what it is.
0:03:04 > 0:03:10It's basically some sort of illness that causes skin lesions
0:03:10 > 0:03:13and skin problems, and then they get acute kidney failure,
0:03:13 > 0:03:15so basically their kidneys, they stop working.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20She has quite a lot of bruising around her, like, belly area.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22There's been so few of them at the moment that we don't
0:03:22 > 0:03:25really know what the exact...what the exact picture is.
0:03:27 > 0:03:28Normally, you can refer to a textbook
0:03:28 > 0:03:31when you're confused or, you know, speak to someone about it,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34and there's just no information about what causes the disease,
0:03:34 > 0:03:35cos we're not really sure.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Most of the information I found were news articles saying,
0:03:38 > 0:03:40"This mystery disease is just killing dogs
0:03:40 > 0:03:43"and there's nothing we can do to cure them once they've got it."
0:03:43 > 0:03:45They are, you know, they're all unfortunately dying.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48What's the plan for the blood work now?
0:03:48 > 0:03:53Dru's supervisor is Dan Chan, a leading expert in critical care.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57But even he's seen few cases like Alba's.
0:03:57 > 0:04:0118 months ago it started with dogs who were around the area or
0:04:01 > 0:04:03were walking around the New Forest.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06And it seems that no longer that's the case,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09because now there's about 30 or 40 cases that are possibly
0:04:09 > 0:04:13involved, and they're not just restricted to New Forest.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15That's where we are right now.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18These are very early stages of understanding
0:04:18 > 0:04:20what the disease process is.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22It's possible that this is our sixth case.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26The thing we know is, once you start damaging the kidney,
0:04:26 > 0:04:27it's very hard to stop.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31Resident Kerry Doolin knows only too well that Alba's
0:04:31 > 0:04:34chances are almost non-existent.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Have you had any that have, like, presented like this and survived?
0:04:37 > 0:04:40- No.- So no survivors. - Nowhere has really.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43So all the actual confirmed cases at the moment have been at post-mortem?
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- Yeah, yeah...- OK.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51And it's so new for us... It's changing the whole time
0:04:51 > 0:04:53what we do about it, so...
0:04:55 > 0:04:58So, um, you can see...
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Oh, God, it really smells as well.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04You can see that she's having bad diarrhoea,
0:05:04 > 0:05:07but it also looks like it's got a bit of blood in it, digested blood,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10so, um, she just doesn't look like a happy dog at the moment.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Personally, I've not seen a dog much sicker than that
0:05:13 > 0:05:18and still really be conscious or not be about to...you know, to die.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23You know, Labradors are happy, go lucky sort of dogs,
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and to see one with her head down like this,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29and just not interested in anything is pretty unusual.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33So it kind of shows the severity of how ill she's feeling
0:05:33 > 0:05:35really at the moment. It's really hard to see them like that
0:05:35 > 0:05:38and know that there's nothing you can immediately do to help them,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40make them feel better.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42God it smells. Phew.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45With so little known about Alba's condition,
0:05:45 > 0:05:48the vets don't know how to treat her.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51The senior clinicians are going to discuss the case, so we're just
0:05:51 > 0:05:55sitting in to, um, see what the plan is and where we're at at the moment.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58The team must call on all their experience to work out
0:05:58 > 0:06:02the cause of Alba's symptoms and find a cure before it's too late.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Cos I was thinking, this could just be a dog with
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Necrotising Hepatitis AKI.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10These are incredibly intelligent people and they're very qualified,
0:06:10 > 0:06:11they're really good at what they do.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14For me, it was slightly reassuring to see that sometimes they're
0:06:14 > 0:06:17stumped as well, and they have to take a step back
0:06:17 > 0:06:22and work through it, like maybe I would for something more simple.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25You know, you don't qualify and know everything, so there's always
0:06:25 > 0:06:28going to be stuff out there that you have to think about.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Any treatment they come up with will be experimental,
0:06:31 > 0:06:35but they have to make a decision, as time is running out for Alba.
0:06:35 > 0:06:40If there was a dog that we should intervene, this might be it,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42it hasn't jumped off the cliff yet.
0:06:42 > 0:06:44It could...there could be a shot.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48With nothing to lose, the team recommend a radical treatment -
0:06:48 > 0:06:51a special type of blood transfusion called plasmapheresis.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55It's Alba's last chance of surviving this killer disease.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58She's going to have, like, a big catheter put in
0:06:58 > 0:07:01and she's going to have her own plasma, which is like a portion
0:07:01 > 0:07:04of the blood that contains things like proteins and clotting factors
0:07:04 > 0:07:07and things like that, taken out and kind of almost, like, filtered
0:07:07 > 0:07:09and then put back into her body,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11in the hope that we can get rid of anything bad that's in there.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14That in itself has got risks, because you're taking things
0:07:14 > 0:07:16like clotting factors out of the body, so she might bleed
0:07:16 > 0:07:19even more, so then you have to try and counteract that.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21So there's loads of things that are quite complicated.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23But basically, we're going to try
0:07:23 > 0:07:26and filter out anything bad that might be in her blood.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29Yeah, it's pretty cool actually, from my point of view,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31but probably not for hers.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Without this treatment, Alba will almost certainly die.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39But it's completely untested, and her owners must make the difficult
0:07:39 > 0:07:44decision whether to take the risk and go ahead with the procedure.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Are you going to then speak to the client?
0:07:46 > 0:07:50I've spoken to her already this morning and, from her standpoint,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53she's keen to do whatever is possible for the dog.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55How much does she know about this potential problem?
0:07:55 > 0:07:57I said there's a lot we don't know about it,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59and what we do know is not great.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04It does have quite a terrible prognosis if it truly is that.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06So I left that day finishing my shift,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08she just looked like she was going to die.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12You always hope that your patient is going to survive,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14but the odds are massively stacked against her.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17We've not had a case like that survive.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18Lay down, sugar.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- What colour are you guys' stethoscopes?- Black.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35- What have you got then? - I was an ocean blue.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37I was an ocean blue!
0:08:37 > 0:08:41But no, it stained something horrid, quite a lot of poo stains.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Yeah, that's...
0:08:42 > 0:08:45What were you doing with your stethoscope?!
0:08:45 > 0:08:46That's why I went for black.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48- It's very - exactly! - Yeah, it's practical.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50I'm all about the practical.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53The practical ugly shoes, the practical stethoscope.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Just don't get poo on your stethoscope!
0:09:09 > 0:09:12This week Elly Berry is out in the wild west,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15on a placement with farm vets in Devon.
0:09:15 > 0:09:19She wants to work in a mixed practice, and she's running out of
0:09:19 > 0:09:23time to learn all the skills she'll need for her first day on the job.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27At the moment, I'm just trying to put myself in the shoes of a real vet,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30cos it's not long till actually we are real vets,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35and these scenarios that we're going out to see, that's going to be us.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37I need to make the most of that opportunity now,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40cos this is sort of one of the last times I'm going to
0:09:40 > 0:09:43be in this environment, and not ultimately responsible.
0:09:43 > 0:09:49I'd really like to practise things that I'll be doing in real life,
0:09:49 > 0:09:52so getting used to what's expected of me.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54I'd love to get good at sewing up cows.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56It all needs practice.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58I'm going, Elly, go on down.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Fortunately for Elly, her supervisor, Rupert Kirkwood,
0:10:02 > 0:10:06is expecting her to do a lot more than just watch and learn.
0:10:06 > 0:10:10Today, he needs her to help him do life saving surgery on a cow.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14So we're going to get the cow in the crush, anaesthetise her up,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16and we'll do the job when she's standing, obviously.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20We're going to cut a hole in her flank, or you are hopefully.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22Don't worry, I will supervise you closely.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28We're going to have a look at the cow to make sure her stomach
0:10:28 > 0:10:29is still displaced.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35One of the cow's stomachs, the abomasum,
0:10:35 > 0:10:37has shifted to the wrong side of her body.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40If it's not fixed back into the correct position
0:10:40 > 0:10:42as soon as possible, she'll die.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47The first step is to give the cow a local anaesthetic.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50The nerves come out of the spine and run down the side like that,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53so I'm blocking off the nerves as they come out of the spine,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57with a line of anaesthetic there and there.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02So that makes that part of the flank go numb, so that's the target.
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Cut a hole in the flank, right through into the abdomen.
0:11:05 > 0:11:09We can then reach in with our hand right over to the displaced stomach,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13which is trapped on the abdomen between the rumen and the body wall
0:11:13 > 0:11:18on the other side, and then deflate it and then drag it right underneath
0:11:18 > 0:11:23her abdomen, right underneath her gut, pull it up to the exit hole
0:11:23 > 0:11:26here, and stitch it in place, which is where it should be living anyway.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30I think I know the process, but they're still fairly big
0:11:30 > 0:11:32surgeries, they're never not going to be impressive.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Elly has seen this procedure once before -
0:11:35 > 0:11:38but Rupert's a firm believer in letting vet students get
0:11:38 > 0:11:41stuck in, so he's letting Elly start the surgery off.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I'll take over if you want, you can get yourself scrubbed up, I'll
0:11:45 > 0:11:49just check to see how my anaesthetic is getting on and you can cut in.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51And this is high pressure stuff.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54Cutting through the abdominal wall is straightforward,
0:11:54 > 0:11:56but what you don't want to do, the big danger is
0:11:56 > 0:12:00when you get through, into the abdomen itself, you don't want
0:12:00 > 0:12:03to nick a hole in any of the guts, then you really are in trouble.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06So there's a little bit dangerous when you actually go through
0:12:06 > 0:12:08the full thickness of the abdominal wall.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12And once we do that, then we're away.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Cutting a cow open in a muddy barn is a far cry from
0:12:15 > 0:12:17the state-of-the-art operating theatres
0:12:17 > 0:12:19at the Queen Mother Hospital.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23So she's got to go through the skin, which she has done already,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26good. There's quite a lot of fat there. That's it,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29that's perfect. Just keep going gently. Try and identify
0:12:29 > 0:12:33the peritoneum, which is the lining to the abdominal cavity.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37Amazingly, the cow is completely awake throughout the operation.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40At no point was I worried that the cow could feel anything.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42I know it's ridiculous - at one end, they're chewing
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and at the other end, you are slicing into their stomach,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47but, no, it's not a problem at all.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Are you through it or not quite?
0:12:49 > 0:12:53I think that's it. Just nick a tiny hole in that, just gently.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Right, shove your arm in, right around so... Left arm!
0:12:56 > 0:12:58And head around the back of the rumen,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02head off in that direction, go round the back, see if you can feel it.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05Yeah it's there.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08Is it really big and bloated or not?
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Yeah, no, it is actually. Yeah, it's really big and bloated.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12Right, we're going to deflate that.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16It feels like one of those balloons, you know, like, the really good ones
0:13:16 > 0:13:19you get at your birthday that often have things inside it.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24They're like really firm, like thick rubber. It feels like that.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27We've got to drag it right down and up, across the abdomen,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30and stitch it in place here.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33It's still there. Sorry, cow.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36This is the kind of thing that Rupert makes look really easy.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39- This, I've been told, is not easy. - It took me a while to...
0:13:39 > 0:13:41There we go, that's what we want.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44That, that is the pylorus, the exit muscle to the stomach.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Right, stitch in there, go on! Whack it through.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Right the way through? Yep. Through like...that.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52You want to just tie that bit of stomach to the wall
0:13:52 > 0:13:55of the abdomen, just so that stomach is firmly in place
0:13:55 > 0:13:58and it's not going to start drifting off and filling with air,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00so this basically can't happen again in that cow.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03That's it, perfect. Once more and then we know we've got it.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I've never done this before, but he sort of handed me the stitch
0:14:06 > 0:14:10and I got to suture it to the stomach wall, so that was good, too.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13There's nothing genteel about this surgery, is there?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15No. Well, no, it's pretty...pretty basic stuff.
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Well they probably do the same with you when you're in hospital,
0:14:20 > 0:14:24- you just wouldn't know about it! - You just wouldn't know about it.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26That's it!
0:14:26 > 0:14:28You know, I'd be very surprised if she wasn't fine.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30I'd be very disappointed if she wasn't fine, actually.
0:14:30 > 0:14:31Good enough, go on.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38Lovely!
0:14:40 > 0:14:41That's it! Well done, good job.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43I mean, there's a moment there when you're like,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47"Hmm, that looks like steak," and then you're like "Meh, sew it up."
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Eurgh, you!
0:14:53 > 0:14:57After a thrilling day performing life saving surgery,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00Elly gets to share the excitement with one of her biggest fans.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03She's staying nearby with her grandmother, Jean.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- You all right, Grandma? - I want to get the water.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- Right, Grandma.- That's why. - Oh you're amazing.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11How much would you like?
0:15:11 > 0:15:14- Not too much.- Not too much? Oh, Grandma!
0:15:14 > 0:15:16You're a growing girl(!)
0:15:16 > 0:15:17That's the trouble!
0:15:18 > 0:15:22Very proud of her, always have been.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25She's a joy, absolute joy.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29You always said, when you were down here last time, you really
0:15:29 > 0:15:32were more interested in being a vet with large animals.
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Yeah. If I could find one that did dogs and cats,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39and then a cow in the afternoon, that would be wonderful.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42But I think I'm probably wishing for too much here.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46I'm sure she'll be an absolutely wonderful vet.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48And she's very down to earth,
0:15:48 > 0:15:51and good with people from all walks of life -
0:15:51 > 0:15:53she even puts up with me, so...
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Thank you for having me!
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Aww! It's my pleasure.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16While Elly's brushing up her skills on the farm,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19mature student Judy Puddifoot is hoping to get lots of hands-on
0:16:19 > 0:16:21experience with small animals...
0:16:21 > 0:16:22Morning!
0:16:22 > 0:16:24..at a large general practice in Watford.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Hello, Lola. Hello!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I affectionately call it the bucket list,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32but every vet student across the country will be very familiar
0:16:32 > 0:16:36with what is officially called the day-one skills.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40This is a huge, never-ending list
0:16:40 > 0:16:44of practical skills, knowledge, etc.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48that every vet student should know on day one.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Judy may be desperate to learn, but she's still only a student,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55so there's a limit to what the vets can let her do.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00And today she isn't exactly being stretched.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02Whew, it went in the pot!
0:17:03 > 0:17:06Perhaps she'll have better luck with her next patient,
0:17:06 > 0:17:09a Jack Russell called Suki.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13She's my granddaughter's dog. She's living with us for three years
0:17:13 > 0:17:15while she's at university.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18I take her for a walk with my dog de Bordeaux every morning.
0:17:18 > 0:17:23And today we came across a Staffordshire terrier,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26which, unfortunately, bit her on the leg.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29My granddaughter doesn't actually know we're here
0:17:29 > 0:17:31cos I'd rather she didn't know.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33We'll break the news to her when she comes back.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35- Hello, Suki, please?- Yes!
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Judy's being closely supervised by one of the practice partners,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Raquel Amils.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Come on, this way. When did this happen?
0:17:43 > 0:17:45This morning, about an hour and a half ago, I suppose.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46Hour and a half ago, OK.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Is she up to date with vaccinations, worming and all that?
0:17:49 > 0:17:53- I don't know, I very much doubt it, though.- OK.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57My granddaughter's a student and times are hard...
0:17:57 > 0:18:00You know, a wound can look very superficial and not really
0:18:00 > 0:18:04a lot to worry about on the surface, but if the joint's involved,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08you do not want an infection in a joint, that's very bad.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10You can see, much better now.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14The big swelling that is in that area is quite amazing.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18Ten percent of all wounds treated by vets are dog bites.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20And let's face it,
0:18:20 > 0:18:24dogs are notoriously unfussy about where they stick their mouths.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Without prompt action to treat her leg,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Suki's wound could become dangerously infected.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33You can see, there is a lot of reddish in the area.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38The wound looks small, but I've put a probe inside it,
0:18:38 > 0:18:43and inside, underneath the skin, it extends almost to 1cm, 1cm and 2mm.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45It's quite a big extension, I would say.
0:18:45 > 0:18:47I would not close completely the wound, cos it's a bad wound.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51So what we will do is we will put a drain in the wound.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54Luckily for Suki, she's been seen before infection has had
0:18:54 > 0:18:58a chance to set in. But Grandad Peter is about to discover
0:18:58 > 0:19:00that treating dog bites doesn't come cheap.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05The estimate is more or less about... £800.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- Sure, OK.- Is that OK? - Yeah, that's fine.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09It comes as a shock -
0:19:09 > 0:19:13and I hear it all the time - that vets bills cost so much money.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18And they do, but they only sound like a lot of money because
0:19:18 > 0:19:19when you go to hospital,
0:19:19 > 0:19:22you don't get slapped with a bill at the end of it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25People in this country are very lucky that we have the NHS.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29There isn't an NHS for animals, so it has to be paid for by the owners.
0:19:29 > 0:19:34I wish she'd had insurance. It's very expensive,
0:19:34 > 0:19:35but probably worth it.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37They talk about Bank of Mum and Dad,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41but this is Bank of Grandad and Grandma, or Nanny.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43That's what families are for, aren't they?
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Bless you. So much money!
0:19:46 > 0:19:49It's all right, I'm going to cry when I get in the car!
0:19:50 > 0:19:53Meanwhile, Judy scrubs in for surgery
0:19:53 > 0:19:55to put the drain in Suki's wound.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58I'm hounding them to get us to let me do stuff,
0:19:58 > 0:20:01because I've only got two more weeks of going out to see practice left.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04After that, I'll lose all my opportunities to learn
0:20:04 > 0:20:06any more practical skills.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08So anything I've not done, I'm trying to get done now.
0:20:08 > 0:20:13And, yeah, putting drains in is on my bucket list, so I need to do that!
0:20:13 > 0:20:17So that end's going to go under the skin, and then put one suture
0:20:17 > 0:20:21- right through it.- Yeah. So you go up here.- Right.- OK, your turn.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23Here goes...
0:20:23 > 0:20:28A drain will enable any infected pus to escape while the wound heals.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32But as Judy's discovering, it's a really fiddly business.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35That's where 20-20 vision is coming in. Look at that, jeez!
0:20:35 > 0:20:36You've got to have good eyesight.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38I did put the drain in Suki's leg,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41that's the first drain I've ever put in, actually.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43- So go via the wound and out? - Yeah. yeah.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45- Oh, you're kidding me.- Up there,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48and aim to come out sort of about four or five millimetres above this.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50- Through there, come out there. - Exactly.- Got ya.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Four weeks from the end of rotations, and I'm still getting
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- to do new things! - Well done, drain placer!
0:20:56 > 0:20:58First of many?
0:20:58 > 0:21:00First of many, yeah.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03Another thing ticked off the bucket list.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08Ooooh, good girl. Suki, Suki! Good girl.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11With the drain successfully, and expertly, sewn in,
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Suki is almost as good as new.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Fantastically put in drain, I think.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22And she's sent home to recover with a slightly poorer Grandad.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32When you get a case what, what do you hate
0:21:32 > 0:21:33being on the top of that folder?
0:21:33 > 0:21:35Disease of unknown origin.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38You can't read anything about that.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42A disease that another qualified, experienced vet cannot solve,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45- you have to. - So they send them to you.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46With all my experience, yeah.
0:21:46 > 0:21:48And as a student, you have to look at them.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57In the Queen Mother Hospital's Intensive Care Unit, Dru's
0:21:57 > 0:22:00patient Alba is still fighting for her life.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03The vets think she may have a deadly condition
0:22:03 > 0:22:07known as New Forest Syndrome, which causes catastrophic kidney failure.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13These are some sort of up-to-date blood results, just like basic
0:22:13 > 0:22:17parameters, and some of her kidney values seem to be increasing,
0:22:17 > 0:22:22which would suggest that her kidneys are not working as they should.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Overnight, Alba's owners have made the difficult decision to try
0:22:26 > 0:22:31a radical treatment - a special kind of dialysis called plasmapheresis.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Her blood will be passed through a machine to try
0:22:34 > 0:22:38and remove some of the pathogens which are making her so ill.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40It's her only hope of survival.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43We're going to take her down, get her under an anaesthetic,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and then place a catheter in her jugular vein,
0:22:46 > 0:22:50and then she'll start the whole process of filtering out
0:22:50 > 0:22:51her plasma.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53With Alba in a critical state,
0:22:53 > 0:22:58the team get to work without delay, to fit her jugular catheter.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02This needs to be done in conditions which are as sterile as possible.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05So we're out in the corridor instead of being in the room this time,
0:23:05 > 0:23:08just because she's...she needs to be barrier-nursed.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12So we're obviously worried about either contaminating her or
0:23:12 > 0:23:15her contaminating us, and us passing on to other patients.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22But this part of the procedure is very risky.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25The worst thing that could happen now is that she starts bleeding
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and we can't stop her from bleeding. And that's fairly... You know,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31that's a big place to be bleeding from, your jugular.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34It may make her worse as well, that's the problem. It may
0:23:34 > 0:23:38make her worse, it may do nothing, it may make her better. So we're
0:23:38 > 0:23:41hedging our bets on the fact that we're making her better, because
0:23:41 > 0:23:44there's no real other options at the moment. So we have to do something.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49While Alba's sedated, the team take vital tissue samples
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and photograph Alba's symptoms.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56And clinician Dan quickly collects blood for analysis.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59We're just getting the, uh, blood samples, to test for various
0:23:59 > 0:24:04things that might give us a clue of what might be going on.
0:24:04 > 0:24:10So if we identify what's triggering this disease, then, you know,
0:24:10 > 0:24:12the answers might be in these tubes.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18The team waste no time hooking Alba up to the dialysis machine.
0:24:18 > 0:24:20We're taking blood in, circulating,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24and it's already starting to return back to the patient.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28It will take eight hours to filter Alba's entire blood supply.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31Now, I showed you that the blood is being circulated here
0:24:31 > 0:24:34and filtered there, but one of the things that's happening is....
0:24:34 > 0:24:36This is the waste bag.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39So this is what's been washed out of Alba's blood.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41So you're just noticing the different colour,
0:24:41 > 0:24:46and that's because her red blood cells are being returned to
0:24:46 > 0:24:47Alba, but this is the leftover.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50So we're hoping that in this bag,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52are the things we're trying to get rid of.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57Prognosis is still pretty guarded to poor, given the fact that this
0:24:57 > 0:25:03disease has caused a very young dog to have kidney failure.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Although Dru's shift is ending,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Alba's treatment will continue into the night.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11But the team's efforts could all be in vain.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Even with the treatment, Alba's chances of surviving this dreadful
0:25:15 > 0:25:17disease are very slim.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26I heard of a story, it wasn't actually me that saw it,
0:25:26 > 0:25:28but it was a vet I was with on EMS,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32and he said he had a dog come in once that had eaten
0:25:32 > 0:25:33seven golf balls.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35And when it walked into the room...
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- Was it jangling? - ..you could hear them
0:25:37 > 0:25:39- clunking around in its stomach! - No! Brilliant!
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Which was amazing. Just amazing.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Today, student Dani Willey is starting a placement
0:25:57 > 0:26:00at a charity practice in South East London.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Do you want me to get the door for you?
0:26:03 > 0:26:07After almost a year of honing her vet skills, she's raring to qualify.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09I think you could just be a student forever
0:26:09 > 0:26:13because there's always things to learn,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17but it's not what we want, we want to get actually out there,
0:26:17 > 0:26:20and actually be vets, because that's what we've wanted to do for so long.
0:26:20 > 0:26:23For Dani, the next two weeks are her last chance to work with
0:26:23 > 0:26:28small animals, and the next time she enters a general practice
0:26:28 > 0:26:30like this one, she will BE the vet.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Would you like to come through?
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Sometimes I do feel like a vet, other times I'm like,
0:26:35 > 0:26:36nah, definitely not.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I think sometimes I still think I'm at school.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Grey's going to draw you a picture to say thank you very much,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44and we're going to bring it in.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46That's a very good picture.
0:26:48 > 0:26:49Sorry!
0:26:49 > 0:26:51It's lovely.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Fortunately, this particular practice in New Cross is
0:26:54 > 0:26:58one of the PDSA's busiest, so Dani will have ample opportunity
0:26:58 > 0:27:02to show her supervising vet, Vincent Tsui, whether she's up to the mark.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08Sorry.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Check, he's also got a great trick, he can lick his eyeball.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14And it's not long before Vincent's piling on the pressure.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16What sort of pain relief would you go for?
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Metacam?
0:27:19 > 0:27:20So Metacam is sort of like
0:27:20 > 0:27:22the equivalent of taking a couple of Panadols.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Do you reckon after having
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- your butt ripped in two... - Probably not.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Yeah, I reckon you'd go for maybe something a bit stronger...
0:27:31 > 0:27:36These are skills that she really needs to be on top of from day
0:27:36 > 0:27:39one. There will be an expectation from anywhere she works at,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43she will at least know how to do these things.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45But the key really for her is to get as much
0:27:45 > 0:27:47experience of that as possible.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51But if Dani's hoping to brush up her skills on routine cases,
0:27:51 > 0:27:53today is not going to be the day.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58Bentley, the Shar-Pei, is recovering from cosmetic surgery -
0:27:58 > 0:28:00South East London style.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04Erm, we're here so that he can come and get a check up on his face,
0:28:04 > 0:28:07cos he had to have a face-lift last week.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08Obviously in Shar-Peis,
0:28:08 > 0:28:11when they're puppies, they're meant to have their eyes tacked,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and the people that had him before, they didn't do it when he was young.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18So I brought him down here, cos he had puss coming out of his eyes,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and bumping into things. And they said he had to have an operation,
0:28:21 > 0:28:23cos he couldn't see out of his eyes properly.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25So the main thing today, we don't have to do a great deal,
0:28:25 > 0:28:30but we just want to clean up the wound areas, so we're probably
0:28:30 > 0:28:33going to be taking these rubber drains out. And I can see there's
0:28:33 > 0:28:36just a little section here which we might need to sort of re-stitch.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38I thought so, yeah.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40It actually looks like it's healing really, really well,
0:28:40 > 0:28:42and we can actually see Bentley's eyes.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Has Bentley changed at all behaviourally since this happened,
0:28:46 > 0:28:49apart from having a big cone of shame on his front?
0:28:49 > 0:28:51He's just been getting all the attention.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55You be good. Good boy!
0:28:55 > 0:28:57This way, good boy.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02I've never seen a facelift on a dog before, so it's quite interesting.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05A doggy facelift might seem a bit fanciful,
0:29:05 > 0:29:08but for Bentley, this was a much needed operation.
0:29:08 > 0:29:12I wish we had a before photo, but this was...
0:29:12 > 0:29:15You can sort of see where Bentley's muzzle is.
0:29:15 > 0:29:19The forehead area was pretty much, you know, double that size,
0:29:19 > 0:29:24and it was just like a giant beanbag sitting on top of his head, really.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30I guess the thing that attracts people to this breed is
0:29:30 > 0:29:32when they're puppies, they're very, very cute,
0:29:32 > 0:29:38but this surgery alone probably cost the PDSA somewhat north of £750.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42And a lot of the time they need multiple procedures like that
0:29:42 > 0:29:46to just ensure they can see properly and be comfortable.
0:29:46 > 0:29:51Drains removed and all spruced up, Bentley is ready to go home.
0:29:51 > 0:29:52Hello!
0:29:52 > 0:29:53But before he leaves,
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Dani must conquer her most challenging procedure yet.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58For some reason, they're so difficult
0:29:58 > 0:30:00to get your head around how to put them together.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03...fitting Bentley with a new Buster collar.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05Got quite a big, thick head, hasn't he?
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It's one of those things that you think, it must be easy to put
0:30:10 > 0:30:13together, but anyone that's had to put one together
0:30:13 > 0:30:18for their animal probably realises that it isn't actually that simple.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21- Right, is that going to go over two times?- We'll see.
0:30:21 > 0:30:22Oh, good boy.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24That will stay on, right? Like won't it?
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Yeah, it should be OK. Or you could tie it on to the actual collar.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30Er, yeah, yeah. That'd be better.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31So that's secure enough?
0:30:31 > 0:30:34But Dani's victory is short-lived.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35It's too loose.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40We'll have to be going back in there. Can't be having that,
0:30:40 > 0:30:41that's way loose.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43Oh, dear...
0:30:47 > 0:30:50Up! Oh, that was rubbish!
0:30:55 > 0:30:58Good girl! Good girl.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Jo Hardy may be coming to the end of her clinical placements,
0:31:06 > 0:31:10but the pressure isn't likely to ease up any time soon.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15My first of the long, long course of exams, is in three weeks' time,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18so alongside trying to keep up with all my many cases in the
0:31:18 > 0:31:24hospital and revising neurology, I'm also trying to revise for my exams.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28So it's a busy and quite stressful time for me at the moment.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32This week, she's in the neurology department
0:31:32 > 0:31:33of the Queen Mother Hospital,
0:31:33 > 0:31:37where patients are referred with serious brain and spinal problems.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40Her supervisor is resident Joe Fenn.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43- I would speak to his owners now. - OK, sure.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45- Forms are in for MRI.- Great.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Obviously, it's a really difficult rotation because it's
0:31:48 > 0:31:52so complicated, all the parts that you're trying to learn,
0:31:52 > 0:31:54all the brain and the spinal cord and things.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57But the biggest challenge is a physical one, cos loads
0:31:57 > 0:32:00of animals are off of their legs, so you have to carry them round,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04or at least, um, put a sling under them and sling their back legs.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07And from a physical point of view,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Jo's first patient is about as challenging as they get.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13He's a 3-year-old Great Dane called Luca,
0:32:13 > 0:32:18and he weighs in at 80 kilos, which is a whopping 12 and a half stone.
0:32:18 > 0:32:22Luca was a massive dog. He was so huge.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Not much of a dog, more of a horse, a mini horse.
0:32:25 > 0:32:30Look at his face! Isn't he gorgeous?
0:32:31 > 0:32:34Luca's been referred here with a problem that can affect large
0:32:34 > 0:32:38breed dogs - his back legs have suddenly become too weak to
0:32:38 > 0:32:41hold his considerable weight.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43He came in as an emergency last night.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47Since Saturday, he's been very wobbly on his back legs.
0:32:47 > 0:32:51We've got a few working diagnoses.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53It could be a problem with one of the discs in the spine.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57It could be some sort of vascular problem.
0:32:57 > 0:33:00Or worst case scenario, it could be a neoplasia,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03so a cancer, pressing against his spine.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Luca needs to have scans to locate the cause of his paralysis.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10But getting him there requires the combined strength
0:33:10 > 0:33:14of the entire neurology nursing staff.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18He just couldn't support himself. We had to have four people
0:33:18 > 0:33:21carrying him, and then he was leaking from behind as well.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24Unfortunately, poor Luca's spinal problem
0:33:24 > 0:33:26has also made him incontinent.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28He appears to be urinating. Do you want to follow us with a mop?
0:33:28 > 0:33:32So we had another clinician behind us just mopping up the whole way.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35Well, his friend here's forgotten how to work now.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39After a mammoth effort from a huge team,
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Luca's finally sedated for his scans.
0:33:42 > 0:33:47Luca was in a whole other realm, he was in his own little category.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52Obviously, he needs massive doses of all his drugs that he was on.
0:33:52 > 0:33:57The scanner produces an image which is basically really
0:33:57 > 0:34:00good for seeing soft tissue, so we can see the spinal cord
0:34:00 > 0:34:04really well. He's going to have all of his spine looked at.
0:34:04 > 0:34:09Next stop is the CT scanner - but it's a tight fit.
0:34:09 > 0:34:14He was just physically too big. They don't make scanners for things
0:34:14 > 0:34:17the size of a small horse. So we had quite a bit of difficulty
0:34:17 > 0:34:21just repositioning him so we could just squish him through.
0:34:22 > 0:34:27From the results, clinician Joe can see exactly what the problem is.
0:34:27 > 0:34:29Thankfully, it's not cancer.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33But part of Luca's spine is pressing on his spinal cord.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37His spine, lower spine, and his pelvis,
0:34:37 > 0:34:39there are nerve roots at that level
0:34:39 > 0:34:43being squashed by chronic compression over a while,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47which then got suddenly worse due to a slipped disk
0:34:47 > 0:34:48at that level as well.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Quite an uncomfortable condition to have,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54similar to sciatica sort of pain in people.
0:34:54 > 0:34:57If Luca is ever to walk again,
0:34:57 > 0:35:00he needs a major operation on his spine.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04To treat this, we remove the bone overlying that area,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07which is causing this compression.
0:35:07 > 0:35:09We don't want him to move during surgery.
0:35:09 > 0:35:11The last thing we'd want is for him to wobble.
0:35:11 > 0:35:15And since he's so big and the table is a little bit too small for him,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18we're taping him down so that he doesn't move at all.
0:35:18 > 0:35:22You just don't want to hit the wrong part in a spinal operation.
0:35:22 > 0:35:24- Let's go.- Sure!
0:35:24 > 0:35:28It's the first time Jo has ever assisted on spinal surgery,
0:35:28 > 0:35:32and this is a massively complex operation.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Luca had a dorsal laminectomy, they do quite a lot at the QMH.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38It's a really specialist surgery,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42you have to be a neurologist to be able to do it, and it's hard.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44So, first incision.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49It was absolutely incredible how deep we had to go to be able
0:35:49 > 0:35:51to get to his spinal cord.
0:35:51 > 0:35:55It doesn't run straight over his back like you expect it to.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59There was this point in the surgery where I just paused for a moment,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03looked at him and thought, "It looks like we've cut this dog in two!"
0:36:06 > 0:36:10To actually see the spinal cord is crazy!
0:36:10 > 0:36:12I doubt I'll ever be able to do that again.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Two of the vertebrae have telescoped into each other like that,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21and so that was causing a compression of the spinal cord.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25So the top has been taken off so there's no compression there.
0:36:27 > 0:36:29OK, done.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32After four and a half hours in surgery,
0:36:32 > 0:36:36neurologist Joe is quietly pleased with how it went.
0:36:36 > 0:36:40Everything looks to be, yeah, in order. So, happy.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52The following morning is Jo's last in neurology, and she's
0:36:52 > 0:36:56popped in to see Luca, who's feeling a bit sorry for himself.
0:36:58 > 0:37:01You're being silly, come on. It's OK.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04HE WHINES
0:37:04 > 0:37:05Good boy.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08I'm revising while I'm keeping him company.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12Umm, I thought he might appreciate some attention.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16There's no time for either of them to relax.
0:37:16 > 0:37:2012-and-a-half stone Luca needs to get his back legs moving.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24The only way to do that is with some heavy lifting gear.
0:37:24 > 0:37:25Good boy.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27Come on, you can army crawl just to there.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31Good boy!
0:37:32 > 0:37:37Luca made such an incredible recovery and so very, very quickly.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Even the next day, he was able to move his back legs.
0:37:39 > 0:37:42We were just so relieved by this.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45It just meant he was going to make a really great recovery,
0:37:45 > 0:37:47and we had all our hope in that.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52Aww, and he's down. Ey, good boy!
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Luca's well on the road to recovery, but it's clear that he
0:37:56 > 0:37:59thinks he's had quite enough exercise for one day.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03It is really impressive that he's actually trying to get up
0:38:03 > 0:38:06and move his legs after such major surgery.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11Cases come and go and not all of them are happy stories.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13I'll always be emotionally invested in them,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16but I never want to get really, really close and attached,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19but Luca was just one of those that you couldn't help.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23He was so cuddly and he was such a big character.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26I just, yeah, I got really attached to him. He was a lovely dog.
0:38:26 > 0:38:29I really enjoyed having him in my care.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32HE HOWLS
0:38:48 > 0:38:52At the high street vet practice in Watford, Judy's keen to get
0:38:52 > 0:38:54stuck in to her next challenge.
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Another day.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Another day saving lives!
0:38:58 > 0:39:02But today she's doing something vets don't normally do.
0:39:02 > 0:39:07This word kept being banded around by the nurses followed by a giggle.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10And I couldn't understand what they were all going on about.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13What's this? "Oh, yeah, you're going to assist Raquel, you're going to be
0:39:13 > 0:39:15"the hooker."
0:39:15 > 0:39:17Sorry? I'm going to be the what?
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Elsa! Oh, hello.
0:39:20 > 0:39:21Her patient, Elsa,
0:39:21 > 0:39:25is about to be neutered using state-of-the-art technology.
0:39:25 > 0:39:28Oh, well done, Elsa. Didn't know we did lionesses.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30So, this afternoon what we're going to do is what's called
0:39:30 > 0:39:32a laparoscopic spay,
0:39:32 > 0:39:36which basically is we're going to spay a dog via keyhole surgery.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38Right. Good girl, Elsa.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40I've never done one, I've never even seen one hands on,
0:39:40 > 0:39:42I've only ever seen it on TV,
0:39:42 > 0:39:46and to actually scrub in and be involved, was very exciting.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53But equally, nervous because... What am I going to have to do?
0:39:53 > 0:39:57And what do I have to do not to balls this up?
0:39:57 > 0:40:00Under a little bit of pressure not to drop the ovary.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02Um, it'll be fine.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Looking forward to it. I'm very excited, but again, internalised.
0:40:08 > 0:40:12And it's time for Judy to find out what being a hooker really means.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17This is a hook, you'll be in charge of this bit.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19Oh, right, that's mine, OK.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22So, I was scrubbed in as chief hooker.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24You don't go and stand on a street corner,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26you actually get involved in a surgery.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32Surgeon Raquel uses a tiny camera to locate the first ovary.
0:40:32 > 0:40:35Here. Big. You can see the ovary?
0:40:35 > 0:40:37Now is the part of the hook.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39Oh, God, that's me.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40- This is a hook.- OK.
0:40:40 > 0:40:45The tip of the hook has to go parallel to the tip of my forceps,
0:40:45 > 0:40:48and you'll have to make the rest of the hook through the skin.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51I'm going straight in through the skin with the hook?
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Straight through the skin, and then you'll have to...
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Oh, Lord. Right, I see. OK.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59Chief hooker, this is the most important part of the surgery, OK?
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Don't underestimate how important my bit was.
0:41:01 > 0:41:07Get the hook, pop that through, grab the ovary and hold that in position.
0:41:07 > 0:41:11- There, you see?- Wow.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14And then the surgeon can grab that, cauterise it,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17and pull it out of one of the holes.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19- There it is!- Perfect.- Wow.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23What we do is we check that all the ovary is there.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25It could be quite a struggle, but it's kind of like...
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Out it comes.
0:41:27 > 0:41:28It's fantastic!
0:41:29 > 0:41:31Whoop, there we go.
0:41:31 > 0:41:33- Perfect.- Beautiful.- Done!
0:41:33 > 0:41:38That's my memory of laparoscopic. Hooking...the ovary. That's it.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41There we go, there we go. Back in the room.
0:41:41 > 0:41:43Elsa's keen to get moving,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47and Judy's first keyhole surgery has been a big success.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51For first time for her to do a laparoscopic surgery,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53I know that she was only doing the hook,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57but that was a key point for any type of surgery like this.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00She did well, I must say. No, I lie.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01She did great!
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Lovely jubbly. Thanks, Andrew!
0:42:04 > 0:42:07I've not seen on my bucket list that it says being a hooker
0:42:07 > 0:42:09is a day-one skill. Um...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11I'll have to look into that.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14Not sure it is, but if it is... tick!
0:42:30 > 0:42:32At the Queen Mother Hospital,
0:42:32 > 0:42:35Dru has come in to visit his patient, Alba.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38She was admitted five days ago to Intensive Care with
0:42:38 > 0:42:42a suspected case of New Forest Syndrome - a mysterious new
0:42:42 > 0:42:45illness which has been killing dogs all over the country.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48I thought I'd pop back and see how Alba's doing.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Hopefully, she's better than she was when I last left her.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54She was really flat and she just looked still really, really ill.
0:42:54 > 0:42:55She was just getting her treatment.
0:42:55 > 0:42:59Alba's entire blood supply was filtered through a dialysis
0:42:59 > 0:43:00machine for eight hours.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04And since then, the team have been waiting to see if she can defy
0:43:04 > 0:43:08the odds and become the first dog to survive the disease.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Hello! Aww, hello, you.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17You look better, don't you? She looks amazing.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20She's like a diff...like a completely different dog!
0:43:21 > 0:43:26Although she's still bruised, she's a lot less sore and it's gone down.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28It's gone down a heck of a lot.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31She's actually playing with her toys.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33She just looks...she looks her normal...
0:43:33 > 0:43:36The prognosis really wasn't very good at all.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Most of them have, unfortunately, not survived.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41If she was my dog, I'd be over the moon.
0:43:41 > 0:43:42She's still got a little way to go,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45but she just looks so much better. She's such a lovely dog,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49it would've been quite depressing if that's the way it'd finished.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Just two days later, the news is even better.
0:43:55 > 0:43:57Alba is making a truly amazing recovery.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Specialist Dan Chan is thrilled.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05She looks fantastic, and she's made a dramatic recovery.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10I think that, you know, we have a lot of unanswered questions -
0:44:10 > 0:44:12whether it's truly the same disease.
0:44:12 > 0:44:15But if it is, then it's a small breakthrough.
0:44:16 > 0:44:21The team really felt good about doing something that everyone
0:44:21 > 0:44:25thought was a really slim hope of getting her to recover,
0:44:25 > 0:44:28so it is a huge boost. So I think it's really gratifying
0:44:28 > 0:44:31to see a patient that walks out of here.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Alba's become a celebrity in the ICU.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Oh, what's this?
0:44:37 > 0:44:41But now it's time for her to be reunited with her family.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Today, Alba's going home. She just looks like a different dog
0:44:44 > 0:44:46to when she came in, you wouldn't even recognise her.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48She's just like a normal labrador.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Hopefully, she's going to carry on being sort of just a healthy,
0:44:51 > 0:44:53happy, young dog.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Hi there, nice to meet you!
0:45:07 > 0:45:11She was going to die with no intervention, no doubt about it.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13And then to be able to see it through completely to the end
0:45:13 > 0:45:16and see the resolution - she's completely healthy, she's been cured.
0:45:16 > 0:45:18My last case in the QMH,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21it's really nice to finish on something like that.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24You don't get that very often, where no-one really knows how to
0:45:24 > 0:45:27deal with the case and they're not really sure about the disease
0:45:27 > 0:45:31and how to treat it, and it's the first one that's gone home healthy.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33So, um, that's really cool.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48At the charity practice in South East London,
0:45:48 > 0:45:51Dani's hoping to impress vet Vincent on her last-ever
0:45:51 > 0:45:53placement with small animals.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56Thankfully, her next case - Prof, the kitten -
0:45:56 > 0:45:58doesn't need a facelift.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01But she does have a problem at the other end.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Has she actually passed any faeces at all?
0:46:04 > 0:46:08No, she was trying gainfully, but she couldn't.
0:46:08 > 0:46:12She's been able to eat, but I haven't fed her this morning
0:46:12 > 0:46:14because I thought if she's constipated, I don't want to give
0:46:14 > 0:46:16- her any more to make her worse. - Yeah, quite right.
0:46:16 > 0:46:19Let's pop her out and have a little feel of her back end.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24Come on, girl. Come on, sweetheart.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27Yeah, she's definitely constipated again.
0:46:27 > 0:46:31I think what we all might need to do today is actually bring her through
0:46:31 > 0:46:35again, and she'll most likely need an anaesthetic.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38Prof has recently been spayed, and a common complication
0:46:38 > 0:46:42of the operation is scar tissue building up around the bowel.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46Vincent thinks this might be the cause of her problem.
0:46:46 > 0:46:49There's obviously something at her back end that's stopping
0:46:49 > 0:46:53her from going to the toilet. Like she was fine before everything,
0:46:53 > 0:46:57and there's something that's either too narrow for the poo to come
0:46:57 > 0:47:00through or something actually blocking that to come through.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04- Hopefully we should find an answer. - Thank you, I'd appreciate that.
0:47:06 > 0:47:10When Prof came in, she did look pretty sick and unhappy,
0:47:10 > 0:47:14so it was definitely something that needed to be investigated.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17It sounds to me like there is some sort of physical problem stopping
0:47:17 > 0:47:19her from going to the toilet.
0:47:19 > 0:47:24That's not a normal sort of noise for a young, healthy kitten to
0:47:24 > 0:47:27be making. She's obviously very uncomfortable,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31which is why I think we need to do something about that straightaway.
0:47:31 > 0:47:35The first step is to X-ray Prof to see where the blockage is -
0:47:35 > 0:47:37and it's very obvious.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41You shouldn't really be able to see this much faeces.
0:47:41 > 0:47:43That is just a constipated cat.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46What's quite interesting about it is it's not just constipation,
0:47:46 > 0:47:50it goes into this gigantic sort of nugget here,
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and then there's a really narrow section after that,
0:47:53 > 0:47:57which means that there's an area where poo just can't get through.
0:47:57 > 0:48:01Without intervention, little Prof could become very ill indeed,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05so Vincent and Dani opt for surgery.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09So we're going to do an exploratory laparotomy, just to go into the
0:48:09 > 0:48:12abdomen and kind of get a visual, like proper look at what's going on.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16X-rays are useful, but there's only so much they can show you.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19Is this something you've done before?
0:48:19 > 0:48:23Err... Yeah, I've seen some ex-laps before,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27but I've not seen any that've been for constipated cats!
0:48:27 > 0:48:31- So we're going to be having to go into this particular area.- OK.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34And you can actually feel, that's where the lump of poo is.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38Within minutes, Vincent has located the exact problem -
0:48:38 > 0:48:43and it's just as he suspected, scar tissue constricting Prof's colon.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47I think maybe what's happened is, it's not the colon that's
0:48:47 > 0:48:52stuck to the side, but there's a bit of mesentery or fat that's
0:48:52 > 0:48:56been stitched to the side, and it's actually coming across the colon
0:48:56 > 0:49:00and almost strangling it in the process.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03One snip, and it's sorted!
0:49:03 > 0:49:06So far, Dani's managed to avoid getting her hands
0:49:06 > 0:49:08dirty on this case.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10But her luck's about to change.
0:49:10 > 0:49:15What I might need you to do is pop on some gloves
0:49:15 > 0:49:19and occasionally rectal the cat.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23The final year of vet school is full of new experiences,
0:49:23 > 0:49:28but rectalling a cat whilst it was having abdominal surgery
0:49:28 > 0:49:31and feeling the surgeon's finger touch my finger...
0:49:31 > 0:49:33Oh, there it is, hello!
0:49:33 > 0:49:34Oh, yeah, hi.
0:49:34 > 0:49:38It was quite surreal, um...
0:49:38 > 0:49:40This is really weird.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44Once the blockage has been successfully removed,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47Prof is moved to recovery, where Vincent and Dani are hoping
0:49:47 > 0:49:49for a very important delivery.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53I'm hoping that we see this little nugget of joy coming out
0:49:53 > 0:49:54over the next 24 hours, really.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56I don't know how else to put that.
0:49:56 > 0:49:58But I would literally be jumping for joy when Prof
0:49:58 > 0:50:00actually finally goes to the toilet.
0:50:02 > 0:50:06- It just did then?- Yes. - Oh, fantastic.
0:50:06 > 0:50:07Nuggets of joy!
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Shall we go and look at it?
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Nugget of joy, yeah.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15I mean, that's kind of the proof that the operation was a success.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20Vincent and Dani are delighted with the results.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22I'm so happy!
0:50:22 > 0:50:26But their pleasure's nothing compared to little Prof's.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30Hopefully this is the first of many great things to come from you.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32My job is so weird!
0:50:55 > 0:50:59In rural Devon, Elly is honing her farm vet skills.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03The weather may be terrible, but animals still need to be treated.
0:51:03 > 0:51:06Basically, there's just another storm coming in.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08More rain, more wind...
0:51:08 > 0:51:10The weather doesn't necessarily put me off doing farm work.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13Half the year, you're going out in all right weather.
0:51:13 > 0:51:16But it's the stuff you're doing, I wouldn't want to stay
0:51:16 > 0:51:19cooped up inside all day, I chose to be a vet so I'd have this
0:51:19 > 0:51:21variety of lifestyle, and that's what I'm after.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24And the weather just happens to be part of that.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26It's never bothered me too much.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28As soon as she gets to work,
0:51:28 > 0:51:33it's straight out on an emergency with senior vet Rupert Kirkwood.
0:51:33 > 0:51:37OK, so now we've had a call to a ewe having a difficult lambing.
0:51:37 > 0:51:40The farmer thinks she's got twins in there all muddled up,
0:51:40 > 0:51:42so it's quite an emergency job.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46The sooner we get there, the more likely we are to get live lambs out.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54Lambing season is a really busy time for farmers,
0:51:54 > 0:51:58who have to cope with most births without assistance.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01The vet's only called in when there are serious complications.
0:52:05 > 0:52:06Are you going to get up?
0:52:09 > 0:52:12- Look, I'll whack my hand in there... - Sure, sure, sure.
0:52:12 > 0:52:15The ewe has been in labour for several hours,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18but her twins are stuck fast.
0:52:18 > 0:52:19We have a foot.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22We have another foot.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Front feets, back feets?
0:52:24 > 0:52:27Without Rupert and Elly's intervention,
0:52:27 > 0:52:29she and her lambs will die.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31We have a head, twisted round.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36- It's a bit muddled up, isn't it? - Yeah.
0:52:38 > 0:52:39And it's quite tight as well, isn't it?
0:52:39 > 0:52:43Ideally, Rupert would untangle the twin lambs inside the sheep
0:52:43 > 0:52:46and deliver them normally, through the birth canal.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49With lambs, their head's up and can get caught back - so you're
0:52:49 > 0:52:52pulling on the legs but the head's caught back in the pelvis.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55- So if you have...- The only other option here is a caesarean,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58of course, but just if I can't sort it out.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01But it's a lot easier if we could do it this way.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05This is just... It is a difficult job and the lambs are well
0:53:05 > 0:53:06and truly twisted up.
0:53:07 > 0:53:12I mean, it just is very, very tricky.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15I just might not be able to do this. Could you give Ashley a buzz,
0:53:15 > 0:53:16tell him to bring the Caesar kit out?
0:53:16 > 0:53:20I'm just... Ross, it's just possible I can't do this if it's
0:53:20 > 0:53:21so tight and twisted up.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23In which case, we'll have a Caesar,
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and I'll get... There's another vet free who can bring the kit out.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28Hi Candy, it's Elly.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31Hi, just wondered - would you be able to ask Ash
0:53:31 > 0:53:34if he could bring a Caesar kit out to this lambing?
0:53:34 > 0:53:36No, it's just not going to come.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39I'm going to kill... I don't know what state the lambs are in,
0:53:39 > 0:53:41but it's not going to do anyone any good them coming out of there.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43Sorry, it's just not going to happen.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45Let's have two of those, Elly.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48The time has come for Elly to improvise an operating table.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52Um, Elly, clip her up, get her on there.
0:53:53 > 0:53:57Make yourself comfortable. And start clipping her up there, Elly.
0:53:57 > 0:54:00I hope the lambs are alive, but the sooner they come out,
0:54:00 > 0:54:03the greater chance they have of, uh, being alive.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05Is that about the right size?
0:54:07 > 0:54:08- Bit bigger.- Yeah?
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Rupert injects a local anaesthetic
0:54:11 > 0:54:15and Elly makes the operation site as clean as possible.
0:54:15 > 0:54:18The missing Caesarean kit is on its way,
0:54:18 > 0:54:22but vital time is ticking away and the ewe is in serious danger.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26I'm just thinking, priority is to get the lambs out.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29And if we have to wait for an extra minute or two before we can
0:54:29 > 0:54:31stitch the ewe up, well, so be it.
0:54:31 > 0:54:33You've just got to be a bit careful when you're used to cutting
0:54:33 > 0:54:37holes in cow's sides that you don't go marching right through.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40- Oh, here you are, Ash. You OK?- Yep.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Thankfully, within minutes, the kit arrives.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46But even with their prompt action, it's touch and go
0:54:46 > 0:54:48whether the lambs will be born alive.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51Let's have a pair of scissors, folks, can we?
0:54:51 > 0:54:54There's a lot of lambs in here, a lot of lamb.
0:54:54 > 0:54:56They're fairly packed in.
0:55:00 > 0:55:02Go on, come here.
0:55:02 > 0:55:09Your job, Elly, when lambs come out, is absolutely, hopefully...
0:55:09 > 0:55:10Hang on a minute.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14It's all a bit bloomin' tight in here.
0:55:16 > 0:55:18That is a lamb's leg.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21The operation has reached a critical stage.
0:55:21 > 0:55:25This really doesn't want to appear.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28They're about to find out whether the lambs are OK.
0:55:28 > 0:55:32Either way, Rupert needs Elly's help to get them out.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35Cut in there, go up that way.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41Keep going. Full depth of uterus.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Go on, just keep slicing.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47Go on, go on in there, stick it right into the...
0:55:47 > 0:55:49- That's it, go on.- That's leg.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51- That's lamby leg!- Yes, go on, keep going up there.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- I don't want to cut you! - Don't worry about me.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Lamb comes first, now go on a bit more.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Important to try and get the hole in the uterus big enough first off.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07Right, lamb and a half!
0:56:07 > 0:56:09Elly grab on this here.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12It's a boy!
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Hang on, I just want to make sure I've got the uterus,
0:56:15 > 0:56:16I don't want to lose that uterus.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19- I've got lamb. - I haven't got the uterus...
0:56:21 > 0:56:23Go, go on, out.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Good grief!
0:56:25 > 0:56:29That wasn't going to come out the back end in a month of Sundays!
0:56:30 > 0:56:33You look after lamb, OK? Do everything you can, is he...?
0:56:33 > 0:56:36He's alive! He's alive.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40I'm just trying to keep lamby as alive as possible.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42But he's taken a breath!
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Cracking.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47Cracking lamb, look at the size of that!
0:56:47 > 0:56:49- Well there's another one, Elly. - Oh, coming. Hang on.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Go, go, go... Go on.
0:56:53 > 0:56:55Hopefully, that's it. Is it?
0:56:55 > 0:56:58- He's alive as well! They're both alive.- What's your gut feeling,
0:56:58 > 0:57:02- that there was two in there? - Cracking! I know!
0:57:04 > 0:57:05I know!
0:57:05 > 0:57:07It's a good outcome, that.
0:57:07 > 0:57:08Yeah.
0:57:08 > 0:57:11I think this is the one, that was coming out first
0:57:11 > 0:57:13and had all the tugging and the pushing.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I mean, it's incredible, they're both doing well.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19It's a funny job as a vet, you know.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22You'd think after 30 years in the business, you'd get used to
0:57:22 > 0:57:26the sound of little baby lambs calling out, but it's, um,
0:57:26 > 0:57:28you know, it's a very satisfying job,
0:57:28 > 0:57:32there's a lot of people who'd give an arm and a leg to do the job
0:57:32 > 0:57:34that we're...what we're doing now.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39Um, you know, it's a real basic, core, real life job.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43You know you're in the right job when, it might be tough at times,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46but if you still feel that after 30 years,
0:57:46 > 0:57:47that then...that's great.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50That's something to aspire to, isn't it?
0:57:50 > 0:57:51Can you imagine? Aw!
0:57:51 > 0:57:54But, you know, you're operating under farm conditions.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58Actually, the results we get are, you'd say, astonishingly good.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01I think if you were a medical doctor, you'd be horrified at what
0:58:01 > 0:58:02we do on the farm.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06Both mother and lambs are alive and doing well.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08Top job, I reckon.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10That's brilliant!
0:58:11 > 0:58:15It's a bit naff to say good team work, but on that occasion, it was.
0:58:17 > 0:58:20For Elly, it's been a baptism of fire.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22But she's proved herself today.
0:58:22 > 0:58:24That was brilliant!
0:58:24 > 0:58:27I mean, it was quite touch and go, and out came two lambs!
0:58:27 > 0:58:29I really didn't think they'd be alive.
0:58:29 > 0:58:32But I love that bit when you're just trying to resuscitate them
0:58:32 > 0:58:33and they do a little "Meeeeeh".
0:58:33 > 0:58:37I want to do that. I want to do this! All of the time!
0:58:37 > 0:58:39Hee-hee!