Episode 5 Animal 24:7

Britain's animals are under threat.

All too often our wildlife and domestic pets

are the victims of cruelty, persecution and neglect.

Fighting to save them is a dedicated band of people

trying to protect and care for them right around the clock.

This is Animal 24:7.

'Today on Animal 24:7...'

DOG BARKS

'..scared and unsure, the young dogs leaving their sheltered life...'

It's a problem of over-breeding,

particularly of dogs like border collies who can be difficult to train and need a lot of attention.

'..an anxious wait to see if this baby will come around from surgery.'

You want them to wake up after everything they've been through,

but sometimes they don't wait from the anaesthetic and they do pass on,

so it is always a nerve-wracking time.

'And on the frontline against smuggling with Cleo, the customs canine.'

What interesting animal products has Cleo found?

-Recently she found a bear's foot.

-Well, that's absolutely illegal.

-Illegal on so many levels.

Border collies are known to be amongst the most intelligent of dogs, but also the most demanding.

Full of energy, they need lots of exercise but can also be

quite nervous, so if they lack the basic training or socialisation

they can quickly develop behavioural problems which can be very difficult to solve.

At this isolated farm on the outskirts of Buxton in Derbyshire,

the owner's love affair with collie dogs has got out of hand.

RSPCA inspector Rachel Andrews and her colleagues have been having problems here for a number of years.

The main aim for today is to keep reducing the numbers.

We have managed to greatly reduce them so far and removed a couple of litters of puppies

and several of the adult dogs.

These border collies have spent their lives on this farm.

Most of them are untrained and unsocialised.

Unfortunately, they all live together

so they've turned into almost like a pack of dogs now and they're just

breeding indiscriminately, which is where major problems arise.

The RSPCA has taken away a number of dogs over the years.

Today, Rachel and her team have come for at least two more.

Hi, there. How are you?

Rachel wants to stop the dogs here breeding.

Her first course of action is to persuade the owner to sterilise some females.

She offers a free visit to the vet.

Which ones was it you need to get spayed?

-Was it two or three?

-That one keeps having these black 'uns that nobody wants.

Well, get her done first then.

When can you get them down to Roverdale?

-If we book you in, I can ring them and tell them to bill the branch for the spaying.

-Yeah.

The owners agree to get one of them done. Rachel quickly ties them to their word.

Right, I'm going to book her in to Roverdale now.

Hi, there, it's Rachel, one of the RSPCA inspectors.

'The vet visit is booked - now Rachel can concentrate on the dogs she wants to take away.'

Which ones were you telling us about last week? You were saying there was

a bitch that possibly...

-Yeah.

-..you wanted to sign over?

-Yes.

The farmer wants to sign over an adult dog called Daisy who's proving to be a bit of a handful.

-Is she generally temperament-wise OK?

-Oh, she's daft as a brush.

Maybe she needs to be in a home with no children, a bit of training.

She'll have to have somebody who will play ball with her.

-Were there any others?

-Yeah, there's that other black one.

-Right.

'He wants to give Rachel one of Daisy's puppies,

'but when he tries to separate him from the pack inside, a commotion quickly breaks out.'

DOG WHIMPERS AND BARKS

'With one adult straining to see the light, the young puppy finally emerges.

'He's terrified and seems completely bewildered by what is happening.'

You look like my doggie, you do.

-Have you got him?

-Who's this one?

-OK, sweetie.

-Just call him Ali.

-Ali.

-He will be a grand dog, he will.

Ali's only about four months old.

His behaviour suggests he may never have left this house.

All right sweetheart. Has he been on the lead before, Chris, or not?

-No.

-OK. So we need to get him...

-You're all right.

'This scared puppy will now be taken away from this isolated farm, to begin life in the big wide world.'

All right, sweetheart.

'A quick assessment suggests that Ali could also have been bullied by the older dogs.'

On his face, he's got scratches across his nose

and around his face. All the ones we've had signed over have that.

I think it's when they've been fighting for the food in the house,

because they're all getting fed together.

The bigger dogs are getting the food first and the younger ones fight to get what's left.

We'll just go and get the second dog now that he wants to sign over.

This is the female that he's having training problems with,

-so we'll get her and get her loaded into Rachel's van.

-OK.

Daisy is taken by Rachel's colleague.

I'll go get her in the van then.

And her lack of training quickly becomes clear.

Come on.

Collies are intelligent dogs and normally obedient.

Come on, sweetie.

But like Ali, Daisy has been left frightened and confused.

Come on.

It's clear getting these two dogs used to life away from their remote home is going to be difficult.

We see things like this often. It's the problem of over-breeding,

particularly of dogs like border collies who can be difficult to train,

need a lot of attention, a lot of exercise,

and really should only be going to experienced homes.

When they're not getting that, problems arise.

They've started fighting, they've not been on the lead before,

but generally they seem like nice dogs so they're just going to

need a bit of work, and then they should be fine, hopefully.

With Daisy and Ali safely in the van, Rachel ties up the paperwork.

She's now confident progress has finally been made here.

He needs to be working with us, which he is at the moment,

so we'll start getting the dogs spayed that need to be,

then we'll take it from there, keep coming back and see how he's getting on.

For Daisy and Ali though, the long road to their new life has only just begun.

'Later...'

The puppy looks like he's been fed just before we arrived, so he's been quite sick.

I don't think he will have travelled before, so he has been fairly sick.

'And an Aladdin's cave of contraband at the UK's busiest airport.'

This one here has a price on it, which was £3,400.

You can see why the animal doesn't stand a chance if it's got that kind of price on its head.

Britain has over 10,000 miles of coastline, providing a haven for all sorts of wildlife.

But wherever these animals gather, there are always some who might need a helping hand.

Thankfully, there is one centre perfectly placed to deal with these coastal casualties.

West Hatch, Somerset.

It's 10am and an urgent case has just arrived.

What have you got here, Natalie?

'It's an injured bird with a suspected broken leg.'

Oh, quite a small one.

'Staff have nicknamed this fledgling herring gull Steven Seagull,

'after this little action hero landed himself in a spot of bother.'

And I see its leg is bent here where it's broken it.

A lot of them nest in roofs and sometimes they fall off the edge.

If it has fallen from a height, it might have more fractures than just this one in its leg

so I'm just checking there's nothing out going on. OK, wee guy.

'Vet David Cooper can see that Steven is in a lot of pain.

'He needs to examine him thoroughly to assess the full extent of the damage.'

That's fine. So it's standing on the other leg well, but you can see the bend in the left leg.

I'm hoping there's no fractures of the pelvis or anything we can't see from the outside

that would make a more guarded prognosis. We'll give him some pain relief

and we'll give him some fluids to make sure he's fit

and then we'll knock him out and x-ray him.

'Only an x-ray will tell David how serious Steven's injuries are.'

'But for such a young bird this is an incredibly risky procedure.'

There's always a danger when you're anaesthetising

animals and birds particularly,

but obviously this is something we're doing very frequently, so we have

a lot of experience of doing it.

'Vet nurse, Natalie Stahl will monitor Steven closely throughout the x-ray.'

So we're going to x-ray his whole body just in case we miss any fractures elsewhere.

After ten minutes, the results are back.

This is the fracture that we found, in the middle of

the bone, which is good news from the point of view of trying to repair it.

If we look at elsewhere, at the pelvis and at the wings,

there doesn't seem to be any sign of any other fractures going on, which is good news.

Steven hasn't suffered any serious internal injuries, but he now faces

a delicate and complicated operation to repair his leg.

And the longer he's under anaesthetic, the greater the risk.

I'm going to put two pins through the bone below the fracture site

and two above, and that will provide stability while it heals.

Every added minute under anaesthetic puts a strain on Steven.

So now all the pins are in place.

After 30 minutes, the operation is over.

Now the team faces an anxious wait to see if this tiny bird will come round.

You want them to wake up after everything they've been through,

so, um and all being well, they should, but there is the odd time

where they don't wake up from the anaesthetic and do pass on, so it is always a nerve-wracking time.

With a little encouragement though, Steven finally wakes up.

Well, the operation went really well, so we've got high hopes for him.

The anaesthetic ran smoothly, he was stable throughout,

and hopefully it will be a great success.

Five weeks later, and Steven is fully recovered and all grown up.

But the team now has another problem.

The bird has been living in this outside aviary with 100 other convalescing gulls...

and it's impossible to tell which one is Steven.

Today, Shaun Clements and his team are planning to catch and release 40 of the fittest and healthiest birds.

It's trying to pinpoint the good flyers and then pouncing on it.

Steven will have a scar on his leg from the operation so Shaun should be able to recognise him.

-Chase him down this way.

-But first, he'll have to catch him.

One small herring gull.

Shaun works quickly.

He's already caught 20 gulls, but there's still no sign of Steven.

Exactly which one he is, heaven knows.

After half an hour, 40 gulls are netted and boxed.

But after examining each one, the team has failed to find Steven.

One herring gull.

He'll have to wait for another day to be released.

In a couple of days time we'll repeat the process until eventually, we're down to zero.

For now, Shaun takes the birds several miles away to the Steart

nature reserve on the Severn Estuary,

a perfect location to send the seagulls back to the wild.

We spend our days cleaning up after them, getting them into good health, for this exact moment in time.

We give them a second chance and now it's up to them, and fingers crossed they will do well.

'Coming up, on the edge - a daring rescue for two mountain goats.'

If they've been down there for a while, they're not getting the proper nutrients from the grass,

then they will feel it, so on a welfare aspect we need to get them off.

'And Ali the puppy struggles to adjust to life in the outside world.'

She'll be nervous at first, because she hasn't been in kennels on her own

and is only young, and so we'll let her settle in and see how she's getting on.

Hopefully, she'll be fine.

Have you ever wondered what could be hidden amongst all the bags coming through the carousel?

Well, for a team here at Heathrow, that's more than idle curiosity.

They're on the frontline of preventing the trade in endangered species, and I'm off to see them.

London Heathrow is the world's third busiest airport,

with around half a million flights and a staggering 67 million people

passing through its five terminals every year.

But Heathrow's not just a transport hub for people,

millions of animals also travel through the airport every year.

Most travel legitimately but others, like these illegal immigrants, have been smuggled in suitcases.

Mandy Bentley and her dog Cleo are the UK Border Agency's first line of defence to prevent

illegal and prohibited goods entering the country,

from food to animal skins.

That's fine, just one line, past the dog for me.

Cleo's trained to sniff out any contraband items which

may be contained within a traveller's luggage.

-Hi, you must be Mandy.

-I am, yeah.

-Hi. And is this Cleo?

-This is Cleo, yeah.

-Are you having a busy day?

-Quite busy, yeah.

-Tell me how it works. You're here at the entrance to customs, obviously.

-We are.

We basically screen as many passengers coming in from outside Europe as possible.

Today, we're concentrating on Dubai, and we just want to screen every passenger that comes in

from Dubai, to just check what items they may have in their bags.

It doesn't take long for Cleo to smell something suspicious. She's interested in something here.

-Hi, madam, what have you got in the bags?

-Sweets, chocolates...

Just chocolates? Nothing else?

Any cigarettes or tobacco with you?

-No.

-No?

OK, thank you for your time.

'Mandy watches how Cleo reacts and then decides if her traveller's explanation is believable.'

Just walk forward for us, the dog won't hurt you.

'As well as live animals, Cleo's a valuable tool in

'fighting the illegal trade in endangered wildlife.

What interesting animal products has Cleo found?

Recently, she found a bear's foot that was coming into the country.

-A bear's foot?

-Coming in from China.

A lady had brought it in as a delicacy to feed to her family.

It was partially cooked, in a Tupperware pot.

The lady explained to me what it was by demonstrating a growling bear.

-Well, that's absolutely illegal.

-Illegal on so many levels.

What's the most extraordinary thing you and Cleo have found?

That's the most recent one that sticks in my head.

We used to find monkeys and things coming in from Africa that

people wanted to eat, but the bear's foot is the most recent.

The bulk of the passengers from the Dubai flight are arriving thick and fast.

Cleo's going to be busy.

Her sensitive nose soon detects another interesting package being taken through the green channel.

Just stand still for me sir, please. What items do you have with you?

-Ah, just a...

-INAUDIBLE

-Just a...

-Yeah, but what is it?

-Ah...

Any dried beef?

-No. No beef.

-Pork? Pork floss?

-A little bit.

-A little bit of pork.

OK, if you just through with the officer for me.

Mandy doesn't think Cleo has detected any animals in this luggage.

She suspects it's food.

It's illegal to bring any meat or dairy into the country,

but the contents of this suitcase are typical of what some travellers will try and smuggle in.

Are these your products, sir?

They're yours, yeah? Where did you travel from today?

-China.

-China.

You've got some Chinese sausages and then some duck necks.

-Well, she's definitely sniffed this one hasn't she?

-Yeah.

-These will be seized off this gentleman.

-Right.

-And his details will be taken down onto a form

and then a record will be kept.

If the gentleman's found bring food in again in the future, it could lead to prosecution or a fine.

-Food, not wildlife, we're talking.

-Yep. It will all be incinerated.

Come on, then.

Mandy and Cleo may not have detected any animals so far in Terminal three,

but the huge profits involved in the worldwide trafficking of threatened species

means customs teams are constantly making gruesome discoveries.

Over at the other side of the airport is Customs House,

the HQ of the endangered species enforcement team.

'Today, manager Charles McKay has agreed to open up their archives.'

-You've got quite a haul in here already, Charles.

-Yes. Indeed, yeah.

This is only a small selection of the illegal products seized by the UK Border Agency in recent years.

-Right...

-It's huge.

-We have a nice little bear skin, look.

-Oh.

-With a head mount.

-Oh.

-And these are used for, you know, as rugs or wall mounts as well.

-Quite unpleasant.

-Well, yeah it is.

I mean it's not something that I would have but they are

quite popular and they get hunters going out and shooting bear with a licence and then as long as

-they've got the right permit they can import them like this.

-Look in here.

Well, yeah, some of these are, um, this is actually, you know, it's

a rhino horn, and this was smuggled in a statue, coming out of Africa, going to Taiwan.

Our officers actually thought it would be drugs inside.

They x-rayed it, saw this lump in there, so they broke it open and they found this.

-It was actually a lot more valuable.

-Really? A lot more valuable than drugs?

-Yes.

-They must be worth a lot, are they?

-Absolutely, rhino horns, yes.

Which is very bad news for the rhino, isn't it?

It is indeed.

The average traveller is highly unlikely to be smuggling something like this rhino horn,

but some seemingly harmless holiday souvenirs are helping to push animals closer to extinction.

It looks like an ordinary shawl

and you could buy one of these and not realise what you are buying.

This is actually a shahtoosh.

It comes from the Tibetan antelope, the wool just under the throat

and neck, and is extremely expensive.

This one here has a price on it which was £3,400 for this here.

Now these animals have become critically endangered.

Well, you can see why the animal doesn't stand much of

a chance if it's got that kind of price on its head.

All these items contravene international laws

designed to protect the world's rarest creatures.

Sadly though, this trade will continue to thrive while a demand for such products still exists.

Well, it's a treasure trove or house of horrors really.

There's sort of impressive things

but that's been the downfall of a lot of these animals.

That is part of the problem.

There's a fascination people have with them.

They don't like to see animals killed and taken out of the wild,

but on the other hand they do have this fascination with them.

Later - battling the elements to save two stranded mountain goats.

Pull, hup.

Two, three, hup.

In Derbyshire, RSPCA inspector Rachel Andrews has been working

with a farmer to try to reduce the number of dogs he keeps.

She's finally persuaded him to have some of his pets sterilised but now there's a new problem.

She's taken away a mother and a daughter for re-homing but they're both terrified.

It's been a frightening day for Daisy and her puppy, Ali, and it's not over yet.

They've just arrived at the vet's where they'll be given a full health check.

Neither have been trained and have spent all their lives living on a remote farm.

Shall we just take the kennel in?

Because even if we take him in he's going to run round.

To make them feel more relaxed, both dogs are carried into the surgery.

Collies are nervy dogs who hate to be confined.

For Ali, the journey has been a miserable one.

The puppy, unfortunately, looks like he's been fed just before we arrived, so he's been quite sick.

He won't have been, I don't think he'll have travelled before at all so he has been fairly sick.

He seems OK, though, they're both quite settled.

But there are more upheavals to come.

They'll be wormed, de-flea'd vaccinated, and then

we'll book them in for neutering but we'll let them settle in first, because it's been

a bit of a stressful day for them so we won't be doing that today.

They go to the kennels from here, assuming everything's OK with the health check.

Rachel warns surgeon Jenny Walsh that both dogs could be unpredictable.

-Does she seem friendly?

-Yeah, she's friendly, she's just really nervous.

She's two, apparently.

She's got a bit worked up.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Jenny believes that despite Daisy being so young, she's already had a number of litters.

She has got some mammary development down there so it could be that she's had some fairly recently.

Daisy gets her jabs and with the vet keeping her calm, is quickly wormed and treated for fleas.

-She's good. Okey-doke...

-Thank you very much.

-Do you want to swap her then?

-Bring the other one.

Now it's time for Ali the puppy.

-You all right, little man?

-But he's still terrified and refusing to leave the comfort of the cage.

Come on.

He's clinging on.

He is.

Now that Jenny's got Ali's trust and can get closer, she realises that this dog is actually a young female.

It's got the similar kind of war wounds there.

Her next job is to check those scars on her face.

After enduring the same medical procedures as Daisy, Ali is also given a clean bill of health.

Very brave.

-Not even a flinch.

-The fact that both of these dogs appear fit gives Rachel a real boost.

They've got a good chance of having some good basic training and then hopefully

they should all get really good homes from here so it's, it's really nice

to be able to get dogs away from that sort of situation.

Despite being frightened, both dogs have remained good natured.

If they can overcome their fears, Rachel knows they'll make excellent pets.

She's got a good chance of getting re-homed.

She should get snatched up quickly.

She's got a really nice temperament.

With the vet checks over, the pair are ready for the next stage in their journey.

A bed for the night and somewhere to stay before they're ready to be re-homed.

25 miles away is the kennels which will be Daisy and Ali's new home until they find the right kind

of owners who can help them adjust to a life outside the farm.

I think we'll carry her in. Do you want to grab...

Ali is comforted as she passes the other dogs.

Good girl.

Kennels can be frightening for any dog, and even with

a fresh bed and a chance to settle, Ali still looks a little lost.

She'll be a bit nervous at first, because she won't have been in a kennels on her own

before, and she is only young and so we'll let her settle and see how

she's getting on, but she seems to be taking a bit more of an interest now she's settled in a little bit.

Hopefully, she'll be fine.

Rachel wants to put Ali with her mother to try and calm her down,

but even getting that to happen is a challenge.

Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh...

And as Daisy is led through, it all becomes a bit too much.

No, she doesn't like the other dogs.

Daisy is carried away from the prying eyes

and finally mother and daughter are back together in their own pen.

We're going to keep an eye on them and see how they go.

We thought they might just being together for now.

They may be together again for comfort but cooped up in kennels,

this is the last place Ali and Daisy want to be.

What they really need now is loving owners willing to spend time with them to make them feel safe.

-Coming up - it's back to school for Daisy...

-One, two, three, off you go.

And Ali.

Lower, lower, lower.

She's really enjoying it, and I'm really enjoying it,

so she's been doing really well. I think she's coming on.

Earlier in the programme, we saw a team from West Hatch Wildlife Centre

rehabilitating and releasing some injured seagulls.

But it's not just birds that live on the West Coast, it's home to all sorts of animals, and now

a team are about to attempt a very different type of seaside rescue.

Bury Head Nature Reserve, Devon.

This immense coastline provides a haven for some amazing wildlife.

But the cliffs are also extremely hazardous and now two

of the reserve's residents have got themselves trapped 100 feet below.

Park ranger, Chris Smallbones, has been trying to help the goats but with no joy.

Been trying to coax them up with food and we've actually gone down onto the ledge and tried to chase them up

and they're just not having it.

So we phoned up the RSPCA to ask for assistance.

Drastic action is now needed.

Shall I throw those helmets back in? We don't need them, I don't think.

The RSPCA has mobilised their specialist rope unit.

Whose is the flask?

The team is made up of officers and inspectors from neighbouring counties.

They've all been trained to deal with such extreme rescues.

Leading the operation is chief inspector John Pollock.

They've been down there for a while and that's part of the reason for doing it today.

Gets it off before more foul weather comes in.

If they're not getting the proper food and nutrients from the grass

then they will feel it so from a welfare aspect we need to get them off.

The goats may be starving but that's not their only problem.

Being so close to the perilous waves means there's a real risk they could be swept out to sea.

The only way to save them is to abseil down the cliff face.

It's an operation fraught with danger and one that needs military precision.

What we'll do is we'll set up a system up the top,

probably three of us will go down, maybe four, because they're big horned billy goats, they're quite

big lads and they don't realise we're going to help them so they'll put up a bit of a fight.

We'll grab them then winch them onto the side where they can then pick their way up.

We'll check them over, make sure they're fit and healthy first and we'll get them off, hopefully.

The weather will also cause problems.

Driving rain, gusting winds and pounding waves make this job incredibly difficult.

Can we have a carabiner each for Simon and Chris?

Coordinating safety is inspector Maria Swaygar.

When there's four people down there they're going to try and round up

the two billy goats, grab them, hold them down, and then they're going try and get

them into a situation where we can get them into an animal bag and then we're going to lift them back up.

The ropes and the safety line are secure.

While you're up there can you do a final check of the system?

Along with inspector Jim Farr, John begins his descent.

Can you see the ledge down there? Can you see it from here, Jim?

-See it.

-It's over there mate, you'll have to come this way.

The officers slowly but surely pick their way down the cliff face.

Right, both guys are out of view, they've gone down the steep bit.

Within a few minutes they make it to the ledge.

It's a bit slippy coming down on my side but it's a nice route picking it through Jims. Over.

'All received. Over.'

Now it's the turn of inspectors Suzie and Paul to abseil down.

They bring ropes and nets that will be used to hoist the goats to safety.

Paul and Suzie both down now OK.

-We'll give you a shout as soon as we've got them. Over.

-'OK. Received.'

'We won't do anything, we'll wait for your next order.

'Over.'

With everything in place, John outlines the plan of attack.

Do you think it's worth, Paul, just starting from the bottom and

feeding up that way, and if Suzie and I go to this high ground here?

If you slowly go down, we'll slowly go, so if they try and run past you or run past us...

They begin to try and round up the goats but they're terrified.

There's a real risk they could jump into the sea.

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.

Just wait a minute. Let them get used to us. Nice and slow.

The goats are going right to this outcrop.

I hope they don't feel like swimming today.

John decides to try and lasso the first goat.

So if we get out a line we might be

lucky and get it round the horns.

But these stubborn animals have very different ideas,

and there's a danger either the goats or their rescuers could be swept away by the waves.

Goats 2, RSPCA nil, so far.

John has to make a move.

He tackles the first goat to the ground.

Got him, got him.

Hi, Maria, just to let you know, we've got one, we just need to

get it off this bit then go down and get the other one. Is that received?

'Yeah, received.'

The animal is restrained, but it's extremely stressed.

They need to move quickly. But lifting a ten stone mountain goat up a cliff face is no mean feat.

Jim? We'll get there, then we'll haul it up.

Wait. Wait. Wait. OK, Paul.

It's an undignified ascent for the petrified goat.

-This is not moving.

-But its powerful horns easily take the strain of the rope.

OK, can you pull, Paul? One, two, three...

Then the goat finds its feet and takes its first cautious steps.

Pull! All right, rest, rest, rest.

With more back-breaking work from the team he's soon lifted to a safe ledge.

Now he can be set free.

The team spirit is always fantastic and it's obviously always great

when we manage to get the animal up safe and well.

But this job is far from over.

Wait, wait, wait. Wait.

The other goat still needs to be caught and the weather is getting worse.

The team battles the wind and the rain and soon restrains the second goat.

Can you assist it up or not?

We're going to have to haul it up.

And once again, brute force is the order of the day.

Pull, hup.

Two, three, hup.

Eventually, after a massive effort, the goat emerges over the cliff edge.

I wouldn't say it was textbook but obviously sometimes things are

presented differently on the ground that you've got to adapt.

Luckily they are horned, which does help.

You grab hold of their horns and hold on and get them

back up to safety, really. That was our main goal.

This has been a gruelling challenge for all the team, involving officers and inspectors from far and wide,

but now the goats are safe and the team can go back to their more regular duties.

It doesn't matter what they are, we do everything from

a mouse to a horse, it doesn't matter.

Two fit animals brought back up and that's all we care about so

nice cup of coffee, dry clothes, and then crack on knocking on doors.

Earlier, we met Daisy and Ali, two border collies being taken away from a remote farm in Derbyshire.

Both dogs were completely untrained and unfamiliar with the outside world.

Since then, kennel staff have been trying to get them used to both dogs and people.

Now it's up to their new owners to continue the hard work.

With plenty of wide open spaces, this is perfect collie country.

And Daisy and Ali have both found new owners who share their love of the great outdoors.

-Two months ago, mum Daisy was too terrified to be on a lead.

-Come on.

-Now she's quite happy and enjoys her daily walks with new owners, Paul and Esther Weir.

-There we go, Daisy.

After spending her life on a remote farm, their first priority was to get Daisy properly trained.

Once you take her off the lead, she actually gets to play with

a toy or a stick so we actually trained her to come back with it.

Ready, one, two, three, off you go.

And then she'll bring it back to us.

Or not, depending on how she feels?

No? Not going to do it on cue.

Collies like Daisy need plenty of exercise and stimulation.

-Come on, up you come.

-But clearly, training her to do as she's told is going to take a bit more time.

-Good girl, Daisy.

-Since leaving the farm, Daisy's fitting well

into her new life and has started to come out of her shell.

Before she was timid but made lots of noise.

She would whimper at night because she was alone.

She's now coming out into her temperament, you see she's playing ball and will do this for hours.

It's us getting fed up before she does. Off you go.

Paul's a personal trainer and Daisy makes sure he's given a daily workout too.

-She enjoys going running, doesn't she?

-Yes, she loves running.

Paul loves running and Daisy loves running, so....

Yes, so we go out running a lot.

And the bond between these three is beginning to benefit them all.

I feel pleased that we found her a good home

when I think about what, you know, the standard of life she had before.

I mean, she's only started doing this in the last week.

Up until then, she'd never let us touch underneath her, but I think it's a sign of trust.

She lays right open, if you wanted to harm her you could.

Daisy has settled quickly but it was a much harder job to help her puppy, Ali, feel safe.

Come on.

Now she's called Molly and is full of confidence.

Her boundless energy is having a dramatic effect on new owner, Jo, and her family of cats and dogs.

I saw her on the RSPCA website and her

story sort of appealed to me and she just looked like such a little

sweetheart and she had such a gentle temperament that I thought she might fit in with my two older collies.

She plays with the younger cat, they run around after each other.

But dog and cat don't always see eye to eye and Harry sometimes gets the upper hand.

Hi, Moll, you ready?

Like Daisy, Molly was terrified and untrained after being taken from the farm.

Now Jo's enrolled her on a series of training sessions, and tonight it's school night.

Come on.

-Come on, girl.

-Joining her on the school run is

another rescue dog called Ruby and together they thoroughly enjoy their girls' night out.

It's a short ride to the training centre.

As they roll up for lessons, Molly seems keen to nose her way to the front of the class.

Registration's a great excuse for Molly to meet up with her new chums,

and there are certainly plenty of colourful characters on the roll.

With all gathered for assembly, it's time for a few words from the head teacher before lessons begin.

Now spread yourselves out, put your dogs in the sit.

So I don't want to act too serious, I want you to get in there and enjoy your dogs.

Get them going, you were brilliant last week, you talked to them.

OK, are we ready? Handlers and dogs, forward.

Now it's time to see if Molly and Jo have been doing their homework.

Not bad, children, not bad.

It seems a bit more concentration is needed here.

Top marks for the assault course, though.

Molly's enthusiasm alone would earn her eight stars.

OK, back to your seats.

That's the double PE out of the way, the next lesson is basic commands.

I will do what I want you to do, joyfully calling your dog.

Tinksie, come, come, come, come, come, come, come, come.

And then I'm going to get my hands about there, against the body, and go like this, Tinksie.

Tinks comes steaming in and I just lift the hands up and we've got us a recall.

-The teachers always make it look easy.

-Right, young Molly.

-But for Jo and Molly, translating theory into practice is never as simple as it looks.

-Molly.

Lower your hands. Lower, lower, lower.

Perhaps a little more discipline needed here.

And now with another lesson over, it's time for a school report.

See she's really enjoying it and I'm enjoying it.

She gets distracted with the sit but, yeah she's been doing really well, I think she's coming on.

Coming on well.

So full marks to Molly, she's certainly a model pupil.

And it's a great result for the RSPCA with two more dogs graduating from their care.

If you think you know of a case of wildlife crime or a creature that needs immediate protection,

remember there are people out there who will answer your call right around the clock.

They are who we meet on Animal 24:7.

Next time on Animal 24:7, a harrowing case of animal cruelty.

I've never seen anything like this. I think that anyone who can do that to an animal is just, it's disgusting.

-And a staggering admission from the man responsible.

-I didn't know what else to do

with them so I've finished him off at best.

A young cygnet's fight to stay alive.

If people took away their fishing litter we wouldn't have this problem.

I mean, it's upsetting, especially something as sweet as this.

And I play cowboy to corral a herd of wild horses.

What things must you be careful about with these horses?

A shot to the head can kill you stone dead.

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