Episode 8 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...

..rescue for a big dog locked in a dirty stairwell.

In my opinion, it is pretty skinny.

You can see the definition of its rib cage.

He needs to come out.

A seal release in a very unlikely setting.

You seem to have brought me to the heart

of an industrial estate cum estuary!

I suppose if you look that way and over there, you think, "Where will the seals go?"

But if you look over that way, there's open sea and then there's the Farne Islands over there.

And who will love this strange-looking stray?

I didn't expect her ears to have been completely removed,

and it was a bit of an initial shock.

Dogs come in all shapes and sizes.

Some can be cute and cuddly, others much bigger and perhaps frightening.

But for RSPCA inspectors,

coming face to face with large and potentially aggressive canines

is all part of a day's work.

Skelmersdale, Lancashire,

and there's a complaint about two large dogs that have been fighting.

Inspector Karen Chisholm is used to dealing with calls about big dogs,

and knows boisterous behaviour can often lead to problems.

If you're dealing with male dogs that haven't been neutered,

they can decide to exert their dominance on one another,

and what can start off as an innocent play

can turn into something slightly more serious.

Karen's been told the dogs are now injured and the owner has failed to take them to see a vet.

This could be classed as neglect.

Hi, I'm with the RSPCA.

-Can I have a quick word with you about the dogs?

-Yeah.

At the house, Karen is met by two American bulldogs, Dan and Rogan.

Hello! Hello!

Basically, somebody's contacted us.

They're concerned that they'd had a fight,

and one of them had quite a bad injury to its ear or something.

Whoa! Whoa! Hello, mate.

Straight away, it's clear that these brothers are a couple of big softies.

But Debbie Andrews and Gary Douglas

admit there's been some kind of sibling rivalry.

Once, when he was a little pup, he had a little dominant thing

and then the other day, but it was a bone, you know what I mean?

One had a bone and the other one wanted the bone off him, and they had a little scrap over it.

It seems Dan's come off worse in the battle for the bone.

Karen needs to examine the extent of the injury to his ear.

That does...

That does need seeing to, definitely.

If you leave it, it's going to first and foremost affect the dog

and cause the dog unnecessary suffering, which is an offence.

Debbie and Gary had realised Dan's ear needed treatment, but simply couldn't afford the vet's fees.

However, failing to get the injury sorted could end up costing them a lot more in the long-run.

What you might find is that bit of infection now can be treated

very quickly, very effectively and, you know, relatively cheaply.

If you leave it, you'd start running into more serious injury.

Apart from the bite, Karen is happy with the dogs' condition.

I've ticked no for those two, but obviously you've got yes, for everything else.

But to make sure damaged Dan gets taken to the vet,

she issues Debbie with a compulsory Animal Welfare Notice.

-Right, I'll leave that with you.

-All right.

-OK?

You need to get it sorted today, really. There is an infection there.

He's shaking his head, he is in some type of distress with it.

These two dogs may be big, but Karen leaves happy that these brothers are good-natured.

All right, thanks very much. Cheers.

-Bye.

-Bye.

For now, though, she's on the trail of another large dog.

Karen's been called in to help Inspector Claire Fisher, following reports that a Rottweiler

has been left home alone for days.

Claire needed to know whether anyone was coming home to care for the dog.

So, four days ago, she placed tape over the seals and locks.

-Which one? This one?

-Yeah.

Daily checks have shown that no-one has been back...

-Ah-ha!

-..until now.

-Have they gone?

-Yeah.

-After all that.

-Someone has been in.

Claire's optimistic that the dog's owner may be home...

KNOCKING

..but once again, there's no reply.

I think we need to see this dog... whatever way.

It's proving hard for Claire to get a good look at the pet...

..but then Karen spots an opportunity round the back of the property.

I'm just looking at that window. Do you think that's going up the stairs?

If we can get up to that window?

All inspectors carry stepladders for situations just like this,

and now Karen can finally come face to face...

Hello, sweetheart.

..with the large Rottweiler.

But as he turns away,

it's instantly clear that this dog is nowhere near as big he should be.

As it's come down the stairs,

I can quite clearly see its hip bones.

Its rib cage is quite prominent.

Karen needs to gather evidence of the dog's condition

in case the owner is prosecuted.

Do you want to get down from there so I can take your picture?

The inspectors are now faced with a dilemma.

Although it seems someone has been home, this dog is underweight and needs medical help.

-He's still too thin.

-Yeah.

And I still stick by the fact that...

How thin is he going to go before anybody makes contact?

Claire calls the housing association that owns the flat to see if they can help them get the dog out.

We're looking at trying to get the dog out today, because the fact that we've left paperwork since Friday

and the owner hasn't been in touch, we don't think he will be in touch.

If this fails, Claire's next call will be to the police.

In my opinion, it is pretty skinny.

You can see the hip bones,

you can see the definition of its rib cage, and for a Rottweiler,

which is normally quite a big, chunky dog, it is definitely in my opinion underweight.

He needs to come out.

Later...

Under the Welfare Act, there is still power of entry into the property,

but because it's a private dwelling, you need a warrant.

And it's a clean sweep, gathering the seals up for release.

We're going to flip the box on its side and we're going to move

the one we want over to a wall, scoop him up and the net goes across the top.

So it's like a giant dust-pan in a way?

Yeah, big scooping up! That's it, yeah.

Every year, the RSPCA rehomes over 30,000 cats,

but it isn't always easy to find each of them a home.

And when a moggy isn't looking their best,

it can be even harder to find someone willing to take them on.

This is Belle, a scruffy-looking stray who's become somewhat of a local at this Cardiff pub.

But it's been reported that Belle has damaged ears.

Now Inspector Nicola Johnston wants to know if landlady Toni Young has any idea who owns her.

-The white cat, the lads out the front said...

-It's not mine. I'm trying to look after it.

-Where did it come from?

-It's just appeared, to be honest.

We don't know where it's from. Obviously it's in a bit of a state.

We've been feeding it, I've de-flead it and wormed it.

-How long has it been hanging around here?

-Um, a couple of weeks?

And nobody's come in and said that they've lost a white cat?

No, not at all. It is quite tame, quite friendly.

It's clear Belle is happy with her pub life,

but she does need to see a vet. Nicola offers to take her.

-If she's OK, would you be willing to have her back and then become the pub cat?

-Yes.

-Watch your tail.

-With Belle in the box, it's time for her to say goodbye to her new-found friends.

Come on, then, chicken. There we go. ..Thank you.

Hopefully it won't be too long before she's back at the bar.

-Five miles away is the Valley surgery.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Right, shall we go through?

Yep, lead the way.

Vet Rob Harry is waiting to see Belle and gets straight to work.

OK, what have we got here?

Um, a cat, stray,

found in the car park of a pub,

so it's come for a check with you.

-Hello, gorgeous. Hello. She's very friendly, isn't she?

-Very friendly.

The landlady told Nicola she had treated Belle's flea problem.

We may struggle with the flea comb, but we'll try.

Rob's first job is to check if it's been successful.

We can see all the flea dirt there, all this black stuff,

but there don't seem to be any live ones, so that's good.

So next, Rob moves in to look at her eyes.

She's got a bit of discharge in her eye

and there's possibly a bit of an ulcer in that eye as well.

He decides to test her for ulcers with some special dye.

If there's damage on the surface of the eye, this dye won't stick to the normal surface of the eye.

But if there's a scratch, dye will stick to the scratch or the damage.

Doesn't appear to be any uptake of the dye.

If there was, the surface of her eye would turn a luminous yellow

like you can see on the fur there.

Thankfully, Belle's eyes seem healthy.

Now, I don't know where that came from.

She just shook her head and I got a bit of bloody fluid on my hand,

so I'm not sure whether that came from her ear...

But, as Rob moves on to check her ears, he spots a worrying problem.

Looks like she may have tumours on the tips of both her ears.

Very common, unfortunately, in white cats.

-I think, with this cat, we probably will need to amputate the tips of both its ears...

-OK.

..to treat that because it's likely, as I say, that they are cancerous.

This is not good news.

Even if the operation is a success,

Belle will need long-term care and this could prove expensive.

You'd need to warn anyone that took her on that she had had a history

of these tumours and to watch out for it as well on the pink bit around her nose.

If she started getting any lesions there that weren't healing, she should be seen by a vet.

Come on, mate.

Now there's a real concern that this could ruin Belle's chances of being taken on by the pub locals.

I'll have to assess what options we've got, speak to the pub to make sure they're willing

to take on a cat that might have potential problems in the future. They might decide that that's

too much for them, so it might limit what we can actually do.

As Belle waits for her future to be decided,

a few days later, there's another cat Nicola's found that needs her help,

but whereas Belle was friendly, it seems this stray

is just the opposite.

I can hear her growling.

It's been growling so much, Nicola has chosen to restrain it inside this box.

He's taped in.

Yes, always a worrying sign.

He certainly doesn't sound very happy.

Rob suspects this could be a feral cat.

He begins to carefully unravel the tape around the box.

He slowly lifts the lid,

fearing what lurks beneath.

Hello!

Thankfully, though, inside is just another mild-mannered moggy just desperate to get out.

Come on, fella.

He may be placid, but he's certainly not pretty.

-He's cross-eyed!

-Oh!

He's also toothless.

He's snapped one of his big canine teeth, probably fighting.

And his matted mane is covered in fleas.

You can see there, although we haven't found any...

Oh, yeah, there is a live flea there, look.

This stray tom cat is tame, so in theory he could be re-homed,

but he's certainly not looking his best.

Oh, dear.

He's going to have to have a serious makeover if he's to have any chance of attracting a new owner.

Still to come...

Harry gets a hair cut.

Yeah, he's just got...

a few months, if not years, caught up in his coat that needed to come out.

And Tyson the Rottweiler shows a different side to his personality.

He's a bit hard to predict at the minute. He was fine with me, coming out of the house, but I think,

with all this attention, he's getting a little bit narky.

The East Coast... It's early morning,

and there's a special cargo that's waiting to be delivered.

Today should be a happy ending, the end of three months of dedicated work

here at Scarborough to get three seals back to full health.

They've got to return to sea quite a way up the coast and we've got to catch the tide, so let's get on.

The pond the seals have been living in has already been drained ready for the move.

And it's sure to be an emotional day.

They're going to be released by the very person who saved them, seal rescuer Lesley Salisbury.

-Morning, Lesley.

-Good morning.

-Big day for you today.

-Oh, absolutely. Not just me, but the seals as well, yes.

-How are they looking?

Fantastic. Much better than when I first saw them, when I picked them up off the beach.

Well, tell me a little bit about their journey.

Well, I got a phone call to say there was a seal on the beach that didn't look very well,

so I went down to assess it, realised just by looking at it that it was really poorly, so I contacted Sealife

to say that the seal needed to come in, and I brought it in.

I see my role as a paramedic, and I see Sealife's role as the ER and the rehabilitation afterwards,

so we work together as a team.

'Lesley's a nurse by day, and spends all her spare time rescuing sick or injured seals.

'These photos prove just how important her work is.'

One of the ones that was really poorly is that one there.

They look very poorly, but were they actually close to death, do you think?

If we'd left them on the beach, they probably wouldn't have survived.

It's sunken in its neck.

Yeah, whereas if I look down there, they look much more plump and healthy, don't they?

Little torpedoes now, aren't they?!

So, it's time to get our plump patients back to the wild.

Lindsey Crawford is in charge of all the seals here and has a very novel way of catching them.

I'm going to use these boxes here,

and this is a very easy way, less stressful for those and also very good for us.

So what we're going to do is flip the box on its side

and we're going to move the one that we want over to a wall, scoop him up and the net goes across the top.

-So it's kind of like a giant dust-pan.

-Yeah, big scooping up. That's it, yeah.

OK, watch out the way, please.

'The first seal to be caught is Dallas.'

Just pull the net over and one, two, three. That's it.

'This may look a little extreme, but it's a remarkably effective capture method.'

What we would like to think is that they may be a little bit stressed by looking at the net.

Hopefully, the next time they see a net, they might think, "Oh, that scared me last time",

and try and stay away from it.

'Dallas is now ready for the two-and-a-half hour journey to the release site.'

Why can't you release them just here? We're a couple of hundred yards from the sea here.

We're trying to give them the best starting block now,

so where we take them to is a protected area where there's

no fishing boats allowed, no people on the beaches, nothing to give them any other distractions, basically.

'And it's not just about making sure the release site is safe.

'Diet also plays an important part.'

We always release them at about 33 kilos,

and that's purely to give them about three weeks of packed lunch

before they get their head around catching the live food.

'Dallas is place in Departures.'

One, two, three...

'And we quickly move on to the second seal, Tokyo, who was brought in with suspected pneumonia.'

OK...

Unfortunately she was a bit of a pin-cushion

-for about three weeks because...

-Pin-cushion?

Yeah, she had that many injections, bless her.

But, as you can see, it's worked.

'The final seal to go is Bruges, and he's definitely the most temperamental of the three.'

He's feisty this one, as well.

He looks like he might take my fingertips if I put them in there.

He could easily, yes. I wouldn't recommend it, definitely.

-But that's a good thing if they've got some aggression, survival instinct.

-Yeah,

because he's going to come across bigger seals than what we have here,

and so, if he's got that fighting instinct in him, he stand a better

chance of survival.

All the seals are placed in Lesley's van, ready for their journey north.

And this is where they're heading to.

On the outskirts of Middlesbrough is a nature reserve called Seal Sands.

It's home to all manner of wildlife,

but what makes this place so amazing in the backdrop.

The wildlife lives under the shadow of a huge industrial site

with a busy working port and fully operational power station.

Am I missing something? You seem to have brought me

-to the heart of an industrial estate cum estuary!

-Yes, I suppose if you look that way

and over there, you think, "Where are the seals going to go?"

But if you look that way, can you see there's a gap between the dunes?

Well, yes, in the distance.

Well, if they go out through there, there's open sea and then there's the Farne Islands over there.

Such a lot of industry here, there aren't a lot of people, are there?

-No, that's right.

-There isn't a lot of tourist pressure.

-Or dogs.

One of the main things we have with seals on the beach is dogs...

the number of times I've brought seals in with puncture wounds.

But that won't be a problem here,

because even WE have had to have passes,

so if we have it, so does the general public.

'Along with Lesley's colleague Marlene, it's time to get our three seals into position.'

Whoa, look out, some very slippery wood here.

'But that's not easy.

'The terrain here is incredibly tricky.'

-Scrabbling a bit to get out there.

-Yes, it's ready to be off. He can smell the sea now.

Obviously it'll smell so much different to being in captivity,

so basically I'm hoping it's going to re-awaken his old instincts,

and I hope he's going to head into the sea and not back into

the shore as we've had before now.

OK, on the count of three.

Come on, sweetheart, off you go.

'At first, Tokyo seems a bit reluctant.

'But sure enough, as soon as he smells that sea air, he seems to know he's back where he belongs.'

One look back.

-One last look.

-I'm not sure if it's to say "Thank you very much",

or "What?! You're leaving me here?!"

'Dallas is the next seal to go and he's becoming a local celebrity'

With his friend Tokyo still waiting, Dallas heads straight out to join him.

And before we know it, it's time to get our third and final seal.

This one is Bruges the brute.

He's the heavyweight of the crew.

'He seems eager to escape his carrying crate...

-'..and can't wait to get away.'

-Come on, big guy.

Whoa!

Go on, you can go.

'For Lesley, this is a very special moment.'

Every time I do this, it gets to me!

'Her dedication to the stricken seals shines through, and it's a job she clearly adores.'

Tears of joy?

Yes. Yes, very much so because, as I say, when I brought these in,

it was touch and go as to whether they would survive, and to actually see them go back...

we've given them another chance to go back out there and spend their life

doing what they should do, and that's being out in the wild.

'Later, with the Bluebell call last orders on this strange-looking customer?'

We are a bit shocked.

We did expect a bit of ear left.

As soon as you walk in, she's here.

Can't get rid of her. She's fab.

Now we're back in Warrington.

RSPCA inspectors Karen Chisholm and Claire Fisher are investigating reports that

a Rottweiler's been left home alone for several days without any food.

The dog is not in a good condition and the inspectors know they need to get him out as soon as possible.

The dog inside this flat is underweight and needs to see a vet.

Karen and Claire are desperate to rescue it but it's not a straightforward process.

Under the Welfare Act, there's still power of entry into the property but,

because it's a private dwelling, you need a warrant.

'They contacted the Housing Association that owns the flat to try and gain access,

'but they've been told they may need a court order. It could take days.'

Somebody did come back to it yesterday,

but we're just a bit concerned about the thinness of the dog anyway.

'But then, out of the blue, the Rottweiler's owner does come home.

'Karen can now find out why the dog has been left this way.'

Based on what I've seen of the Rottweiler,

there's a potential offence under the Animal Welfare Act,

so I've got to caution you. I will ask you some questions

and record your answers to them, all right? Just start off by having a look at the dog.

Yeah.

'The owner says he does feed the dog, called Tyson.

'He agrees to let the inspectors inside so they can see him close up.'

That's just Claire, my colleague, all right?

'Tyson's been locked on the flat stairs. The conditions are not good.'

Let's just go up the stairs a little bit so we're not all standing in wee.

'As well as urine, there's faeces too.

'It seems Tyson's been shut in the cramped corridor for some time.

'But it's his weight that's Karen's biggest concern.'

Basically, the dog is pretty thin...

all right? Which is why we're concerned that there is an offence under the Welfare Act.

'The man claims Tyson was neglected by a previous owner.

'He promises to try harder in future, but Karen's not interested in second chances.'

It's gone a bit further than just you proving to us...

If we'd got involved a bit sooner and it'd been not quite as thin,

we might've given you the benefit of the doubt,

but the offence has been committed in my eyes.

Moments later, the police and the Housing Association arrive.

Fortunately, their help is not needed. The owner agrees to sign Tyson over.

Thanks for your cooperation, but I'll give you a ring later on. OK?

The next step now is just to get Tyson checked out by a vet.

He is thin and we have proven that

he's been left on his own for at least 42 hours,

so it's just down to the vet's opinion now on whether he deems

this animal to have been caused unnecessary suffering

under the Animal Welfare Act.

A mature adult Rottweiler should weigh around 40 kilos.

Before Tyson is checked over by vet Alan Humphreys, he's put on the scales.

24.75.

But then this placid dog suddenly begins to show a different side to his character.

Is that him growling?

Yeah.

This growl is a warning sign for the team.

It could be nerves, but Tyson is a big dog.

Alan can't risk it.

Try this again.

Try once more and then we're going to use the noose.

No, we're going to noose him.

This attempt to bite Alan seems unprovoked and it's worrying.

It's a bit hard to predict at the minute.

He was fine with me, coming out of the house,

but I think with all this attention, he's getting a little bit narky,

so you don't want to take any chances, really.

Alan needs to feel Tyson's body to find out how serious his condition is,

but he needs to be in full control.

Even though Tyson's well below his fighting weight,

his aggressive stance poses a real threat.

Alan decides he needs to sedate him.

He's opening his mouth. He will bite me.

But getting close enough to inject the sedative is proving difficult.

And one dose isn't going to be enough to calm this dog down.

OK, just hold him like that.

Done.

After a couple of minutes, the sedatives begin to take effect,

but Alan still has to be on his guard.

Uh, uh, uh.

No, not ready.

Tyson's soon out for the count, and Alan can put a muzzle on him.

Now he can finally begin his medical examinations.

Right, now we're feeling the pelvis.

These are the hips... they're really sharp, those.

OK, feeling the back legs.

This should be bigger,

and here it should be bigger, so it's wasted away.

This dog has been underfed.

To back up his assessment, Alan takes a blood sample to check for any underlying health problems.

It's all right, young man. Stay still.

But it's Tyson's mood rather than his weight that's concerning Karen.

Rottweilers do have a reputation for aggression,

but she's quick not to blame the breed.

It's not just a Rottweiler. It's any dog really.

We've picked up a totally random dog, we don't know its history, we don't know anything about its temperament.

We're putting it in a very stressful environment,

so it might be reacting in a way it wouldn't normally if its owner was here.

Karen's just hoping Tyson will relax once he begins his rehabilitation.

She's found him a home at a local kennels where

he'll be fed up back to a more appropriate weight.

Come on, then.

And it's clear from the way he wolfs down his food

that this is one hungry dog.

He's eating pretty quickly, but some dogs do just eat fast.

But I'd say he's not had...

he's not had such a tasty or such a large meal for a while.

If Tyson's to be put up for rehoming,

he's going to have to prove that his earlier aggression was a one-off.

We've got him up here, taken the muzzle off,

he's out of the stressed environment he's been in, and seems happier.

I'm not going to go as far as to say he's totally at ease.

He certainly seems a lot more relaxed, a lot more chilled,

and certainly no sign of the earlier aggression. Come on, then.

Over the next few weeks, Tyson will be closely monitored.

If he does show any more signs of aggression, he'll be too big a risk to rehome,

and that would mean the RSPCA may have no option but to put him to sleep.

Still to come...

Karen meets Jade, another big dog who doesn't like the vet.

The way round that is to muzzle her.

-Most vets will...

-Yeah, they do.

Every time I took her to a vet, she bites them.

Earlier in the programme, we saw inspector Nicola Johnston pick up two strays that needed help.

One had befriended regulars at a local pub,

and it needed life-saving surgery after tumours were discovered in its ears.

Nicola also rescued a cat she's since nicknamed Harry.

Life on the streets had left him scruffy to say the least.

For the last few days, Harry has been living at the local cattery.

But, compared to his neighbours,

he's not exactly the prettiest cat on the block.

So now it's time for Harry to have some serious styling.

Enter vet John Fitzmorris and makeover expert Vicky Preece.

It's their job to make Dirty Harry more like Pussy Galore

to make him more appealing to new owners.

Harry's matted mane needs a severe cut

so, after being sedated to keep him still,

it's time for the clippers to get to work.

This may look drastic, but years of dirt has built up in Harry's coat...

He's going to be a handsome boy.

..leaving him tangled and uncomfortable.

Weight-wise, he is about normal,

and he looks scruffy because of his fur more than anything,

but as that grows through from today's clip-out, then he should look much better.

With his coat cut, it's time for a manicure.

He's an absolute gentleman, so he's never scratched any one of us.

And Harry's male grooming appointment is over.

Next step is,

let him get over... finish recovering,

look to rehoming and getting him into a decent home, I think.

He's very friendly.

He should do all right.

A few hours later, Harry is fully awake

and he looks like a different cat.

With his posh new haircut, he's sure to attract a new owner in no time.

But though Harry may be looking good,

sadly the same can't be said for the other stray Belle.

After undergoing life-saving surgery to remove her ears,

she certainly looks a little odd,

but will the regulars at the Bluebell

welcome this strange-looking stray back?

I didn't expect her ears to have been completely removed.

She was her usual self, though.

She was quite happy and friendly, so that reassured us a little bit,

but it was a bit of an initial shock.

She's still the same cat, so I think she'll be all right.

And the customers couldn't be happier with their new-look drinking partner.

We were a bit shocked. We did expect a bit of ear left.

As soon as you walk in, she's here.

Can't get rid of her. She's fab.

She's really nice, in all fairness.

She won't bite or anything, you can pick her up and hold her.

She just wants to be next to you all the time.

She's settling in really well as the new pub cat,

roaming around, getting all the attention. She's loving it, I think.

So living proof that looks aren't everything.

It's Belle's personality that has won her a home for life.

I'll drink to that.

Finally, we're back to the north-west of England

where RSPCA inspector Karen Chisholm has been responding to a number of calls about large dogs.

Earlier, she rescued a skinny Rottweiler called Tyson,

whose mood swings were giving real cause for concern.

Karen's hoping his behaviour has improved,

but first she's got another complaint to deal with.

It's mid-morning in central Preston, and Karen is following up

an allegation about two large dogs being kept in this terraced house.

One's constantly left outside and is quite thin,

and the second dog is kept inside the property.

Its normal body condition,

so we'll go up and see what's going on.

These telephone tip-offs are important

to help the RSPCA check up on vulnerable pets.

Hiya, is your mum or dad in?

But those being investigated

are often not happy when they discover there's been a complaint.

Somebody's moaning, aren't they?

-Well...

-I know who it is, I know who it is.

We've got to follow everything up at the end of the day. That's our job...

And I know what it's going to be about. The backyard...

-it gets cleaned up every day, the dog gets fed every day.

-Right.

The first dog for Karen to check is Jade, a large but seemingly docile ridgeback crossbreed.

-He's a big lad, isn't he?

-She.

She. Jade, was it? I thought you said Jake.

Jade looks in good condition, but Karen does spot a growing problem.

Does she get out much? For walks?

-Yeah, at weekends.

-Right. It's just her nails.

They've always been like that.

We can't get the vet to cut them, she bites them.

You need a solution otherwise...

We'd do it ourselves but we don't like doing it in case she bites us.

No. The way round that is to muzzle her.

-Most vets will...

-Yeah, they do.

-Every time we take her to the vet's, she bites them.

-Right.

Come on, Jade.

Jade may not like the vet but it seems she's the big softie of the family.

Karen's focus now turns to the second dog that's allegedly thin and left permanently outdoors.

Obviously there was one dog that was living in the house, one living outside.

-No, she comes in every night.

-The one outside comes in?

-At night.

It's just that, with being still a pup, she gets hyperactive and she jumps all over me, you see.

Right, can we have a look where the other dog is?

In the backyard is Holly, a large one-year-old bull mastiff

that belongs to Linda's daughter Jennifer who's at work.

Hello.

Hello, gorgeous.

Is she outside? Is she kept out here all day, then?

-No, not all day.

-Right.

She'll get a bit scared. She won't do nothing, she'll just bark.

Who's a good girl, who's a good girl?

What's the matter?

The conditions Holly's living in are not ideal.

The yard's wet, dirty, and there's no shelter,

and this a legal requirement for any animal being kept outside.

No, but there's no major burning issue

but I'll just explain a couple of things that,

as soon as I've gone out there, I've noticed.

If she is going to be out there for any period of time,

even if it's only for a couple of hours a day,

she needs access to shelter.

We did have one but Jennifer built it by herself and it collapsed.

It fell on her.

Linda also tells Karen that the excess water in the yard has been caused by an overflowing drain,

but Karen is satisfied both Jade and Holly are healthy dogs, and the issues are easily remedied.

Right, I shall leave you in peace, but if you get that...

get the drain sorted, kennel's on its way, claws done, job done.

So it's been another call that's put Karen face to face with more large dogs.

Thankfully, apart from a little nervous aggression, both were good-natured.

But will she be able to say the same about Tyson?

The underweight Rottweiler was found locked in this flat,

but it was his behaviour that caused most concern.

At the vet's, he turned nasty, and if this aggression continued,

there was a real chance he'd have to be put to sleep.

Now, two weeks later, Karen has come back to see if his behaviour has got any better.

There were concerns over his temperament at the time.

Obviously we had to sedate him when he went to the vet's.

I think the majority of that was that he was stressed out.

Since he's been here, he's shown absolutely no signs of aggression towards anybody.

He's been as good as gold.

He has been back to a vet's for a weight check

and he was fine with that.

And it's not just Tyson's temperament that's impressed Karen, it's his weight gain too.

He's doing really well in the kennels. He's put on nearly 2.5 kilos in that time.

His rib bones aren't quite as prominent as they were when we first saw him.

Also, moving down onto his hip bones, his pelvis...

they were quite a lot more protruding than they are now.

Tyson was taken from a home by two complete strangers

and was snappy in the vet's surgery.

So far, it seems, this behaviour was caused by fear,

and Karen's now hopeful this once-neglected dog will soon find a loving new home.

He just seems to be behaving himself so we'll just see how it goes. But I think he's going to be...

He's going to make somebody a good dog, a good pet.

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'll answer your call right around the clock.

They are who we meet on Animal 24:7.

Next time on Animal 24:7...

I've had enough. We're taking the dog, so if you want to go and get him.

Confronting the owner who's neglecting his pet.

Can we have this dog out, please? I'm not arguing with him any more.

I join the operation to crack down on the illegal trade of endangered species.

It's a bit like the drugs trade in that sense.

The demand is part of the problem as well as the supply.

That's right. In fact, it's the demand that drives the trade.

And motherly love...

helping these orphans go back to the wild.

They think of me as a source of food.

They know that they can trust me and that's where the food comes from.

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