Episode 12 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...'

Can we get some leads? Give me that lead.

'..the pack of dogs forced to live in squalor.'

I am feeling quite sad. It still amazes me

that people can subject their animals to such horrific things.

'The tiny fox needing a new mum.'

He's got a fight on him, there's no doubt about it.

He's hungry. He's just not quite grasped the fact of the bottle just yet.

'And snakes on a plane at the UK's busiest airport.'

I like holding them but I'm relieved to put them back in the bag.

With a bad diet and lack of exercise, dogs, like humans, can really pile on the pounds

and this can have serious health implications.

In Nottingham, the RSPCA was alerted to a case involving over a dozen overweight dogs.

But when they arrived, they realised that was just one of many problems they would have to deal with.

'It's a quiet street in a residential neighbourhood.

'But the police cars and RSPCA vans suggest something is seriously wrong.

'And it seems first impressions would be right.'

-Is she in there?

-No.

-No.

'Inside this house, there are reports that up to 15 dogs are living in squalor.

'Inspector Chris Shaw is the latest to arrive on the scene.'

It is still quite dirty there.

'The owner's already been warned about the conditions here.

'With little sign of improvement, the team is now going in to get the dogs out.'

I can see one golden Labrador directly behind the door.

'But with so many dogs running free in this house,

'no-one knows how they're going to react.'

Guys, just be aware that the dogs might all come out.

'The first few minutes of this rescue operation are crucial.'

'As soon as the door is smashed open, it's a race to get them all restrained.'

-Oh! Pretty bad.

-DOGS BARK

-'These are big, powerful dogs desperate for freedom.'

-DOGS BARK

Can we get some leads? Give me that lead.

I can't hold...

'The fight to stop any escaping leaves everyone at full stretch.'

-We've got one here, you've got those two.

-Yep, I've got them.

Who knows how long it is since they've been outside.

'The first dogs to be rescued are all Labradors.'

Is that one all right? Just really fat, aren't you, mate? It's disgusting.

'But there's little time for a full assessment now.'

-Do you want to hold another one?

-'There are plenty more dogs inside.'

-We've got a rottie in one room.

-I've seen a German shepherd leg it up the stairs. He's scared.

-Right.

'In a downstairs room, Chris finds a small nervous spaniel cowering behind a cage.

DOG BARKS

'There's also a large Alsatian and it seems particularly threatening.'

DOG BARKS How are you doing?

'But it's not just the dog's temperament that is making this rescue difficult.

'The conditions are appalling.'

This is gross. Hey, mate.

'Thankfully, the Alsatian is friendly.

'And after the spaniel is removed, it too can leave the house.'

This one seems all right. DOGS BARK

'But there are still more nervous dogs hiding upstairs.'

Hello, mate. How you doing? DOG GROWLS

Are you going to be grumbly at me? Eh? DOG BARKS

Hey, mate. There's another terrier in here.

'So far, 13 dogs have been rescued.'

-I think we've got all the dogs out now.

-'Many are overweight.

'All have been forced to live in appalling conditions.'

-This is just so wrong.

-'Vet Suzie Ridley is shocked by what she's seen.'

It's disgusting. The dogs generally are in reasonable health.

There are a few issues we need to have a look at. I've been to a similar situation.

Not as bad as this. Definitely it's the worst. It's quite shocking.

'But there's still more work to be done here.

'Chris heads back inside to make sure there are no animals in hiding.'

-Just to make sure there are no more dogs.

-'And to gather evidence of how these pets were forced to live.'

It's disgusting.

-'Later...'

-Crufts qualifier 2009.

How...

'And passport control for the canine commuters.'

Daisy looks all right after her long flight.

You'd forgive her for being a bit grouchy. I am after a long-haul. Shall we put her in?

In the animal kingdom, many species have strong maternal instincts.

Incredibly, for some, this motherly love can extend to babies that are not even their own.

It's a characteristic that's put to good use in rescue centres and saves the lives of many orphans.

'This is Mumsy, the foster-mum fox.

'In springtime, she helps dozens of orphaned cubs brought to the Weirfield Rescue Centre.

'Mumsy fosters up to 11 cubs a year.

'But centre manager Ally Townsend knows there's a catch.

'If Mumsy spots any physical weakness in the cubs, she might kill them instead.'

Wild mums always have a very good instinct when there's something wrong with

a wildlife member of the family, if you like.

And they will actually kill them.

We've lost three in a matter of nine years

and she's actually taken on 39.

So three out of 39, when she obviously knew there was something wrong with them,

I think is very good.

'The harsh winter is now over and the breeding season is in full flow.

'Mumsy's maternal instincts are about to be needed again.

In Worksop, a mother fox has been killed on a busy main road.

'Her week-old baby was found calling for her nearby.'

He's got a tiny mark on his side. He seems nice and healthy, nice and chunky.

OK, we'll pop him in the basket. Thank you.

'He was taken to a small rescue centre but needs specialist help.

'So RSPCA officer Fran Whitton is taking him to Weirfield.'

I've brought the baby fox in to you. He's from Worksop.

His mother was found dead on the road and he was found by the side of her.

He's looking fairly perky, so let's hope he does OK.

'It's now over to Ally to help him survive.'

-He's quite a little one, bless him.

-FOX CUB SQUEAKS

He's a grumpy old soul. He's probably ready for a drink.

FOX CUB SQUEAKS

We're going to put him in the incubator to get warmed up, cos he does feel a little bit nippy.

We'll get him warmed up in here and then I'll attempt to feed him again.

I'm sure he'll be quite happy to get on a nice warm blanket.

'At the moment, he's just too young to be put in with Mumsy.

'He needs to be kept in the incubator and hand-reared.'

I'm just going to try and give him a little bit.

-'Ally makes up his first feed.'

-We hopefully will get some down him,

but I'm not too disappointed if we don't. Let him get settled,

let him get warm. But we will try.

'Persuading him that bottle is best brings howls of complaint.'

-FOX CUB SQUEAKS

-He's actually chewing on this.

I think he's getting some.

After a couple of feeds, he will realise and start to suck on this teat,

which makes our life a lot easier.

'With such a cute baby, it's easy to get attached.

'But it's vital sentiment takes a back seat.'

This is a wild animal and it's not to be loved,

it's not to be talked to, it's a case of feeding it,

toileting it and basically leaving it alone.

I mean, at this minute, his chances are pretty good.

He's got a fight on him, there's no doubt about it.

He's hungry. He's just not quite grasped the fact of the bottle just yet.

But he's getting there. Basically, we'll take it one day at a time.

I'm expecting this cub to be in probably four to five months.

We expect that we want them to be fully grown

and be fending for themselves quite a lot by the time we want to release them

and hopefully then they stand a pretty good chance in the wild.

'With a full tummy, this little fox can go back to bed.

'But this baby lost his whole family just a few hours ago.

'He'll be frightened and isolated.

'Luckily, Ally has a plan to help him feel safe.'

The other thing, which is quite sad,

is that he would normally be in a den with three or four others

and we're not sure what's happened to the others,

so he is quite lonely at the minute.

What we'll do now is find him a cuddly toy

so he thinks that that's his brother or sister

and then he'll cuddle up to that and it'll hopefully give him some company.

'Four weeks on and the little cub is thriving.

'He's starting to look and act like a proper fox.'

As you can see, it's now extremely playful, extremely big.

'And he's giving his new friend a real battering.'

It's done very, very well. It's eating well.

We've got good eyes. The eyes are nice and clean. The nose is OK.

And the teeth are very sharp.

It's doing everything that we would want it to.

If he'd been in his own den, he would be fighting like this with his brothers and sisters

and play fighting is one of the biggest things that they learn.

'He's now ready for the next stage of his development,

'a date with foster-mum Mumsy.

'But this comes with a potentially fatal risk.'

Obviously, the danger that we've got with putting the cub in with the foster-mum

is the fact that she might harm him. We believe this cub is fit.

But if she's got that instinct, we have got the risk that she will kill it.

'This little cub is about to face the biggest test of his short life.'

'Still to come...'

Mum's hiding underneath, which is what we would expect.

The baby's gone in, said hello, now it's gone off to explore. I would expect Mum to come out shortly.

'And the RSPCA gathers evidence of serious neglect.'

I've just found this room. Obviously, some dogs have been, at one stage, forced to live in here, as well.

We're here right in the heart of Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports.

It handles close to 70 million passengers a year

and that's nearly the population of Britain.

But a million or so animals come through here, as well,

and they need checking and making sure everything's OK

just like we do. Let's see how that works.

'From Mumbai to Santa Fe,

'thousands of planes take off and land here every day.

'And alongside the business and premier-class passengers,

'there's a club with exclusive lounges all of their own.

'The passenger pets.

'An army of ground staff, including vet Liz Shickle,

'is on hand to make sure they enjoy the experience as much as anyone else.'

-It all happens pretty fast when they hit the ground.

-It does, yeah.

'Today I'm joining Liz to welcome a few of Heathrow's animal VIPs.'

What are we expecting out of this plane?

We've got two pallets of horses, one is at the front and one is at the back.

-We think the one at the back is from Dubai and the one at the front is from New Zealand.

-Wow.

-So...

-Altogether, how many horses on here, do you think?

-Five horses.

I'm only expecting five so there better not be any more.

'While smaller pets can fit into special holds within passenger jets,

'anything the size of a thoroughbred has to fly on special cargo planes.'

At the moment they've started unloading the belly hold, which is the lower hold.

The horses won't be in that. They're on the main deck where you would normally have passengers.

-This is a cargo plane, there are no passengers.

-No, apart from the few grooms.

I think they've got five or six seats here. Otherwise, no passengers.

It's amazing, the thought of flying something as big as horses around the world.

'With fortunes won and lost on the horses being shipped across continents,

'it's vital they're transferred to the racecourses and polo fields in tip-top condition.'

Often on Animal 24:7, the welfare of animals depends on dedicated individuals and love and care.

Here it depends on a lot of heavy metal, big engineering.

That way the animals travel in safety.

'The horses will now be shipped off to the airport's own stables

'for a post-jet-lag health check and I'll catch up with them later.

'But with planes arriving every few seconds,

'the staff here need to be jet-propelled.

'My next port of call is to Heathrow's Animal Reception Centre

'where boss Tristan Bradfield has just opened up a box of snakes.'

What is the key point of these checks, Tristan?

I'm checking the health and the welfare of the animals in this box.

When they come into Europe, they have to have a check at the first port of call

and then it's free movement within Europe.

Are you not at all nervous opening the lid on a box of snakes?

Not usually, no. Depends on the contents.

Obviously, the information says that these are non-venomous.

'Tristan sounds confident, but I'm not sure I'd want to put my hand into a pouch full of pythons.'

-There's a pale snake in there.

-There's some quite unusual colour snakes in here.

-Wow.

-They can be quite snappy sometimes.

-Snappy?

-Yeah.

'And it's a good job they take safety so seriously

'because these slippery customers might be travelling on the same plane as you and me.'

I have to ask, have you ever opened a box and found the snakes are on the plane?

-We have had a few loose snakes on a plane.

-Have you?

-Yes.

We opened up the travelling container, it was a wooden box, it had a hole inside

-and some of the bags were empty.

-Really?

-So we had to go onto the aircraft to catch them.

-Were they venomous ones?

-They were non-venomous, which was fortunate.

And there is no way of the snakes getting between the passenger area

-and the cargo hold.

-I'm relieved to hear that.

So snakes on a plane is a bit unusual.

-But you managed to find them.

-We did. We have an invoice so we knew what was missing

-and we knew what we were looking for.

-An exciting day nonetheless.

I quite like holding them but I'm also quite relieved to put them back.

'As well as the weird and the wonderful,

'it's the sheer bulk of animals passing through here that I find amazing.

'Chihuahuas from China,

'poodles from Poland, anything could come at any time.

'Back airside, it's time for me to catch up with some more jet-setting cats and dogs.

'To get into the country, pets need their own ID,

'but if you think going through customs is tricky for us,

'it truly is a dog's life for recent arrivals like these.

'Chris Samson is an animal attendant.'

They've got a blue passport similar to ours.

They can have a photograph of their animal, an identification chip.

After that's done, there'll be a rabies shot

and then a blood test will be taken.

Six months after the blood sample is taken, then it can come into the UK.

'Among the luggage and parcels today are scores of beloved pets.'

Daisy looks all right after a long flight.

You'd forgive her for being a bit grouchy. I am after a long-haul. Shall we put her in?

'In a 24-hour operation 365 days a year,

'about 4,000 cats and 7,000 pet dogs get moved around like this.'

OK, back to base.

'The pets are all packed off to kennels and catteries on site.

'Before making their onward journey home.

'But one transatlantic pooch has been left pining for home.'

DOG HOWLS

'For most, the happy reunion comes straight away.

'But for Jasper the old English sheepdog, there's been a bit of a hitch.

'His owner, Lyn Talbot, is desperate to see him again.

'But a mix-up in his paperwork has meant his arrival from California has been badly delayed.'

-Shouldn't be long now.

-I'm a nervous wreck!

'Finally it's agreed his passport is in order

'and Lyn and Jasper can be together once more.'

Here he is! Here he is!

OK! Hi, babe!

He's healthy, he's here, we're both here. He's safe. That's all that counts to me.

Are you a good boy? Are you a good boy?

See, he's so friendly. He loves anybody that's going to pet him. Jasper, this way.

'With Jasper setting off for a new life here in Blighty,

'my day with the passenger pets is almost at an end.

'But before I leave, there's just a chance to catch up with the thoroughbred horses.

'They've been transferred to Heathrow's stables and been given a full health check.'

-Have you checked over all five now?

-We have, they're all OK.

They've been tested for certain diseases, depending on what country they've come from.

From New Zealand, they only have to have one test. From Dubai, they've had four tests.

'And with all in fine fettle, they're under starter's orders to leave.'

We've seen it all today, from snakes on a plane to flying horses.

It just shows the lengths they go to here at Heathrow

to make sure every animal coming through is safe and well cared for.

'Coming up, the orphaned fox cub is now all grown up and ready to go.'

These are very hard to catch.

Doesn't look easy and it's not.

Now we're back to Nottingham where RSPCA inspectors are in the middle of a difficult rescue.

Officers have already pulled out over a dozen dogs from a filthy house.

Now they're about to go back inside to look round for others.

'So far 13 dogs have been removed from this house.

'Many are overweight and the conditions they've been living in

'are so appalling their owner may face prosecution.'

I'll just make sure there's no more dogs.

'So as well as searching for more animals,

'Chris needs to gather evidence of how they've been left to suffer.

'It's a gruelling task.'

This is just so wrong.

Oh. It is disgusting.

I mean, I've just found this room.

Obviously some dogs have been, at one stage, forced to live in here, as well.

'In every room, there's evidence that these dogs have been locked inside

'with little chance to venture out.'

The only chance the dogs have got for a bit of fresh air, one window. I think we've opened that.

We're going to have all kinds of respiratory problems from this.

I am feeling quite sad. It still amazes me that people can

subject their animals to such horrific things, really.

I don't think it'll ever stop amazing me or making me feel shocked.

'And soon there's a more bizarre revelation.'

Crufts qualifier 2009.

How...

This is just so wrong.

'Chris has seen enough.

'The priority now is to get all these animals to a vet for a proper check.

'The fleet of rescued animals heads off to the vets.

'Only then will the true extent of their suffering come to light.'

Come on then, you, my little lovely.

'A few miles away, the convoy arrives at the local surgery.

'With so many dogs, checking them is like a production line.'

I've got a brown grizzly bear.

'One by one, they're given a full health check and weighed.

-How much did he weigh?

-48.

-49 kilograms.

'And the scales confirm what everyone thought. Many of these dogs are incredibly fat.

'This one is two and a half stone overweight.'

He is solid. You poor lad.

'And that's not all. Their claws are desperately overgrown.

'Another sign of a lack of exercise.'

Let's snip that one off cos he'll run the risk of ripping it out.

Hey! There we go!

'It's the same story for another chocolate lab, Harvey.'

They are certainly overweight. I think that's probably a conclusion

from being fed a reasonable amount or maybe a little too much

and just not having exercise, not having access to the outside as they should do.

'Harvey is also bearing the scars from living as part of a pack.

'It's clear many of these dogs have been fighting between themselves.'

-A little scar on there.

-Yeah, a few of them had scars. I'm sure they've had a few scraps in their time

if there's a mixture of non-castrated males and entire females, which there obviously is.

'And the filth he's been forced to live in has also left its mark.'

You could smell the urine and faeces on its coat. It's quite overpowering in here.

Go in the room.

'Fenn is next in the consulting room. She's a rare Brittany spaniel.'

I've got a feeling this might be the one that she shows.

'For a show dog, she's a long way from best of breed.'

Again, that's not a breed that, unless you know about dogs, you tend to have.

So she obviously does know about breeding and has an interest in it.

'As the day moves on, the bedraggled pets are eventually all checked.'

This is the last dog we've got to examine.

'They're so out of condition

'it's incredible to think that the owner was once renowned for showing her dogs.'

They're all overweight, bordering on obese, there's a couple of issues.

Generally it's more just poor coat condition.

We need them on a good diet and on an exercise regime that means they're going to be losing weight

and improving their general fitness and wellbeing.

'Meanwhile, their owner still has to be dealt with.

'Still to come, fighting the flab,

'getting the portly pooches back into shape.'

He would quite happily have the bowl full to the top if he could

but we need to make sure he only has what he's supposed to have for a day

and that'll keep him healthy and happy.

Earlier we met an orphaned fox cub who'd been given a second chance

after his mum was run over and killed.

The cub had been successfully weaned after being rescued at just a few days old.

But to have a chance of survival he needs to bond with a foster-mother

and that's not always an easy task.

'For this tiny orphaned fox, the next few hours are going to be crucial.

'Rescue centre manager Ally Townsend and her team

'have spent weeks giving him round-the-clock care.

'But now his life is about to be placed in the hands of vixen foster-mum Mumsy.

'And it's not a straightforward task.

'This fox has been known to attack any cubs she thinks are weak.'

Today is the first time that the cub will be left with her

and it will stay with her until it's ready for release.

It's a very big step for this one now. It's a big milestone for us.

We've got over the major hurdles and we hope it's going to do well.

'But from today, nature will have to take its course.'

It's not used to having such a big open space. It's outside which it's not used to.

And we want Mumsy to come towards it and give it some reassurance, really.

Mumsy.

'Ally is anxious. She's desperate that this first meeting goes to plan.'

Obviously Mum's hiding underneath, which is what we would expect.

The baby's gone in, said hello, now it's gone off to explore.

I would expect Mum to come out shortly and take along the cub and put it under her wing, really.

'Both seem a little wary.

'The cub just wants to play.

'But soon Ally gets some positive vibes.'

That's the babe talking to Mum.

This is a good sign. The babe's obviously found food,

found the box, which is classed as the bed,

settled extremely well, as you can see, tucking into biscuits.

Mum's been in to have a look.

The babe was actually talking and whining to Mum,

and so I think things are looking very, very good.

'And now she's got something to care for,

'the vixen's character will change.'

I think the bonding now is going to be good.

Mum's now trying to encourage it to go underneath into the den

and I think that's her encouraging the baby to come away from us.

And now I think I'm happy to leave them together.

'It's six months later and the fruits of Mumsy's loving care are clear to see.

'Our orphan fox cub has been joined by a few more

'and they have all grown into strapping young foxes.

'Now it's time for them to say goodbye to Mumsy.'

Today is release day for our fox cubs.

We started off with one single cub and now we're up to seven

and Mumsy's brought them on as good as ever

and she's about fed up now, I think. She'd rather be on her own.

So they're up for release today.

'Ally's confident all their natural instincts are fully formed.

'All seven are being taken to the same safe release site.

'But first they have to be caught.

'And with such wild and cunning animals, that's never an easy job.'

'The first one shows how strong and wild they've become.'

These are actually very hard to catch.

It doesn't look easy and it's not.

Right, I've got another one.

'One by one, they all succumb.

'They might be young but the teeth are plenty sharp enough.

'And the graspers are the only way to avoid a nasty bite.'

Ready?

'Finally the cubs are caged.'

Well, thankfully, although it's difficult for us,

at least the cubs have all remained wild

and they were all extremely difficult to catch

and I would've been quite disappointed had I not had some difficulty in catching them.

I now know they'll be quite safe in the wild.

If they realised it was their freedom they were going for, they'd happily walk into the boxes,

but you can't tell a wild animal that.

'For this magnificent seven, freedom now beckons.

'They're taken to Weirfield's soft-release site,

'an overgrown pen where they can acclimatise before striking out on their own.'

In the soft-release pen, we have various tunnels

that lead underground and some of them are blocked off.

So when they're ready for release, we don't just let them go,

we open the tunnels and they can find the tunnels when they want to.

OK, Rebecca.

'One by one, they take their chance...

'..and are soon exploring their new-found sense of space.'

The release part of wildlife rehabilitation is the better part of it.

We see something comes in as a little cub with no eyes open, helpless,

and we have to deal with everything that it needs,

but the reward is always to get something back into the wild.

'At the beginning of the year, the future for all these cubs looked bleak.

'But thanks to their foster-mum, they'll soon be back where nature intended.

'For Mumsy, her work is over, too. It's time to get some well-earned rest

'and wait for the next orphans who need her love.'

To stay in trim, dogs need regular exercise

and this is something the pets we saw earlier had been sadly lacking.

The RSPCA had already rescued 14 overweight canines from a house in Nottingham.

Now the job of getting them back into shape has begun in earnest.

DOGS BARK

'It's eight months later.

'At the RSPCA's rescue home in Nottinghamshire, the dogs' progress is being closely monitored.

'Animal care assistant Hannah Slate is careful to keep them on a strict diet.

'For many, old habits die hard.'

It's gone in seconds.

'But a mixture of exercise and healthy eating

'has brought the group's weight down

'and they're looking much fitter as a result.'

His weight has stayed quite steady since he's been in.

He weighs a bit more than the others because he is quite muscly,

so that weighs more than fat, but they've all stayed quite a nice weight.

'When it comes to exercise time, most of the Labradors seem happy to be outside.'

It's been a month since they've seen each other, so they're all going a bit crazy.

'But their long periods of being stuck inside

'seem to have robbed them of an instinct for fun.'

A lot of them don't know what a ball is because they haven't been played with.

Usually you play with them from a puppy and teach them manners and everything,

but I don't think they've had that so they don't know how to play. They don't chase a ball, they just watch.

'The Labradors are now all enjoying each other's company

'and settling well into their new lives.'

DOGS BARK

'But one of the other rescue dogs is finding it much harder to shake off the past.

'Eight months ago, Fenn, a Brittany spaniel, was found cowering in a cage.

'And it seems her nerves have not improved.'

As you can see, she is quite skittish on a lead, so we're trying to get her to walk nicely by your side.

We're getting her out every day to try and meet new people, new dogs.

'What Fenn and all these dogs need now are loving homes

'where they can finally leave their past behind them.

'But they can't leave just yet. They will have to stay in kennels until their owner has been dealt with.

'Almost a year later, the owner pleads guilty to causing unnecessary suffering.

'She is disqualified from keeping all animals for 12 months

'and ordered to pay £12,000 costs.

Just really fat, aren't you, mate?

'For the victims of her neglect, there were mixed fortunes.

'Sadly, three of the dogs had too many health problems and had to be put to sleep.

'But for the other ten, their future is much brighter.

'Among them Harvey, whose new owners, Anita and Martin Cadman,

'are happy he's already starting to feel at home.'

Harvey's been with us now for about three weeks. He's been really fine.

Very stressed at the beginning, coming into a new home with new people.

At first we wondered what he would be like.

But that was part of the attraction to Harvey, his character.

We wanted a dog that would really fit in and be really nice for the family and he was straight away.

'When he was rescued, Harvey was severely overweight.

'Now he's much slimmer. But he still needs a bit of discipline when it comes to mealtimes.'

He's really mischievous. I can't leave him in the kitchen.

I can't leave any food about. Proper true Labrador.

Always hungry and always on the lookout for whatever he can get into.

'To make sure he's kept on the straight and narrow,

'Anita gives him a carefully controlled diet.'

He would quite happily have the bowl full to the top if he could,

but we need to make sure that he only has what he's supposed to have for a day

and that'll keep him healthy and happy.

'In his previous life, Harvey had been locked in for most of the time with little opportunity to play.'

-He lays like that all the time.

-He lays like a pup.

He does. He lays like a pup.

He behaves like a pup.

'Now he's been given the chance to discover the childhood and freedom he never had.'

We're having to start right from the beginning again with training.

No manners whatsoever.

From what we know about his past, he has never been for a walk

and when we first saw him in the enclosure outside of the kennel,

he just pulled like a train. The poor girl who was bringing him in

needed extremely big arms to hold him back.

Come on, Harvey. Good boy.

-'But the Cadmans are determined to make this relationship work.'

-Good boy.

Come on. Good boy!

I was actually really surprised how quickly I did take to him

after having lost a dog in May.

He wants attention all of the time,

he's just so friendly with everybody.

It's as if he's always been here.

Come on. Come on. Come on.

'Elsewhere, another of the rescue dogs is also going from strength to strength.

'Fenn's a rare Brittany spaniel who it's thought may once have been shown at Crufts.

'Now she's back on her way to show standard

'thanks to her new owners, Steve and Lorraine Adams.'

-We fell for her the first time we saw her.

-Yeah, we soon as we saw her face, it was a dog we really liked.

With it being a spaniel, we sort of knew what to expect.

A lot of energy and a lot of loving,

cos they're nice sociable dogs.

As you can see, she's made herself at home straight away.

She has.

'Fenn was one of the dogs in the house who had often been confined to a pen.

'Now regular exercise is the key and she's relishing a more outdoor way of life.'

This week we've been taking her twice a day for a walk.

A mixture of path walks and field walks. But she's on the lead all the time.

She pulled really hard the first day. Tuesday came, day two,

and there was really no pulling at all. She just walks.

She's still interested in everything but she just walks along quite happily.

She's a bit wary sometimes.

First thing in the morning when she sees us again...

Yeah, slightly unsure who we are.

'But with plenty of activity and after meeting other dogs,

'she's starting to cast her shyness aside.'

She's extremely loving.

She likes jumping up and having cuddles. She has loads of them.

She's always jumping up and having a cuddle.

She just wants lots of love.

Go! Go on, Fenn!

Come, Fenn!

-'Her loss of weight may mean Fenn is half the dog she used to be.'

-Good girl!

'But like her good friend, a newly slimline Harvey,

'these two dogs are enjoying life twice as much as they were before.'

Go!

Come, Fenn. Come, Fenn.

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