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...

Hi. He's hiding in the sofa.

..the dog whose home is a junk-filled back garden.

He looks really pitiful, to be honest.

A lucky escape for an orphaned badger.

The dog or terrier or something has gone down into the set,

picked it up by the scruff of its neck.

Quite an extensive open wound.

And I get to grips with a prickly problem.

If I was a predator, and I had it in my mouth,

-it would be hitting its spikes into me.

-Of course.

The RSPCA rescue and help more than 130,000 animals every year.

In many cases, officers pass on some simple advice

to help owners do the best for their animals.

But, when it comes to serious neglect,

sometimes the only appropriate course of action

is to take the animal away.

Leicestershire.

And a worried member of the public

has made an emergency call to the RSPCA.

Inspector Jayne Bashford is responding to a report

that a dog called Sandy is being kept in a back garden

in appalling conditions.

So, she's on her way to investigate.

Just had a call come through now

about a dog that's meant to be very thin.

All bones are meant to be visible.

And it's meant to be living in its own faeces, etcetera,

in a back garden, with no shelter.

Obviously, from our point of view,

whenever you get a call that says any animal is so thin

that you can see its skeleton,

essentially, through its skin,

it's never good.

They're certainly the sort of jobs that you want to get there quickly,

and have a look at.

The house looks like a typical family home.

But, there's nobody inside.

So, Jayne goes in search of Sandy.

There is signs of a dog. There's a kennel.

Of sorts.

And lots of poo.

And hazards.

But, sadly, no dog, at the moment.

The report's only just come in,

so the lack of a dog in the garden is a bit of a mystery.

SHE WHISTLES

Jayne decides to get a fresh perspective

from the opposite garden,

and, sure enough, quickly spots something moving among the debris.

Hi.

He's hiding in the sofa.

Hello, mate!

Almost hidden from view,

Sandy is cowering underneath the discarded sofa,

surrounded by rubbish.

I've got a very, very nervous,

shivery, timid little dog.

He looks really pitiful, to be honest.

The mystery of the missing dog has now been solved.

Are you going to come out, so we can see you?

But, having seen the state of its living conditions,

Jayne's work is far from over.

Particularly as the complainant says that Sandy's been out here

for two months.

We've potentially got an offence

of failing to meet the needs of this dog,

in terms of the environment it's living in.

I need to find out now whether the situation is so bad

that I can get the dog removed today.

To do that, Jayne needs to get a better look at shy Sandy.

What's this?

What's this?

Her plan is to try to coax it out into the open,

with a tin of dog food.

Want some dinner?

I know. Come on.

I just want him to smell it. Come on, baby.

But even the promise of food can't tempt Sandy away

from the safety of the sofa.

It looks like the chair there is providing a little bed for him,

and that's where he's naturally found his comfortable spot.

It's no wonder Sandy's reluctant to move.

With potential hazards littering the garden,

the sofa probably seems like the safest place.

But, whilst I really want to go and have a look at him,

at the moment I can't, cos I haven't the powers to do that.

But, suddenly, Sandy gets restless,

and briefly scampers out into the open,

allowing Jayne a few valuable glimpses of its body condition.

Thankfully, he's just jumped out, and back in again.

I'm quite satisfied, looking at his body condition.

He's seems to be a lurcher-type dog.

He's not skinny

to the degree I'd be worried about, at all.

So, my main concern now, is the environment that it's living in.

It's a minor miracle Sandy appears to have avoided serious harm.

Jayne has seen enough.

She decides to call a vet.

We've got a very, very, very nervous, depressed-looking

lurcher-type dog.

With a vet onside,

Jayne may be able to get things moving.

We have ways and means, under the Animal Welfare Act,

that if a vet says the environment an animal's living in

is unacceptable,

and that it's likely to suffer if its circumstances don't change

in this environment,

that then gives me the green light, as it were,

to get the police out, to help me to remove the dog.

Around two hours after the emergency call,

vet Emma Crust arrives

to make her own assessment of Sandy's situation.

It looks like a lurcher-type dog.

Its body condition's fair.

That's not really a concern,

but it's the environment.

It's really quite awful.

And its behaviour. It looks so subdued.

-I'll just be grateful for your opinion, really.

-OK.

-All right?

-Yep.

If the vet agrees the conditions are likely to cause suffering,

Jayne will have powers to call the police, and seize the dog.

It's not a suitable environment at all, is it?

My primary concerns for contacting you

was the amount of potential obstructions that are around.

There are lots of foreign body material around.

I think it needs to come out.

Emma knows the garden is full of hazards,

which could make Sandy very sick.

Basically, you've got plastic articles, wood that can be chewed.

There's metal, obviously a lot of stonework and things.

Anything that potentially a young dog would pick up

and become an obstruction in the gut.

It's just not a suitable environment for the dog, really.

With the vet's backing, Jayne calls the police.

She plans to enter the garden and seize the dog for its own safety.

Still to come...

It's all right. I'm not going to hurt you.

..It's gently does it, as Jayne attempts the rescue.

That's a very scared dog, isn't it? Good girl.

And I find out why this tortoise ended up with crumpled body work.

He's all collapsed.

He's dented like this, and his legs are sticking out sideways.

He's an extraordinary shape!

The spring breeding season brings a real boom in Britain's wildlife,

and among the most vulnerable casualties are young badgers.

The cubs face not only the challenge of surviving in the wild,

but also they can become victims of animal cruelty.

So, it's no wonder that staff at one animal rescue centre

find this one of busiest times of the year.

Secret World in Somerset.

For the past 25 years,

it's been a safe haven for wildlife of all shapes and sizes.

But it's also a specialist rescue centre for badgers.

Every year, they take in and care for

around 50 abandoned and injured cubs.

Today, the founder Pauline Kidner is tending to three orphans

who are in need of special care.

Meet Saffron, Lavender and Nutmeg.

They came in incredibly small. We've never had anything as tiny as this.

In fact, the smallest was 55 grammes.

To get three cubs that size through to now is quite incredible,

but I think that probably was because they've had the first milk

from the mother, which gives them the anti-bodies.

We've gone from 12 feeds a day, when they first came in,

to a nice manageable four meals a day,

which is brilliant, as far as I'm concerned.

Found in North Wales, the tiny cubs were the only survivors of four

badger setts, which had been flooded in heavy rain.

To survive, they needed specialist care,

so a relay of drivers transported the cubs

on a six hour journey to Secret World.

That's scent marking going on.

You can see the scent markers quite extended there.

And you'll now get the smell of musk.

It's important that they lay that sense of smell on to their mother

so that they become part of the family smell.

Over the past four weeks,

thanks to the care of Pauline and her team,

the cubs have already made huge progress.

They've gone from 55 grammes to 865 grammes.

Fat as butter.

But they've got a long way to go,

and they still require the constant care of Pauline,

who's become their surrogate mum.

And then before we feed,

it's just a question of wiping them over.

All we're doing is mimicking what the mother would do,

just come and give them a jolly good clean.

Put a little bit of talcum powder on him,

and that's just so they smell the same,

and if anyone else had to do the feeding instead of me,

it's a smell they would recognise.

For these tiny cubs,

Pauline's front room is an unusual but welcome sanctuary.

Their eyes are just beginning to open.

Because they're normally underground,

they don't need their eyes and ears,

so they don't open for the first five weeks.

Goodness me, you're still hungry.

You see those lovely sharp claws,

which, when they get a bit older

obviously is going to be so important for digging.

Clean and full of milk,

Saffron, Lavender and Nutmeg settle down.

They may have put on a lot of weight,

but Pauline knows they're still very much at risk.

Even now, there's always that risk of losing them.

Feeding them, getting pneumonia, where they can get fluid on their chests.

So, we're a long way clear of being successful.

Obviously, we hope all the time and effort is going to be worthwhile.

There are still many challenges ahead for these cubs to overcome

before they're fit and ready to return to the wild.

It's now a month on.

And thanks to the efforts of all the staff,

the three cubs are putting on weight and doing well.

But on the other side of the centre, there is a new arrival.

This is Minty.

He was found injured and alone, after being attacked by a dog.

Animal care manager Sara Cowan is nursing him back to health.

You quite often see dog injuries with badger cubs,

especially at this age,

because a dog or terrier has gone down into a sett and picked it up.

He had lots of puncture wounds,

and like I say, probably where a dog's picked him up by the scruff of his neck,

quite an extensive open wound.

It's not uncommon.

Orphaned and on his own,

it's hoped Minty will be able to join up with Lavender, Saffron and Nutmeg.

Making them a family unit

will give them all the best chance of survival

when they return to the wild.

They're naturally very gregarious.

They live in big groups and they like to play,

but the problem is when they're on their own,

their play is with a human being.

That's ultimately, in the long-term, not going to be beneficial,

so we need to get them ignoring us.

Although unfortunately for Judith it's hard to give them away,

it's the right thing to do.

But before he can join the other orphans,

like all new arrivals, Minty needs a series of health checks.

What we do now, we need to go upstairs,

we need to check his teeth out and do a dental record,

measure him and introduce him to the gang.

First up is a trip to the dentist.

Animal care assistant Andy Parr will help with the examination.

-Hello. I've got another badger cub for you.

-Excellent.

-The numbers are going up.

-They are.

We're going to be looking at Minty's development as he goes along.

What we need to do is record the rate at which his teeth are erupting.

We need to have a good feel in his mouth, see what ones are coming,

and Andy's going to do the recording.

Sara uses her finger to see what teeth Minty has already,

and which ones are coming through.

Premolars on the lower teeth. Two. First two.

And I have got one big molar.

Badgers eat a wide range of different foods,

from small mammals to plants and nuts.

With such a varied diet,

it's essential Minty's teeth are in good order.

The next tricky test is to measure this little badger,

which will tell Sara roughly how old he is.

-So what we do, if you come here, Andy.

-OK.

I hold his nose here, at the edge.

You have to pull him out to the tip of his tail,

then keep your finger on the mark.

Then we measure it.

Right. OK, go.

Keep your finger down.

He is...

42 centimetres.

That gives us an indication he's about eight weeks old.

He's about the same size as the others.

Now, the next job to put him in with the rest of the gang.

After being attacked by a dog and left an orphan,

Sara wants to introduce Minty to his new family.

But it's not clear whether Saffron, Lavender and Nutmeg will accept him.

Probably what will happen, he'll fall asleep with them,

but we'll see what happens.

He might disrupt the entire group.

Come down you lot, move over here a bit.

Let's pop Minty in there.

Here's your new friends.

After a bit of huffing and puffing,

Minty finds himself a place in the heap of relaxed badger cubs.

Well, he's in there now quite happy having a little

bit of a sniff around and seeing who's who, giving them a little bit

of a bite as well and lots of play interaction, which is really nice.

Basically, it's all gone very well. I think he'll be fine.

Secret World aims to release their badger cubs into the wild

but, before that can happen, they will all have to pass

a life-or-death test to ensure they're free of disease.

'Still to come, the tests prove a trying time for Minty the badger.'

When they come in and out of an anaesthetic,

they can be very hyper-sensitive.

You're a little cry baby, aren't you, Minty, eh?

'I get to handle Hermon, the bearded dragon.'

Oh, it feels a bit weird.

They're prickly, ain't they?

Yeah, like the very roughest, coarsest sandpaper.

Now, we're returning to Leicestershire where earlier,

we were with RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford

as she investigated the story of Sandy the lurcher.

Jayne found her frightened and all alone in a junk-filled back garden.

With so many hazards surrounding Sandy, Jayne knows that

drastic action is needed to rescue the dog.

Jayne's discovery of Sandy cowering underneath a sofa in a dirty

and dangerous backyard has deeply shocked her.

So far, she's called in vet Emma Crust to support

her assessment that Sandy needs to be seized and taken to safety.

It's really unusual for a dog just to sit and not move and not bark

and not show any interest in strangers poking their heads

over a fence into his environment.

So, it is a real concern that the dog's behaving in that way.

In a few minutes, two local officers arrive on the scene.

They have legal powers to gain access

and help get the dog to safety.

Yeah.

Hello.

Right, let's see.

Hello, mate.

Are you going to come, then?

Go walkies? Hello. You're terrified, aren't you, eh?

As the team enter,

it's clear this frightened dog doesn't know friend from foe.

Hello. Look, what's this? Smell that, sniff, sniff.

It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you.

It takes a lot of reassurance before Sandy cautiously allows Jayne

to attach a grasper.

Good.

But even then, she's reluctant to leave the sanctuary of the sofa.

That's a very scared dog, isn't it?

I'll tell you what we'll do, yeah, if we try...

Shall we try pulling the chair as well? OK.

-All right, good girl.

-There we are.

Slowly, Jayne is able to lead Sandy into the open.

Good girl, come on, button. There we are. I got you.

The grasper looks brutal...

Good girl.

..but it means she can't hurt herself or the people trying to help.

I've used the grasper to take hold of the dog purely and simply

because it's the first dealings I've had with it.

We've had no indication of how it might've responded when approached.

So far, it's been absolutely fantastic.

It's not showing any problems other than just being utterly terrified.

So, I think, the sooner it can be removed from this, and the

memories that this garden obviously holds, the better for this animal.

Sandy is very scared and reluctant to move.

To reduce the stress on her, Jayne fetches a portable kennel.

-There's a good girl. You're ever so good.

-Good girl. In you go. Oh, oh.

In you go. OK. OK. That's it.

Now she's finally out of harm's way,

Jayne can take a closer look at the dumping ground that's been her home.

It's littered with hazards to make even an experienced inspector shudder.

It just gets worse and worse really. We found an open Stanley knife blade lying in the dog's

main living area, as it were.

Then, quite alarmingly, as we've walked up the garden to look at this area

where the dog has obviously been using as its main toilet,

we found what looks like...

a samurai sword of some description dug into the ground.

So, it just all adds to the picture, really, of it being a completely unsuitable environment.

It's a wonder that Sandy hasn't come to any harm.

The state of this garden is enough for Jayne to consider prosecution

so she gathers evidence that could be used in court.

It's just important to work around the garden

and take as much photographic evidence as you can.

You can see also the way the dog's been jumping up at the windows

and the door in an attempt to attract attention, I would imagine.

It seems this visit hasn't come a moment too soon for Sandy.

The water bowl was completely empty.

She's loaded into the safety of Jayne's van.

So, now that we've got the dog out, that's the most important

thing now, we just need to let the owner know what's happened.

So I've posted a card from the police to let him know

that the police have also been here.

I'll put a notice on the door explaining what's happened,

that we've removed his dog and asking him to get in contact with me

as soon as possible.

So, hopefully, as soon as he sees the notice, he'll ring me up.

For this dog, it's off for a full health check

and a little bit of TLC.

Still to come - there's a real surprise for Jayne at the vets.

She's gone from being very, very quiet

and timid to a really bouncy, happy buoyant little girl.

You wouldn't think it was the same dog.

Taking care of a domestic pet like a cat or dog comes with

its own responsibilities, but owning an exotic animal,

which requires much more care, can prove too much for some people.

That's when they often get discarded

and wildlife rescue centres can be called in to pick up the pieces.

Tiggywinkles in Buckinghamshire is one of the country's busiest

wildlife rescue centres.

Most of the animals they take in are native to Britain,

but founder Les Stocker

is worried about the growing number of abandoned exotic pets

from across the globe which he and his staff are having to deal with.

We've got in here a couple of African pygmy hedgehogs.

I was going to say, they look familiar, particularly to Tiggywinkles.

-Yeah.

-They're not quite the same, are they?

-No, they're very cute.

They shouldn't be here, that's the whole point.

-Did they come as pets, is that why they're here?

-Yes, that's right.

There's a big pet trade going on now. It was in America.

It's big business in America.

They're selling these hedgehogs and they've started selling them over here

and people are buying them as pets, but they ain't very good pets.

-I'll show you.

-Oh, really?

-Put them on.

You're not going to cuddle and stroke these things, I'll tell you.

I think there's a clue in the gloves

-as to why they may not be great pets.

-Yeah.

Because the European hedgehog is protected and cannot be

kept as a pet, the African pygmy species have been specially bred

as an attractive legal alternative,

but Les feels their prickly nature makes them

a real handful and that's why owners often lose interest in them.

That movement that he's doing, is that a defence thing?

-It's called boxing. Yeah, they just bounce and bounce.

-Really?

He's very stressed.

If I was a predator and I had it in my mouth, it would be

hitting its spines into me?

-Yeah.

-Oh! You can really feel that movement. It comes out pretty fast.

Those spikes are moving, aren't they?

We should probably put him down on the ground so he's less stressed.

Yeah. Every time you've got one and you pick it up it's stressed, it's stressed out of its mind.

That isn't good for a hedgehog.

When you buy one as an owner, then what can you do with it?

You can't sit in front of the telly and stroke it like you would a cat or

a dog at night, it's just going to be prickly and it's going to bite you.

Just not pets.

People just dump them

because they're hard to look after and the poor thing's going to suffer.

Another demanding pet, but one which is much more common in this country, is the tortoise.

Our last species had an attitude problem,

but these guys are pretty calm, aren't they?

They are calm, but they're very, very sophisticated.

These prehistoric reptiles may have been a family favourite

for many years, but Les believes we still have a lot to learn

about how to care for them properly.

They are very difficult to look after. They have their problems.

You've got to give them every bit of tender loving care.

Despite their hardy looking appearance, you're saying

they're actually fairly delicate and they need very sensitive handling?

Yes. Very, Very much so.

Providing the right habitat for a tortoise is a tricky business

as they crave warmth

and also ideally need a large outside space to roam in.

One of the biggest mistakes made by their owners is failing to

feed them the right food.

Now, you look at him compared with that one.

Now, this guy is 18 years old.

You can see he's all collapsed,

he's dented like this and his legs are sticking out sideways.

-He's an extraordinary shape.

-Yeah.

This is because he was brought up on the wrong diet, it was the wrong food.

People think tortoises, "Oh, they eat lettuce", they don't, very sophisticated food.

They need a bit of meat in with their food and things like that.

Do they actually suffer because of this?

They do suffer, especially when they're young.

If you get a small tortoise and you start feeding it the wrong food,

its insides are going to suffer.

The shell is going to compress. It's going to muck up its internal organs.

A lot of them die. A lot of them don't actually make it to teenagehood, you know,

because they've just been crushed by the shell pressing down on all their organs.

Luckily for this fella, he came to Tiggywinkles just in time.

But, as I continue my tour of the centre with Les, it's clear

he's not the only exotic pet who suffered due to a lack of care.

This is Hermon the bearded dragon.

We're up here in our vet's flat and this is another one we've had

to adopt because it's been dumped in the wild.

It's got major problems, this one.

He's got what's called metabolic bone disease.

This is, basically, when he was growing up,

he hadn't ate the right diet

and he's got a lack of calcium and his bones are just not strong enough.

Also, it needs ultra violet light just to make it absorb the calcium.

So it was just missing both those things which now

we have to give it to him.

Just like us with vitamin D in our skin, sunlight helps them. They need UV.

They need sunlight and British sunlight isn't good enough for them.

They need one of these special bulbs in here.

I can see it's 35 degrees in there.

-It is all right for me to handle them?

-Please do. There you go.

-Ooh. It feels a bit weird.

-It's prickly, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's like the very roughest coarsest sandpaper.

It feels surprisingly warm for a cold-blooded creature,

but I guess that comes from a very warm place in there.

That's what keeps them going. They need that extra warmth.

The issue here is that his legs are not sufficiently strong, they have developed poorly?

The bones are thin and fragile.

How common are they as pets?

They are very common as pets.

They're not too much money, they're cute, tiny animals,

but unfortunately,

they grow quite big.

Places that rescue bearded dragons are getting quite a few now

where people have just dumped them.

It's clear that owning an exotic pet is a big commitment and requires

a strong understanding of exactly how to look after the animal.

That way, hopefully, more creatures like Herman here won't end up

abandoned and in need of help.

Still to come, Sandy undergoes urgent health checks,

but what will the future hold?

My strong hope is that Sandy is now safe

and will not be put back into a situation where she could find

herself in the same position again later in life.

Now, we're heading back to Secret World Wildlife Rescue in Somerset.

Earlier, we saw how staff were preparing for four badger cubs

who'd been brought into the centre after they'd been orphaned.

Saffron, Lavender, Nutmeg and Minty

had been brought together to form a new family,

but before they can be released back into the wild, they face a series

of crucial medical checks which will decide whether they live or die.

At the centre, animal care manager Sara Cowan is preparing

the cubs for their big day.

Today, we're taking the first blood test from the baby badgers

which is to test them for tuberculosis.

In the wild, badgers can carry TB

and this can be passed on to cattle through the badgers' faeces.

Any farm animals infected have to be put to sleep.

So, to stop the spread of the disease, every rescued badger

must be checked for the virus before it can be released.

In the treatment room, the first cub Minty is given anaesthetic.

We want to ensure we are putting badgers out

that we know are completely free of bovine TB.

One of the first jobs for vet Liz Molyneux is to take blood

from Minty to be checked in a laboratory

for any sign of the TB virus.

When we do the blood test, the positive numbers are extremely small.

I think it is 1 in 200.

Of those, only a small percentage are confirmed as being TB positive.

So, really, really low numbers.

But we have to ensure that confidence

that farmers and landowners,

that when we're putting the cubs back,

the cubs that go back are TB free.

Aside from this test, staff at Secret World

also go to the extra lengths of getting every rescued badger drugs

to protect them against the disease.

We want to vaccinate them as young as we possibly can

so they're protected before they have any chance of coming into contact with TB.

The cubs are given oxygen as they come round to help reverse

the anaesthetic as quickly as possible.

When they come in and out of the anaesthetic,

they can be very hypersensitive.

They react. Sometimes they cry, sometimes they thrash around a bit.

It is purely because they're all a bit confused

but there's no pain.

It's just a traumatic period. You're a little cry baby, aren't you, Minty, eh?

The aim is to keep their time in a strange environment to a minimum.

-Once Minty is weighed...

-1.75 kilos.

..Saffron, Lavender and Nutmeg have their blood tests.

They're followed by their vaccinations.

It's now two months later.

The results of the latest TB test have so far revealed

they are all free of disease.

Today, Sara is preparing to move the cubs

into their brand-new outdoor enclosure.

It's the next step on the journey back to the wild.

It's a great big playground for them.

On a nice windy day, they will have a good time running round.

We have various things we have put in the enclosure for them to play around,

to run in, just to get some enrichment for them.

What is so perfect about this enclosure is that we have

completely underwired it so they can't dig out

so they'll be safe and nothing can get to them.

The other thing is, the whole area is double-meshed so at no point

can the badger cubs come into contact with other wild badgers.

Whatever happens, where they go, we will know they are completely healthy

disease-free badgers.

In the middle of the pen,

Sara and the team have built the cubs their very own badger sett.

With tunnelled entrances and straw bedding,

Sara hopes this will be the perfect new home for the cubs.

It even has its very own state-of-the-art CCTV

so staff can monitor their progress.

Getting them in it could prove a tricky business.

BADGERS SQUEAL

Hopefully, they'll quietly go in and inquisitively look at it.

Obviously, it is a new environment.

They are stressed because they are out of their comfort zone.

So, we'll see how it goes, really.

Badgers are inquisitive and love to explore.

This lot seem to be dragging their heels.

-They're not sure, are they? They want to go.

-One's gone.

Off you go. Once one goes in, they'll start following.

That's two in. The natural behaviour is to go

and have a good look at what is in there.

They'll all follow each other.

No sooner are some in than they are back out again.

Go on, back with your friends, there you go.

That's them all in. That wasn't so bad.

We will wedge this end with some of this hay to keep them

in there so they can settle down, have a good old sniff around.

You can hear them snorting about in there. We will retreat out of the pen.

Hopefully, once they have settled down, they'll push the hay out and have a rummage around.

15 minutes later, and to Sara's delight,

it seems like the cubs are ready to venture further afield.

Hello.

Hello.

Well, one of them anyway.

We've got a little nose poking out now. He's almost like a weasel.

He's having a sniff. Oh, no, that's scary. That's new.

Ooh, hello.

I might come out and have a look round.

One's out. Being brave.

Ooh, no. That's scary.

Aww!

The most important part of their rehabilitation process

is that there now learn to be badgers as opposed to baby badgers.

They need to interact with each other, forage, dig and everything

that we'll now observe with them as a new group will give them

everything they need to be able to survive out in the wild.

After a traumatic start in life, these orphaned cubs,

Saffron, Lavender, Nutmeg and Minty have had all the care

and attention they'd ever need.

From bath time to bottle feeds, and even trips to the dentist,

it has firmly put them back on the path to becoming wild animals again.

This is probably the best part of the job

and I never get bored of it, even after 20 years.

Every time you watch this, it makes you realise that it is worth it,

all the effort that you've put in through the last few months.

And it's just fantastic.

In around four months' time, they will be taken to a special

release site and set free, back into the wild.

Now, we're back to the story of Sandy the lurcher who had been left

outside and neglected at a house in Leicestershire.

Earlier, we saw how RSPCA inspector Jayne Bashford

discovered her in a junk-filled back garden

and as events continued to unfold, this is becoming

one of the most shocking cases Jayne's ever had to deal with.

Jayne found Sandy under an old sofa, shaking with fear...

I've got a very, very nervous, shivery, timid dog.

..hiding in a garden littered with danger.

A Samurai sword of some description.

On the advice of the vet Emma Crust,

Jayne called the police and seized Sandy.

That is a very scared dog, isn't it?

Come on, button. There we are.

Now this young dog is in urgent need of a health check.

As she arrives at the vet's,

Jayne isn't sure how Sandy will react in a strange environment.

She's just extremely nervy.

Come on, button. Good girl!

But Sandy settles much quicker than she expected.

She seems to be enjoying the attention.

Hello, sweetheart. Hello. You've got a nice, waggly tail.

You're not as scared as I thought you were going to be. Ooh!

She's very sweet.

Yeah.

The change in this dog is quite spectacular.

She has gone from being very quiet and timid,

perhaps one of the most timid dogs I've seen in my service so far,

to a really bouncy, happy buoyant little girl.

You wouldn't think it was the same dog in the space of half an hour.

It's lovely to see her.

She seems to be a lot happier

and quite grateful to be out of that situation.

What's happened to you?

Why are you so bouncy now? Are you happy now?

So, Sandy seems happy, but is she healthy? Emma needs to examine her.

It's OK.

Aww, good girl.

And she has an enthusiastic patient.

I can't believe it's the same dog!

Let's have a listen.

First, she checks her heart rate.

It sounds OK.

Does it? Good.

Then her temperature.

It's a bit high, but I suspect it's probably raised because of stress.

And her ears.

That's a very good girl. One second.

-Spotlessly clean.

-Good.

And, despite her ordeal, remarkably, Sandy has a clean bill of health.

Clinically, there doesn't appear to be any health problems going on.

Her ears and teeth are nice and clean. No discharge from her eyes.

She looks as if she hasn't had any injuries from being in the garden that she was in.

Jayne is relieved that she saved Sandy before she came to any harm.

'It's heartbreaking when you see an animal like that,

'living in those conditions.

'And looking into her face in the garden, she was utterly depressed.

'You shouldn't keep your animals in that way.'

Jayne will continue the investigation.

She needs to contact Sandy's owner.

My strong hope is that Sandy is now safe

and will not be put back into a situation

where she could find herself in the same position again later in life.

Four months later,

this is the RSPCA's animal home at Burton-on-Trent in Staffordshire.

To help put her old life behind her, Sandy has been renamed Lily.

Jayne's here to check on her progress.

Oh! Hello, Lily.

Lily is now in the shop window with dozens of other dogs

hoping to catch the eye of would-be owners.

Good girl.

Until she does, at least now, she has a big safe area to play in.

-Good girl.

-Good girl.

Good girl.

Lily's owner has signed her over to the RSPCA.

They've acknowledged that there were some circumstances at the time

which had led to the conditions that Lily had been left in.

They've taken the brave decision

and have acknowledged that that was far from ideal for Lily.

The only objective for me was to make sure that she was removed

from that situation and so that she could start to look to have a happier future.

The staff here have been working with Lily to build her confidence.

Since she has been at the kennels, the staff have reported

that she is very friendly and happy to see people, very interactive.

They are reporting a few small issues in terms of her behaviour.

She is still shy around some people and she will withdraw at times.

But I'm quite confident that with time and the right new home,

it's nothing that can't be put right with a bit of love.

And Lily should have a new home soon.

She has been viewed by members of the public that have visited the centre.

Lots of people have expressed an interest in her.

One lady in particular has expressed a strong desire to re-home Lily.

I'm confident she will fit in very well into a loving home.

Oh, bless her!

If you think you know of a case of wildlife crime or a creature

that needs immediate help, remember,

there are dedicated professionals out there

who will answer your call right around the clock.

They are the people we meet on animal 24:7.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd