Horseboy and the Dog Scaring the Neighbours Animal Saints and Sinners

-Good boy.

-Nearly half of Britain owns a pet.

It's all right, mate.

KNOCKING

It's the Council and police. Can you open the door, please?

But man and beast don't always live together in harmony.

I have reason to believe it is your dog

and you've had it for a fair few years and not two weeks.

When things go wrong

animal wardens are there to protect our pets...

..and keep their owners in check.

I'm not having my dog taken of me, mate.

I love you too. WHISPERS: Yes, I do.

But for some of us, our animals are more than just pets.

I wouldn't know what to do without him.

They can change and even save lives.

I owe my life to these horses.

This is Animal Saints And Sinners.

DOG BARKS

Coming up...

A roaming dog is causing chaos in Kirklees.

Stand still. Don't run.

You may also be looking at a prosecution under the dangerous

dog legislation.

Horses help a young boy and his family to communicate.

He often wants to hold my hand.

We don't get much physical contact, so it's nice for me

and him to spend that time together.

And welfare officers must make a dog owner see sense

when it comes to their pet's security.

-There are cars coming down there and Teddy's dead.

-Don't.

And you're going to wish that you'd really listened to me.

Newham is one of the most deprived boroughs in Greater London.

It has a diverse population of people and animals.

But for animal welfare officers, Sue Heathcoat and Tina Delaney,

the most common issues they deal with are dog related.

From dangerous breeds...

The thing is, if you don't let me take him nicely,

then what's going to happen is, if he is a pit bull,

he won't be coming back to you.

..mistreated pets...

You're going to clean this up, are you? But that's not your dog?

No, that's not my dog.

..and roaming animals...

You're used to going out on your own, aren't you?

And today is no exception.

We've had a complaint from someone who says their neighbour's

dogs have been getting out the front, straying.

And when they have, they've been chasing people.

Obviously they feel quite intimidated by the dogs.

So we're going to go round the premises.

We do know of the family and premises,

because they have got out before.

But over the back fences, usually. That seems to have stopped.

This is a serious offence.

If people do feel intimidated by their dogs,

then they can be seized and the owners can be prosecuted.

DOG BARKS

Hello. From the Council.

The owners aren't at home. But the dogs clearly are.

-Oh, it's a Staffie, look.

-Is it?

-Yes, you can see it through there.

Look, it's a Staff.

There's a Staff and a little, small, sort of...

Little dog there.

And Tina soon sees the potential problem.

Unfortunately, you know, if either of the dogs actually wanted to

get out, this door's open, and it seems to have been broken.

In addition, their main door,

there's kind of a flimsy bit of cardboard at the top.

It's their responsibility to make sure their dogs cannot come

out of their property.

Apart from the fact that the dogs can get injured,

they can cross a road and be hit by a car,

or go and wander across a main road.

But this isn't secure at all.

And that doesn't shut.

Despite the property not being secure,

Tina is unable to enter the property without the owner's permission.

DOGS BARK

Just telling them to contact us as soon as possible.

What they need to do is call us. And we're going to advise them.

The owners have seven days to respond to Tina's letter,

or she may need to take further action.

If it was my dogs in my house,

I'd want to make sure that they're secure. That they can't come out.

Even just by being hit by a car on the road.

It's not just about people's safety, it's the dogs'.

And that runs a risk to them.

We'll find out later if the owners respond.

In Wakefield,

dog warden Mark Douglas is in the middle of a busy shift.

Hello there. It's Mark from Wakefield Council, dog warden.

We had a call about a dog itself. Not about a particular property here.

But in the park.

And today he's following up on the calls that have come in overnight.

OK, we've had a call that came through last night regarding

a member of the public who's found a dog.

We'll go round to the property and see if they still have the dog.

It's a terrier that this gentleman's found.

It's safe at the moment where he's keeping it.

Mark is concerned because the dog was found wandering

the busy town centre.

-You found her in the retail park, did you?

-Yeah.

Now then, you're a beautiful little dog. Like a Parson's Terrier.

-Yeah, he is.

-You can put him down now if you want.

I've got him on there.

Most of the time, when the dog is straying,

there's all sorts of dangers. It may not know its surroundings.

It could be very nervous and afraid. It could be, potentially, dangerous.

Running in and out of traffic, causing an issue with the motorists.

Somebody may not hit the dog, but if they suddenly brake, the car

behind may not see it and then there's an accident on the highway.

You're not a very old dog. You're about 18 months or so.

It's got a rash on its tummy.

-He's got a rash on his tummy?

-Yeah.

-Let's have a look at you. It's a girl, isn't it?

-Yeah.

It's got a little cut on there.

Apart from the small rash and cut, the dog is in good condition,

which makes Mark think it's someone's pet and not a stray.

He's got no collar on. Did he have no collar on when you found him?

No, as he is.

It has no collar or tag,

so Mark's first job is to check if the dog is chipped.

He is chipped, yeah. There we are.

What we'll do, we'll get in touch with the database, quote that

number to them and they'll tell us who he is and where's he's from.

-There's some biscuits if you want them.

-We'll take those. Thank you.

We'll find out where she's from and I'll give you a quick courtesy

-call back to let you know how she's going and where she is.

-Good.

-All right.

-Thank you very much.

-Thanks for your help.

-No worries.

-Take care.

-See you later.

Come on.

Good girl.

Good girl.

What we'll do is, we'll take it to the kennels, and then we'll phone

through to the microchip and they'll tell us, hopefully, whose dog it is.

When an animal is microchipped,

it can make Mark's job of tracing the owner a much easier one.

Although it's not always without its problems.

I've had occasions where the dogs have been passed on to other

members of the family or public for re-homing.

And they don't update the details on the chip.

So let's just hope that the details are still correct,

and we can inform them that we've got the dog, it's safe and well,

and it'll be in a safe place to be collected.

While Mark attempts to trace the owner,

the dog will be kept at a local kennels.

Hey there, little one.

-Come on then.

-Right, I need to take a picture of her.

Good girl!

That'll do. Yeah, thank you.

Mark will use the photograph as means of identification,

if and when he can trace the owner.

DOGS BARK

OK, I'm going to ring through the chip details.

Quote them the number. But we may have to ring a few companies up

before we get the right answer.

It's pot luck who you're going to get.

And they'll tell us if it's them or not.

There are three main companies that deal with micro-chipping.

And Mark has no idea which one the dog is registered to.

Good morning, Catriona.

It's Mark Douglas here from Wakefield dog wardens at Wakefield Council.

I've got a dog if you can help me out.

I have, yes.

It looks like Mark is in luck on the first call.

Daisy. Yes, Daisy's fit and well. Yes.

But it's not all straightforward.

Wait a minute...

Where did you say, Ashington?

Northumberland.

It was chipped to a property in Northumberland, which is

probably about 150 miles away from Wakefield.

Still doesn't explain why it was in Wakefield city centre.

There's no change of ownership, I take it, on your records?

Yeah, there's no collar or tag on the dog either, to help out that way.

For Mark, this is the worst possible result.

Thank you. Have a nice day. Bye-bye.

The little dog's called Daisy. She was born in 2012.

I suspected she'd be about 18 months old.

She's registered to a property in Ashington, which is

in Northumberland.

So she's a long way from home.

Situations like these are difficult for Mark,

as there are many possible scenarios.

It's a guessing game now.

They're either going to tell me they re-homed the dog,

moved house or someone was looking after the dog on their behalf.

Or, the fourth one is, it's been stolen.

The company did give Mark phone numbers for

the Northumberland address.

But it's not good news.

'Please try again later. It has not been possible to connect your call.'

We can't use that number. That sounds like it was disconnected.

I'll try the land line number.

It's ringing. That's a bonus.

Hello. Good afternoon.

It's Mark Douglas from Wakefield dog wardens at Wakefield Council.

It's a Jack Russell. Well, it's a Parson's Terrier.

No. It's a bitch. It's called Daisy.

Mark is in luck as the woman does know Daisy.

She was found in Wakefield.

But she tells him she's had Daisy re-homed.

Did you re-home her recently?

A while ago. OK then. Speak to you in a short while. Bye.

The lady there, she re-homed the dog quite a long time ago.

I obviously told her I was from Wakefield

and she said the dog was re-homed "down that way."

The previous owner doesn't have the new owners details.

So, for Mark, it's back to square one.

She still has no collar or tag on, which is a legal requirement.

And she's obviously chipped, but not registered to them.

The paperwork hasn't been sent off properly to transfer ownership.

Without the owner's details,

Mark has no way of reuniting Daisy with her owner.

There we are. Now then, Daisy.

The worst part of the job is when you can't get a result,

there's no identification on the animal,

no-one's coming forward to say who it belongs to.

Hopefully the animal does get sorted out

and an owner will be found for it.

Find out later if Daisy is reunited with her owner.

In Warwickshire, horses are helping one boy come out of his shell.

I didn't really realise that horses could have such a big

impact on our family in such a great way.

When Kate Taylor gave birth to her son, Dee,

she was overjoyed to have the family she had always wanted.

He seemed like quite a quiet baby. He seemed quite a contemplative baby.

We were very amused by his lovely round face

and his sort of almost Buddha-like quality.

He would just sit and be very still and very happy.

So, for a long time,

that was great and he appeared to be developing quite normally, really.

But after the first year, Kate started to notice things

weren't quite right.

He started going to toddler sessions with other children.

And I think it was at that point that his dad noticed that he wasn't

developing the same as the other children.

He didn't have the same interests as the other children.

He wasn't interested in anything. He wasn't interested in the toys.

But it was more than just his different behaviour that

started to cause Kate real concern.

His speech didn't develop so we didn't have any babbling.

He didn't make any attempts to say 'mum' or 'dad'.

In line with the odd behaviours that we'd started to notice, the

speech was the main thing really that prompted us to take him to the

doctor and try and investigate what was the matter.

Dee endured six months of tests,

to try to determine what was the problem.

We had lots of hearing checks. He had some speech and language therapy.

He went to a day care centre.

And they were instrumental in getting his diagnosis.

They contacted various different people, who came in to see him.

They, together, came about with the diagnosis of autism.

It was a devastating blow for Kate and her family.

When Dee was diagnosed, it was very, very,

very upsetting for everybody, really. And it's a lifelong disability.

And knowing that,

knowing that this was something that was never going to go away.

Dee is now 11 years old and living with a developmental

condition like autism affects his ability to communicate normally.

Dee struggles to manage emotions.

So, for Kate, the parent-child bond would prove to be difficult

to establish.

We had a period of grieving for the child that we weren't going to have.

And the future that he wasn't going to have.

So it was very, very sad.

Time for another one.

He is not aware that he's autistic.

He doesn't know that he's different to anyone else or any other children.

-Well, I...

-I want one car.

-OK.

Dee's condition means he struggles to make

sense of the world around him,

which makes many childhood experiences almost impossible.

Play is a big issue for him.

And quite restrictive. He can't really engage with imaginative play

so lots of Dee's play is based in very familiar, similar routines.

Dee gets very anxious in lots of different situations.

So, as soon as we do something different that's not

part of his routine, he finds that incredibly difficult to deal with.

That could be as simple as wearing different clothes,

not going to school at the same time, eating different food.

We can't go to a wedding. We can't go to a birthday party.

Because he just can't manage himself or the other people,

or the situation in general.

So family life becomes very isolated. That's very hard.

Let's let the rabbit in the living room.

Communication has been a huge issue,

so although he did start talking from about three and a half to four,

he didn't actually begin communicating effectively

until he was about eight or nine.

And that's still problematic now,

in that he communicates very well on his own terms.

But he finds it very hard to engage in an effective conversation.

-Look how her ears...

-She likes it better when you stroke them down.

Kate was desperate to find a way of getting Dee to communicate better,

to enable him to enjoy life to the full.

We had noticed that Dee liked horses.

He's always been very interested in horses.

We found Nicola because she offers such a specific therapy that

caters for children like Dee, with autism.

Nicola Hepburn runs a UK charity which uses interaction with

horses to help autistic children like Dee communicate better.

Dee has been coming here for four years.

Dee, do you want to come here? Do you want to see Bertie?

Do you want to pop your hands on him. Oh, wow.

-Her legs are black and hairy.

-They are hairy.

Do you not have to cut all that hair off soon?

We're not going to cut it off. We're going to let it grow nice and long.

Her feet are going hairy now.

He is getting a bit hairy. Bertie's quite a hairy horse.

Dee knows all the horses' names. Their colours.

He can describe them all, down to perfect detail.

He knows how old they all are. He knows when their birthdays are.

-Say hello, Bertie.

-Hello, Bertie.

Do you want to have a sit on Bertie? Do you want to have a lie down?

OK. Could you help him?

Dee, if you hang on...

Jump. That's it.

Which way are you going, Dee?

-That's it.

-I'll just help you move a little bit.

This is what we call sensory.

So Dee's just relaxing,

having a nice sensory experience on the horse.

He can feel the warmth of the horse. He can feel the horse's breathing.

He can feel the horse's fur.

And it basically will just calm Dee.

And any anxious behaviour will just fall away.

Dee doesn't ever sit still.

So it's a really nice time for him to rest.

What's nice, I think,

is that Dee only used to do this for about 30 seconds.

He's been able to...

..do it for longer and longer.

The Horse Boy therapy has helped us

to be able to enjoy something with Dee that we can access all together.

Do you want to turn round so you put your head here?

He often wants to hold my hand.

We don't get much physical contact, so it's nice for me

and him to spend that time together.

-You are beautiful.

-Thank you.

-Dee, are you ready to do some riding?

-Yes.

The physical movement Dee experiences when horse riding

also helps to encourage interaction and communication.

Good job.

It's not about teaching Dee to ride.

It's about him having the experience of being on the horse.

It's using the horse as another therapist,

just to help Dee communicate and have fun.

Can you get away from there?

When he got on the horse, it was like he had just always been there.

He was so happy to be sitting on the horse, so comfortable.

What's that? What are you doing?

I think the thing that's helped the most is with his communication,

his ability to hold a conversation.

-What's your dog called?

-Kofi.

Kofi...and what's the other one called?

I don't have another one.

Social skills are something children with autism really struggle with.

As you can see at the moment, Dee's not struggling with social skills at all.

He's completely relaxed and enjoying himself, talking to everybody.

-What happened to the old one?

-Molly?

-What happened to Molly?

-She's in the clouds.

-Do you know why?

-Do I know why?

-Yes.

-Because she's old.

He remembers lots of things that he's talked to the

volunteers about before.

So it's been nice to watch him communicating,

remembering people, asking questions, having a chat, which is nice.

Are you guys all right to stay here while we go out for a walk?

Let's take the dogs as well.

You want to take the dogs as well?

Bye. Bye!

Since he started going to horse riding, and to the Horse Boy camp,

he has been much more confident with other people.

He's been happier, I think, in himself.

After the sessions, he just seems generally much calmer at home,

which is really, really nice.

I think he just generally has found something that he loves to do.

Go on, then.

Dee has benefited so much from it. It's been a really great experience.

Big smile!

Cheese!

In Kirklees, West Yorkshire, dog wardens Tina Shaw

and Julie Driver are preparing for another busy day on patrol.

-Going to these this morning.

-OK. I'll see you later.

As dog wardens, they're responsible for the safety

and well-being of any dogs in their area.

They're lovely dogs.

The job can be 24/7. And it's not always an easy one.

We're just going to secure him in the van for the moment.

They deal with any dog-related issue, from aggressive behaviour...

DOG BARKS

..to dog fouling.

And most commonly, stray and escaped dogs.

One of the problems we have with a stray dog

out on the street, unattended, is the danger to other people.

Elderly people. Pedestrians. Any type, really. And cars.

We're just really conscious of the fact that

accidents are going to occur with a dog running around.

It is a serious matter.

And we would go out and try and catch the dog if we hear about it.

Today they're responding to a worrying

call about an aggressive, roaming dog.

We're going to Hexham Green at Milnsbridge.

We've had a call about two dogs that have been running around,

behaving aggressively, chasing people.

The message I got was that the dogs were intimidating,

running around trying to bite a child.

And just behaving aggressively and intimidating people in the area.

So we'll see what the situation is.

DOG HOWLS

When Tina and Julie arrive, there's a large dog roaming the street.

Hello, darling!

The second dog appears to be contained in a nearby property

which Tina thinks is their home.

Hiya! I think the other one's in the house there.

But there doesn't appear to be anybody in

and the dog's out in the street.

If you have a dog and you keep it in the garden,

it's important you ensure that your boundaries are secure.

You are completely responsible for that dog.

So check your fences, make sure it can't get out.

We're going to see if we can catch it. But it's a little...

It's wagging its tail so there might be a chance.

But, yeah, they're obviously regular strays and causing a few problems.

Need to see if we can try and get a hold of it now.

Or get it back in the garden anyway. So, we'll just see how we go, yeah.

DOG BARKING

But the situation suddenly escalates as the dog turns on two young girls.

Don't run!

GIRLS SCREAMING

Stand still.

Stand still. Don't run!

What was that in aid of?!

DOG BARKS

It's obviously a bit frightened. It's more frightened that anything.

A dog barking at people like that can be quite intimidating.

The dog is clearly a risk to the public,

so Tina must act quickly to restrain it.

DOG BARKS

But by doing so, she's putting herself at risk of attack.

What's this here?

DOG BARKS

Go on. Get.

I think I've probably been bitten badly

a couple of times in my career as a dog warden.

Once on my hand when I was trying to catch one. And once on my rear.

Spanning 21 years, it's not too bad.

-Is this the house here?

-Yeah. Oh, no, it's not. No.

-It's next door.

-That's the house there. Sorry.

There's still no sign of the owners.

But as the dog wanders on to next door's property,

a neighbour appears.

Come on. Do you know this dog?

DOG BARKS

Yeah, I know.

Tina wonders if the dog will respond better to someone it knows.

Does it actually come to you?

She might trust you more than me at the moment.

She knows him. He knows the dog.

Johnson. Johnson, titbits.

He loves that.

But despite knowing the neighbour, the dog still seems cautious.

Hello. Come on.

DOG BARKS

-What's this? Look.

-I'll try and get the dog, but it's obviously scared.

The more frightened it is, the more aggressive it becomes.

So, with no other option, Tina and Julie bring out the noose.

Come on out.

-Round that way.

-DOG BARKS

-That's a good girl.

-Watch my...

-DOG BARKS

Good girl. That's a good girl.

Can you hook that over her head for us?

DOG BARKS

But before they need to use it, the neighbour is able to corner the dog.

Good girl.

Good girl. Well done. Lovely. Thank you.

Have you thought of being a dog warden?

Yeah, I'd love to but it breaks my heart.

We won't do anything horrible with her.

People like to blame the dog wardens for quite a number of things.

They just assume that we're the bad people and that we don't do any good.

-It isn't all bad.

-I know it isn't.

Unfortunately we have to do something about this.

-Can't have dogs chasing kids, can we?

-No.

Big dogs are more scary, generally, than smaller dogs.

So children are going to be scared of them as soon they see them.

People just need to be aware as to how their dog will appear to

a small child.

With still no sign of the owners, Tina must temporarily seize the dog.

She'll come back home again.

-I don't know...

-Do you want to give her a biscuit?

It's a lovely dog. Once he's under control, the dog's absolutely fine.

But we can't have dogs racing around the countryside

and causing problems like this.

And this gentleman's just explaining the dog's got a tendency to

chase cars and bite tyres as well.

So that's quite an issue. Looks like we might have an owner at the moment.

So we'll just have a chat with them and see what they've got to say.

Julie has located the owners and is updating them

on the severity of the situation.

-..back out again.

-They dug a hole or something.

We've been getting complaints that they've been out and chasing kids.

We did see that happen.

-Two kids came up and she went flying at them.

-They were really scared.

She nearly had them.

You should have made sure you put them away before you came out.

It's his fault. THEY LAUGH

-It is.

-Did you leave them in the garden then or...?

-I put them out. We had to be somewhere at 10.00.

-Right.

And it was literally a case of go off, drop them off.

And it just took us longer than expected to come back.

-See, she's as happy as anything now.

-Yeah, she's fine with who she knows.

She's just very, very intimidated by people she doesn't.

Yeah, but seriously, that could've been really nasty.

She went with real intent at those children.

When the dog is restrained, it isn't a threat.

But Tina and Julie need to discuss the animal's living arrangements.

When you left this morning, were the dogs in the garden?

-Not when I left.

-They were in the back.

-So, who left them in the garden?

-That would be me.

I zip-tied him to the hedge.

One of the zip-ties is broken.

She's barged her way through and just gone underneath.

Rico - the other dog - wouldn't have fit, the hole is that small.

But Miri is quite a small dog.

It was literally a case of, they've never done it before.

Since we've put the mesh up on the fence, sorry, on the hedge,

-they've never got out.

-It's just a mistake, isn't it?

I mean, we weren't going to be that long.

Unfortunately, it doesn't take two seconds for them to bite a kid.

I have had complaints about the dogs being out and behaving aggressively.

Now, when I speak to the people that made the complaint,

depending on what pans out,

you may be looking at prosecution under the dangerous dog legislation.

Em...especially how the dog behaved while we were here.

If it goes down the Dangerous Dogs Act, what will happen?

Depends what I get told. I really can't say at this stage.

I don't know.

As well as dealing with the complaint,

Tina and Julie have a responsibility to deter owners from allowing

situations like these to reoccur.

As the owner, you're going to be issued with a fixed penalty

-for the dog being on the designated road, not on the lead.

-OK.

Get your fences sorted and make it secure for us,

so you know that she's going to be safe and sound

and not cause any hassle to yourself and other people.

As Julie said, make sure that you lock your gate and be here.

-It's lucky today that nothing serious has happened really.

-Yeah.

-Get it sorted and just keep your eye on it.

-We've got meshing.

In Dartmoor, another much-loved dog is actively encouraged to roam.

Max's a very independent dog.

So he does range really well. Covers the ground very good.

Max is a nine-year-old Border collie who

works as a search-and-rescue dog in Dartmoor with his owner Alex.

Oh, yes. Good boy. Want a sweetie?

I've had Max now eight-and-a-half years.

I got him when he was six months old.

Cos he was six months old, I could start rescue training straightaway.

But training Max wasn't an easy task.

Max was a bit of a problem for his previous owners.

They took him to a dog behaviourist.

Eventually they decided that he was just too much like hard work.

Max was wanting to be top dog.

He would sit and watch the television on the settee.

And if the previous owners tried to move him off, he'd bite them.

Max needed discipline and focus, which Alex

and the search-and-rescue group were able to provide.

I showed him that I was the alpha male.

They then quickly bond with you.

And I think it only took about three, four weeks and Max was my best pal.

If the police have got any concern about anybody missing, whether it

be walkers out on Dartmoor, Exmoor, Bodmin Moor, wherever.

Or somebody that's gone missing from an old folk's home

or something like that, they'll call us out.

In November 2008, Alex received such a call,

telling him 79-year-old Margaret Haverson was missing from home.

Here! Here!

Come on, Max. Get in. Good boy!

The main problem with elderly people is that they are going to get

colder quicker.

So it becomes a little bit more urgent.

When Alex and Max were called in

Margaret had already been missing for 48 hours.

The probability of finding Margaret alive after being out for

two nights was slim.

By now a total of 27 volunteers had joined the frantic search.

The police helicopter was overhead.

They had tactical aid group, which is police search officers.

They had Dartmoor Rescue Group - Okehampton.

And they had Dartmoor Rescue Group - Ashburton.

There was a lot of manpower.

Despite all the manpower, Margaret was still missing.

And with the third night drawing in, Alex hoped the power of

Max's senses could succeed where all else had failed.

The dog's main search tool is his nose.

He picks up on the scent that is carried from us,

homes into it on source, and then indicates to me

by giving a huff-huff that he does, that he's found...

Good boy.

INDISTINCT SPEECH

When we get on scene, I'm tasked with the area to search.

I take Max out, put his jacket on.

When he's got his jacket on, he knows he's working. And he's gone.

Max and I were tasked to search the Arboretum.

We walked into the Arboretum and, at the time, it was really thick, dense.

I thought, this is going to be hard work.

But Max's training instantly kicked in.

Ready?

Away find!

Let Max off...

And the next thing, he came back, huff-huff-huff.

He took me round, got round past this other tree.

Then he went in and I spotted him standing beside Margaret.

She wasn't moving.

I thought she was dead.

I woke up and there was a dog licking my face.

I thought he was very friendly, you know, wanting to cuddle.

And he was all over you, licking you.

Please to see you as I was pleased to see him.

It had only taken Max a couple of minutes to find Margaret.

But by doing so,

he had ended what had been a terrifying three-day ordeal.

Which began whilst Margaret was returning from her normal

weekly shopping trip.

I'd been to Exeter and I was on the bus coming home.

I rang the bell for it to stop at the Green but it didn't.

So I said, I'll go onto the next stop, which is Quick's Farm.

I can get off there and go through the Arboretum.

But the Arboretum was unfamiliar to Margaret.

And was completely overgrown.

Wherever you walked, you were tripping over brambles.

I just walked round and round.

I heard this noise and it was a helicopter. He went everywhere.

It didn't see me because I was hidden under a tree.

I knew it was useless trying to get out cos

I hadn't the faintest idea which way to go.

I was very cold. I didn't have any food.

I didn't have any drink for all those hours.

I didn't want to die.

I never thought a dog would save my life.

They are always there, always ready to help, dogs are.

Max got really excited when he found Margaret.

Possibly because I was elated. He kept licking her, which is unusual.

He doesn't normally lick people.

I think Max, it was his first find that he had on an operational.

He's found hundreds of people in training

but that was his first one operational.

Since finding Margaret, Max has continued his work in the area -

helping to search for lost and stranded people.

And he is in constant training.

Show me then.

When we are training, he finds 100%. When we are on a live job,

if he's in the area, he will find.

We cover and search more areas where there is nobody actually missing.

Where there is other teams covering other areas

and other dogs covering other areas, Max is very, very successful.

And Margaret is certainly his best success story.

Good boy. Come on.

And today they are being reunited

for the first time in over two years.

I am looking forward to seeing him again.

-It seems ages since I saw him. He's probably grown a bit.

-Good boy.

He did save my life. He was so friendly and so overwhelming.

-We'll see if he still remembers me.

-SHE LAUGHS

Good boy.

Max! Max!

Who's that?

-What were you doing there?

-Good boy.

-The smell is still there.

-Yeah.

You are a good boy, aren't you?

I'm very grateful to him. Very grateful.

In Newham, animal welfare manager Tina Delaney is following up on

a house call she made two weeks ago about dogs roaming in the streets.

We are going to a premises that we've visited once before.

And we have left a card there.

It's alleged that the dogs run out of the premises

and chase people around the road.

The owner has not contacted us so we are doing a revisit.

When we have been there previously,

the front door has not been very secure.

The property's outside door was broken.

And the inside door sealed using cardboard.

And when Tina arrives, there is no improvement.

This door is still not secure.

DOORBELL RINGS

DOGS BARK

-Someone is in. Hello.

-Hello.

I'm from the London Borough of Newham Animal Welfare Service.

We've had a complaint that your dogs have been getting

out your premises and running...

No, they got out because I got out, walked into the car,

the door was left open and they ran into the road.

OK, so you are saying it has happened once?

-Yeah.

-Right, OK.

-It was yesterday afternoon.

-Right, OK.

-We had the complaint before that.

-Nope, they haven't got out.

They don't...

Tina is not convinced and wants to address the broken door.

-Is that secure? What is that?

-That's metal. That's hammered in the back.

DOGS BARK

-The glass has been taken out because of the dog.

-Right, OK.

Because when he hits that,

if he knocks the glass he's going to hurt himself and someone else.

-So I've took...

-OK.

-You know what, his bark is much worse.

-Look, I'll show you. Open the door for me.

-Is he nice with strangers?

-Brilliant.

-Right, OK.

-Hello.

-Come on, Teddles.

-Hello.

-Hello.

-I've met you before.

-Hello. Hiya.

The dogs don't appear a risk to the public.

But Tina is concerned for the animals' welfare

as she fears they may escape regularly onto the road.

-You are saying it has happened once? They've got out once?

-Yep.

It very, very rarely happens.

The owner is adamant but Teddy soon proves otherwise.

That shows, you know, she said, "Oh, he's only got out once.

"He's only got out once and gone for a walk."

Teddy knows how to get out and he was like, yeah, I can do this all day.

I'm just going to have some fun while you are standing there.

And I will show you my owner isn't being completely truthful

because I can do this all day long.

It's clear that dogs can and do escape,

so Tina has concerns about unnecessary breeding.

-Is it male or female?

-Female.

-Female. Is she neutered?

No, but they've been booked in. Teddy!

-Teddy!

-Teddy!

-Get in!

-OK.

We have an overpopulation of dogs everywhere in the United Kingdom.

There are so many dogs that are still being bred from unnecessarily.

We offer vouchers for all, especially bald, breeds to be neutered.

There is an overpopulation of bald breeds that we pick up.

We cannot stress the importance of neutering them.

If you get her neutered now,

-I can provide you with a neutering voucher for her.

-Oh, wicked!

-And for him.

-Go on, then.

-If I book them in now...

-Yeah, yeah.

-..you will take them to have them neutered now.

-Yes, of course I will.

You can have them both done at the same time.

-We're going to get them both done.

-We can give you vouchers

so it won't cost you. This is your opportunity with me

now to have all your animals neutered and sorted out.

-So that would be the positive thing about you having a complaint.

-Yeah.

If you breed from your dog and you have six puppies,

then the six puppies you have to find homes for.

When potentially it could be six homes that go to a rescue

and obtain a dog from a rescue.

Hopefully then less dogs would be put to sleep.

You have got two male cats...

Getting the animals neutered is a positive thing.

But Tina still needs to deal with the main issue of the complaint.

Teddy is a bit of a handful, isn't he?

And Teddy went up here really, really quickly.

-That's not the first time Teddy has done that.

-No, no.

It's not the first time Teddy's done that.

But you can stop it. If we go, "No!"

He can get into there and then come back.

It's only if you're on the other side, near the car or going,

-that's when he goes... And he's gone.

-Yep.

If enforcement officers or we come along here

-and Teddy is out here off-lead, you could be fined £80.

-I know.

-Instantly you will be fined £80.

-OK.

-And you don't want that to happen.

-No.

All you need, right, is a little accident where Teddy sees something

over the road there that he thinks is really, really exciting.

-And the car is coming down there. And Teddy is dead.

-Don't.

Right. And you are going to wish that you really listened to me.

When the dog has learned behaviour -

this is how I'm going to get out, this is what I do -

it will do it. And it will do it at any opportunity it is given.

Once he gets that naughty behaviour, you have to look at ways to stop it.

Because just telling him will not stop it.

Cos all he will do is, when he jumps on the wall like he just did,

it's a bit like, "Oh, I got caught."

Tina thinks there is a simple solution to solving the problem.

If you put something up about here and angle it inwards like this...

-Yeah.

-..he can't jump over cos he can't get that angle.

-Oh!

So where he is a really athletic dog that is used to jumping, you could

probably make this about at this high and he would still clear it.

But if you angle it in that way, he won't be able to do it.

Once you've got that done, just give us a call and we will come back

and just say, look, this is what has happened.

All the animals have been neutered. The trellis has been put up.

There is absolutely no problem.

That went really well.

Obviously Teddy is used to getting out, even if it's for a meal.

So we have advised them.

We've arranged for Teddy to be micro-chipped as well, which is

beneficial, especially as he does jump over the wall

and he is used to being able to jump over.

Even if he is just running the few paces down the road,

it needs to be prevented.

Cos it is frightening people. I think it's a positive outcome, really.

Tina will revisit the property to check the owners have

followed her advice.

In Kirklees, the owners of the stray have paid their fine.

In Wakefield, Daisy's old owner traced her new owner through

a social networking site.

Mark was able to send through a notice and after a couple

of days, Daisy's owner came forward and they were finally reunited.