Jessi Cat, Medical Detection Dog and a Roaming Pit Bull Animal Saints and Sinners

-Good boy. NARRATOR:

-Nearly half of Britain owns a pet.

-Nice one, mate.

It's the council and the 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.

Look, I'll take him to my mate's.

I love you too.

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.

Coming up, meet the dog control officers in Salford who

-run into a suspected pit bull.

-I don't like the look of this one.

This one. Look at his face. See his head.

And deal with a dog who's been taken in by a couple who can't look after it.

I can't keep her, to be honest.

And we meet two family pets who have completely changed

the lives of their owners.

I think it's the best thing we've ever done. She is a little angel.

She's just fabulous.

Me and my dad can go out with Rooty and we know that we can be safe.

Rather than just us two relying on each other.

In Salford, in Greater Manchester, dog control officers Will Harris

and Erica Eaton are in the middle of a busy shift.

-This is why we come to the park.

-Maggie, come.

-To meet these people.

-And these doggies.

-I've got one here. Got one for you.

This is a special one for Maggie. Yes. There we go.

The dog control officers are responsible for dangerous dogs.

Will, be careful.

-Strays.

-Is that your dog?

And complaints about nuisance dogs.

Letting it out to foul on the green area just outside the property.

Any animal they seize are taken back to the council's kennels to

be reunited with their owners or rehomed.

Come on, mate. Do you know him? Where does he live?

Who's a gorgeous boy?

In the kennels today, they're looking after a stray puppy.

A Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross which was found yesterday near

a canal in Monton.

No wee-wees. No wee-wees, please. No wee-wees.

He's a handsome boy. He is a handsome boy. Yes, you are.

Ooh, I'm tempted.

OK. You'll be all right.

After a night in the kennels, the puppy's owner hasn't come forward

so Will and Erica have to take him to a local cat and dog home.

He's only about 12 weeks old. He's not old old.

Strays stay here for seven days and then get put up for adoption

if nobody claims them.

-Any more?

-Not today.

-That's it.

Puppy dealt with, the team are on to their next job, a roaming stray.

We've got to go and pick a dog up from the M6 area of Salford.

Apparently it followed the guy home from Buile Hill Park this morning,

so he's confined it in his garden.

We're going to go and pick it up now.

With little information to go on,

the wardens have to be prepared for anything.

They have no idea if the stray dog is dangerous to the public.

Hiya. It's Erica from the dog warden service.

-I believe you found a dog.

-Yeah. I'll just let him out.

-He's down over the back fence.

-All right. Thank you.

-I won't be a minute.

-Thanks.

Went to the local park with, um, my dog. And...it just followed me.

But mine's a six-month-old bitch, so I think she's coming into season

and it's followed me home.

-Is he all right? Yeah.

-He's a bit nervous.

He's going to go over that fence.

Has he gone?

Oh, what's to do? Come on.

SHE WHISTLES

The dog is a white Staffordshire Bull Terrier

and he's made a run for it.

Although staffies aren't considered to be a dangerous breed,

the wardens need to do their best to catch him now.

If they don't, the chances of reuniting it with its owner

are very slim.

While Erica sticks to the main road, Will takes the backstreets.

Don't really want to chase him because that road is quite busy.

Excuse me. Is that your dog? No?

We've got two for the price of one.

DOG BARKS

After a tussle with another dog, the white staffy disappears,

but Erica has now got more than she bargained for.

Hello. Hello.

Well, not the one we set out for, but we've got another one.

You're giddy. Hello. Where have you come from?

Yeah. Hello. Hello. You're friendly.

-Not two for the price of one?

-Lost the other one.

I came up this way in case you doubled back.

Have we got another one? Whoa. Hello.

They've just had a bit of a set-to down there,

-so it's not wise to take him down.

-No.

-I don't like the look of this one.

-Which one?

-This one.

Look at his face. See his head.

-Could be a pit type.

-Good. Believe this dog could be what they call of type.

-Type.

-He's got a head of a pit bull terrier.

Which obviously we need to deal with straight away.

We'll see if he's chipped.

I can't find a chip at the minute,

but it looks like he's got a cut to his tail.

Come here, mate. Good lad.

-Look at the size of his...

-Good boy.

Will, be careful.

-Good boy.

-Look at the size of his head. Quite a big head.

You can always tell by the jaw. I mean, he's not a bad dog.

-He's lovely.

-They're not all bad dogs.

-He's a good boy.

But obviously, um, with recent events...very cautious of, um...

..what we pick up on what we do with him next. Good boy.

Yeah. Good boy.

-Walk him back?

-Yeah. We'll walk him back.

Because the stray looks like a pit bull, they must report it to the police

and abandon finding the white staffy for now.

Come here, mate.

With 17 people being killed in dog attacks in the past nine years,

and three children dying in the last half of 2013,

if this dog's owner isn't willing to come forward and it's a pit bull,

it's in danger of being put down.

Knowing this, Will's checking with passers-by to see

if anyone recognises the dog.

And he's found someone who thinks he does.

What he's going to do is he's going to go around to his friend's house

and see if it's his dog, and then contact us

and then we'll take everything from there.

I cry. At least once a week. Yeah.

I do get emotionally attached to the dogs and I know I shouldn't, but you

can't help it when they're giving you them eyes, can you, really? Well, I can't.

Seeing animals being put down is part of the dog warden's job,

but Erica has strong feelings about how banned breeds should be treated.

I wouldn't like to see any dog put to sleep

unless it was in the dog's best interest.

We've had situations where we've had old dogs that are on their last legs

and we've had to sign them over to be put to sleep,

and that's heartbreaking.

But to see a young, lively dog, happy and friendly be put to sleep,

it's hard.

Hard to take as a dog lover.

I don't think he's a fighting dog, but he looks what we call of type.

Um...we don't know. Until we can see...find the owner

and get the paperwork from the owner from the breeder,

that will determine, you know, yes or no.

Find out later what happens

when the suspected pit bull is assessed by the police.

Anyone comes in between now and then,

they can identify if the dog is theirs, but they can't have it back.

DOG BARKS

In Manchester, one animal who has helped one young boy is Jessi.

Before we got Jess, we had absolutely no idea that this cat would

have such a massive impact on all our lives.

Birman cat Jessi is the Dillon family's pet.

When Jessi arrived in 2010, they were struggling to cope with

youngest son Lorcan's communication difficulties.

At the age of three, he'd suddenly stopped talking.

We first realised that Lorcan had a problem speaking, it was

when he went to nursery school. Until then, he had behaved normally.

He'd learnt to babble and say odd words and speak in really lovely

sentences with beautiful speech by the time he was two.

So when he went to school nursery, just after he was three,

it was a huge shock when they said he wasn't speaking to anybody.

He wasn't speaking to the children.

He wasn't communicating with the adults.

This child that never stopped talking at home wouldn't speak at school.

Lorcan wasn't alone at school either.

His big brother Luke was always there to keep an eye on him.

At school, he was quite shy. He didn't talk to many people.

He wasn't able to speak to his teachers, so he had to have someone

else to talk to, and at breaks, he used to hang around with me.

I thought he was quite a confident little boy.

But when you then see he's going into school and he's, you know,

he's too anxious to speak, it is really hard.

You know, if a child's sat there quiet...

..as opposed to another child that's disruptive and, you know,

clearly got problems, who's getting the most damaged?

The quiet one that's internalising everything, too anxious to move,

too anxious to speak, to do anything,

or the one that's disruptive that you have to go and help?

Not sure if I've done that right. I'm sure he'll rearrange them.

It did go on for quite a while and then obviously

we had to look into what was going on and why and is it a serious problem?

And the school suggested selective mutism.

-WOMAN:

-Selective mutism is an anxiety-based condition.

Starting probably under the age of five or when they start school,

but it does render the sufferer incapable of speech

in an environment in which they don't feel comfortable.

They can be happy, normal child,

but they get to school and they're frozen.

Um, completely silent. Won't speak to anybody, usually.

It's like having two children rolled into one.

It can be very distressing for the parents.

And for Lorcan and his family,

there was another problem that came to light.

He was also diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome,

where sufferers can have difficulty understanding or showing emotion

and they find other people touching them very uncomfortable.

Lorcan has always been a child that does not like to be touched.

It's very difficult as a parent,

because your instinct is just to cuddle your child on loads

of occasions or even just because you like to cuddle them,

but, you know, with a child that doesn't like it you've got to be really careful

because you've got to decide whose needs come first.

Is it you that wants the cuddle or do you not cuddle them

because it's uncomfortable for your child?

Get your coat on.

Do you want to fasten it up? It's cold outside.

Wait a minute. What about your things?

When you throw Asperger's into the mix,

that is something that isn't going to go away.

He's always going to have the Asperger's syndrome.

Jayne was adamant that Lorcan got all the help he needed

and quickly.

Nursery was a problem because he just wasn't interacting.

At one point, I don't think he was even...

..they weren't even getting a nod or a shake of the head.

Selectively mute children can feel very isolated within school.

They find it difficult to make friends.

Sometimes the families feel isolated too because they've

got this strange child that nobody seems to understand.

Selective mutism - it needs to be treated slowly, step-by-step,

with patience, tolerance, understanding.

You know, when people say, "Oh, you know, wait and see. Wait and see.

"He might grow out of it." No. They don't grow out of it.

You don't grow out of Asperger's.

And if left alone, you don't grow out of selective mutism.

So he's got two massive anxiety disorders.

Jayne signed Lorcan up for the local Beavers club to try and help him

come out of himself.

Initially, he was obviously not keen to go

because he couldn't speak in these situations.

But it's really important for him to go into these things

because he's learning to socialise

and he's learning skills that he needs throughout the rest of his life.

The Dillon family were coping with Lorcan's condition as best they could,

but a new addition to the family household was to change everything.

When we brought Jessi home, I just opened the cat box that she was in

and she just popped out. We all just looked at her.

She was this little tiny blob of fluff with big blue eyes.

She wasn't nervous. She just owned the house as soon as she stepped out.

I was quite surprised at how interested in her Lorcan was.

He was just besotted with her.

The family already had a dog,

but it was only Jessi that Lorcan grew attached to.

I mean, it sounds really daft but she does seem to be really human.

She just seems to be on his wavelength.

If he got upset about something,

most cats would run a mile from a child that's screaming and crying.

She just sits there. She stays with him.

Very, very tolerant, placid cat.

As if she knows that he needs her help.

Over the weeks, Lorcan and Jessi became inseparable.

JESSI MIAOWS

When Lorcan's playing with Jessi, he's, like, sort of just him

and Jessi are in the room. He doesn't mind anyone else.

But if someone talks to him, he will, like, answer,

but it's just like nobody else is there with him.

And the special bond they had at home seemed to be having a big

impact on Lorcan's confidence outside the house too.

We noticed and school noticed a bit of a difference in Lorcan.

Slightly more confident.

By April 2012, he did start speaking.

So who was he, Lorcan?

He was...

What's that word? An archaeologist.

To go from speaking to absolutely nobody to being able to communicate

and speak to your teachers is just... just fabulous.

Have a look and I'll come back to you in two minutes, OK?

We've heard quite a few stories of children being helped through

a friendship with an animal.

And there is no expectation of speech from a furry creature. A pet.

I think Jessi-cat means a lot to Lorcan because without her

he wouldn't be able to talk in school probably

and he'd have to have someone else helping him a lot around school and at home.

Thanks to Jessi, Lorcan's transformation continued.

Not only was he speaking more, but for the first time in his life,

he was able to express how he was really feeling.

We were in the living room and Lorcan was playing on the floor with Jess,

messing about with some of her toys and that's when I heard him

say, "I love you, Jessi-cat."

First time he'd said it to anybody that I am aware of.

It was just...unbelievable.

Just shock and just a really happy feeling,

because that's a way of him letting out his emotions.

And Jessi has been able to help Lorcan

come out of his shell in other ways.

He's moved up from Beavers to Cubs

and is much more confident there too.

When he arrived from Beavers, he was very quiet.

And if we wanted to talk to him, we could,

but he wouldn't speak back to us directly.

When he got his cat, he talked to everyone.

Even grown-ups. And now he's just real chatty.

-Somebody's got a line. Lorcan. Right. Give me your numbers.

-15.

-Yeah.

-48.

-48. Yeah.

-53.

-53.

-And 88.

-88. Fantastic.

From what he was before, it's a 100% improvement.

Lorcan's had Jessi for 3.5 years now and his communication

and social skills are getting better all the time.

Lorcan's progress with the speech in school continues

and he's just doing really well.

Speaking to unfamiliar adults as well as more to his class teacher,

which was great.

And Lorcan's anxiety levels dropped so much that he was able to do

something that was, for him, previously unthinkable.

We were invited to watch the class play, which was about the Romans.

And it was going to be performed in front of all the children

and the teachers and the parents of the class,

which was a bit nerve-wracking because none of us

were certain that Lorcan would be able to deliver his lines.

HE TALKS QUIETLY

And then Lorcan came on and did his bit.

It was just a huge, massive relief.

Little hands did go up to his mouth when he'd done it

and he just looked up at me, you know, "I've done it, Mum."

But it was just brilliant.

Massive thing to do in front of quite a lot of people.

And back at home,

Jessi's supporting role has won her a permanent place

at the heart of the family.

Her pedigree name is Blue Jeans Angel and I think that she is.

She is a little angel. She's just fabulous.

And I think it's the best thing we've ever done.

The best thing we've done for Lorcan, certainly.

Back in Salford, dog control officer Will Harris

has taken a suspected pit bull that was found roaming the streets

to the council's kennels.

Just a bit unsure where he is. Out of your comfort zone. There we are.

Good boy. Good boy.

There we are. You see?

He looks quite a nice dog, but to a member of the public on the highways,

he's a threat. He's a danger.

You don't know how he could turn, what he could do.

Do you approach him? Do you stay away from him?

You just don't know what to do.

So obviously, this is our job - to get them off the streets.

Social media sites are key for the dog control officers.

They put up pictures of pets that are missing or strays

that they've rescued.

The puppy they found yesterday is already on the site.

There are always lots of dogs to deal with,

but today the suspected pit bull has to take priority

over the white staffy they set out to find earlier.

It's come through as a found, so I'm going to change that to

a roaming, because we haven't found him.

Got a bed, water and food.

BBC Radio 6 music. A bit of culture for him.

Come on. He's a bit... a bit stressed at the moment.

He won't come in here.

He's nice and safe.

With the suspected pit bull in the kennel, Will gets

straight on the phone to ask the police to come and assess the dog.

The important thing is that we actually identify that the dog's of type or not.

So we'll just will go ahead with that if that's OK.

Well, no-one has come forward yet. We've had the dog for two hours.

We will hang onto it overnight. We won't release the dog.

Thanks for you help. Thanks very much. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Right. Hopefully they're gonna get someone to come down and see us today.

And if anyone comes in between now and then...

..they can identify the dog is theirs, but they can't have it back.

-They can't?

-No.

Because the dog may be a banned pit bull type and dangerous,

the police have insisted it stays in the kennels until they assess it,

even if its owner does come forward.

It's not just roaming strays that Erica and Will have to deal with.

A couple have contacted the office about a dog they've

taken in off the street.

Right. Just got a dog in Swinton, so they don't go up there.

It's a stray dog.

Not much information at the moment, but we'll assess the situation

when we get there.

The dog control officers can have ten callouts a day and never really

know what they're going to face when they turn up at an address.

-Hiya. I'm from the dog wardens.

-Yeah, I know.

Where have you found the dog?

-It's been down the back.

-What kind of dog is it?

-It's like a Westie.

-Oh, right. Only a small dog.

Only a little thing.

-Are we all right?

-About two weeks.

-He's been here for six days.

There seems to be some confusion about how long the couple have had

the stray dog.

-So you found it two weeks ago? Where did you find it?

-In the back entry.

Come in.

-Is this where it's been sleeping?

-Yeah.

Want the chipper?

-Come on.

-OK, bud. Come on. Good boy. Hello.

-Girl.

A girl, are you? Are you a girl?

It's recommended that all dogs in the UK have a microchip that tells

the wardens who the owners are.

But this dog doesn't seem to have one.

Why did you phone us now? You've had the dog for two weeks.

Because I wanted to keep her. And I can't keep her, to be honest.

Well, it is the law to phone the dog warden as soon as you find a stray

dog. I mean, this could be somebody's dog, madam.

I just need to make a phone call and I'll be back with you in one sec.

We're just gonna find out, because someone could be missing this dog. It could be a family pet.

So my colleague's just going to make a few phone calls now

because we're not sure.

If it was two weeks ago,

we may have had a missing report from two weeks ago.

So with a bit of luck, we may be able to get the dog back to its owner.

But Erica has discovered that the couple's story may not be

-all that it seems.

-Right.

I've just had a chat with the powers that be and unfortunately

we're not going to be able to take the dog.

Because you've had it for two weeks. It becomes your responsibility now.

-I can't. I'm too ill.

-There's nothing we can do about that, unfortunately.

I mean, I have reason to believe it is your dog anyway

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

What would your neighbours say if we knocked and asked your neighbours?

Is she called Lily? Is she called Lily?

Mark.

-Is the dog called Lily?

-MAN: It's called...

Well, unfortunately there's nothing we can do. We can't take her.

You need to contact a rescue centre. See if they can help you.

Or the RSPCA. They might be able to help you.

We, as dog wardens, only deal with stray dogs and she's not a stray.

All right? Ready, Will?

OK.

On this occasion, the dog control officers aren't able to help.

Do you want to know the truth?

-It's up to you, mate.

-Um... Well, it is...

We love that little dog but it's making my wife really, really ill.

-Because of the fur.

-Oh, OK.

-You know. But...fair enough.

You know.

Alarm bells started ringing when she said that she'd found it two weeks

ago but then the guy said six weeks ago.

So I phoned one of my contacts and they confirmed that there is a dog

at that property and has been for a number of years.

The dog's called Lily. Um... People...

They've asked people to rehome the dog for them

and obviously got no joy, so they've phoned us.

But unfortunately, as a dog warden service,

we can only take literally proper stray dogs.

Not somebody who wants to rehome the dog.

The thing is we need to help these people.

But they just tell us lies and that's the unfortunate thing.

If she phoned up and said, "Can you help us?" We'll try and help.

It's just a blatant lie and as I say, it's not a stray dog.

We can't take it. It's their responsibility.

Coming up, if the dog Erica and Will are holding in custody does turn out

to be an illegal pit bull, it could face being put down.

In Berkshire, one incredible canine who has completely changed

a family's life is Roots.

I had no idea that our dog Roots could make such a difference

to our family's lives.

You're gonna need a bath. You are muddy as anything.

Neil and Sarah Downing live in Reading with their three children.

From the outside, they look like any other family,

but everyone in this house lives beneath a constant shadow.

44-year-old Neil was just two when he was diagnosed with

type 1 diabetes.

It's always part of my life, so I've never known any different, really.

So it's there.

It's always been there,

but it's something you always have to be careful about. Always mindful of.

You don't ever just do anything spontaneously. You have to plan for it.

Making sure I know where my blood testing kits are.

Where my insulin always is and where blood sugars more importantly are.

It's something that's there. You plan for it.

But it's always there and it always will be.

Neil's condition means his body can't produce insulin which

breaks down sugars in our food.

He has to inject the hormone instead

and eat just enough food to steady his blood sugar level.

It's tricky to get the balance right.

It's incredibly tiring looking after Neil. It's a non-stop constant job.

When his blood sugars do drop, he becomes very argumentative,

so it's quite hard to persuade him that he needs to test himself

and to take on some sugar.

And if Sarah doesn't notice changes in Neil's behaviour,

it could be the difference between her husband living and dying.

On at least two occasions I had to call an ambulance for Neil

because he was unconscious.

I got the glucagon injection, which is the bringing him back to life,

supposedly, and injected and called an ambulance

because he was unconscious.

Because the condition is serious, when the couple married 18 years

ago, they worried that any children they had might be diabetic too.

They went on to have a healthy son and then a daughter, but

when their third child, Jack, was born, their fear became a reality.

It was always on our mind, at the back of our minds, that it

might happen to one of them.

And when I was pregnant with Jack, I wasn't unduly worried.

And it was only when he started to show symptoms.

He was drinking a lot,

his nappies were very full, which are classic symptoms of diabetes.

Jack was only 20 months old when he was formally diagnosed.

Like his father, he had type 1 diabetes.

To have to inject a one-year-old...

..was probably one of the worst things I've had to do in my life.

And to be honest, the first time I did it,

I closed my eyes cos I couldn't watch his face as he cried.

From the day he was diagnosed,

Sarah and Neil have had to watch Jack closely.

At any minute, their son's blood sugar could soar or crash,

leading to a collapse.

He needs to be watched 24/7. If he's here, then I'm watching him.

If he's at school, then his friends

and his teachers are looking after him.

His blood sugar can drop very quickly.

And now 11, Jack is much more aware of his own limitations.

Sometimes I can't do PE cos I'm too low

and sometimes I have to sit on the side and not do the lesson.

And sometimes I have to eat more which,

when my friends usually aren't allowed to.

For years, Jack's parents managed his condition as best they could,

but they were never able to stop worrying about their son's safety.

-How have your sugars been today?

-Uh...it's all right.

I was a little low in the morning. I had a bit of sugar, yeah.

To get me up.

Because Neil and Jack could both fall into a diabetic coma at any

time, Sarah never let them go out together without a chaperone.

Sarah was really starting to struggle having two

diabetics in the house that she had to keep an eye on two different

people, two different parts of the house.

And it really was a strain

and we needed some help to really have more of a normal life.

The situation was taking its toll on the whole family,

but one day something suddenly gave Neil new hope.

Yeah, we read about the medical detection dogs charity in a Sunday

magazine about the good work they were doing training dogs to

alert for diabetics and having two diabetics in the household,

we thought that would be really great if they could help us.

So we contacted the charity.

Dr Claire Guest has spent the last 12 years researching a dog's sense

of smell, which is 100,000 times stronger than a human's.

Not only can they smell out diseases like cancer,

they can also work with diabetics, sniffing out

when their blood sugar has gone too high or low.

We trained the first diabetes detection dog in 2008 and following

the training of that dog, we very quickly got a long waiting list.

So we now have over 45 dogs out working.

The animals are trained to work with diabetics who aren't able to

recognise changes in their own blood sugar levels.

They let their owner know if there's a problem,

then fetch their testing kit before the situation becomes an emergency.

So Lydia here has a sample of low blood sugar.

She's going to take the lid off the pot

and that's going to make the odour available for the dog to find.

The dog will then alert Lydia.

Tell her that he's found the odour and will be rewarded.

Takes a bit of time for the odour to come out. Is it in your pocket?

We've just noticed the odour's there and you can see him

starting to tell Lydia that he's found it.

On smelling the odour, he's then gone to fetch the blood testing kit.

Good boy!

But however talented the charity's dogs are, training one for the

Downing family in particular would bring a whole new set of issues.

The difficulty or challenge with training a dog for...

..when there are two people with diabetes in the house is of course

didn't know how well the dog would be able to distinguish between the odour that was

coming from Jack, the little boy, and the odour that was coming from Dad.

We had no idea of whether we might be able to train a dog for this situation.

Luckily for the Dillons, the charity had already started work with a very

promising new recruit, Roots -

a working cocker spaniel.

Roots was always a very inquisitive little puppy, but he also was a puppy

that bonded very, very closely to the person he lived with.

So we knew these were the exact characteristics

we wanted for a medical assistance dog.

A medical assistance dog needs to be around the person

and the typical dog would be the dog that would sort of sit beside you

and put their head on your knee, so they notice the odour change.

But how would Roots cope with two diabetic people to look after?

He's thought to be the first dog in the world ever taught to do this.

-Good boy!

-Rooty! Who's a good boy? You're a good boy, aren't you?

And after four months of intensive training,

he was ready to be with his family.

As soon as we saw Rooty, we fell in love with him straight away.

Cos his charming face, he's got such a lovely face

and his tail just never stops wagging.

He's such a lovely personality. He's just become part of the family.

When I first saw him,

I was a bit nervous cos I've never had a pet or anything.

But quickly I...got to know him. I played with him. I walked him around.

You're such a clever little thing.

Yes. I love you too.

Now he's settled in,

how has Roots been able to live up to the challenge?

When Roots detects a low blood sugar level occurring, he will get very,

very intense. He'll start pawing at us.

And he'll do what he's trained.

He'll put his nose into our hand, lick until he gets a reaction

from us, because we're probably confused at that point as well.

-Oh, here's an alert. It's an alert.

-Go get it. Go get it.

And then he'll go and get our testing kits. Bring them back to us.

And then make sure that we test to check out blood sugar levels.

-That's why he was staring at you.

-On this occasion, Roots gets it right.

Jack's blood sugar is low.

Roots will give us

normally about 20 minutes warning of an impending low blood sugar attack.

And he's correct about 70% of the time,

so he's a very, very clever dog.

Well done, Roots.

-Good boy!

-Good boy! Rooty! Who's a good boy?

A huge hit with the family, father

and son have settled into a routine with Roots that works for everyone.

He spends half his time at home with Jack

and the other half helping project manager Neil at work.

So yeah, I'll bring Roots in to work a couple of times a week

when it's busy. He's there.

He'll just sit under my desk for most of the day.

And he'll jump up and give me the alert should I need it.

Having Roots has been fantastic.

He's taken the pressure off of me

and it means Neil and Jack can go out together.

Have a boys' outing, which I would never let them do before

because I wouldn't trust them out on their own.

Me and my dad can go out with Rooty and we know that we can be safe,

rather than just us two relying on each other.

OK, then. See you later. Bye.

Having him keeping an eye on everybody is great.

I couldn't imagine life without him now.

He's the world now. I wouldn't know what to do without him.

I just love him so much that... I wouldn't what to do without him.

Back in Salford, we're with dog control officers Erica Eaton

and Will Harris.

They've captured a stray dog they found roaming the streets.

Will, be careful. Good boy.

And the dog looks suspiciously like an illegal pit bull terrier.

They've put a call in to the police, who are trained to assess

whether it's a banned breed or not.

We'll be waiting for you and you can come straight over

and look at the dog.

OK. Wonderful. Thanks very much indeed. See you soon.

Thank you. Bye-bye.

-That was the police officer. On his way.

-He's on his way?

-On his way.

If it's of type, then it will have to be taken away.

The owner has not come forward, which gives us

an idea that they know it may be of type.

We've had it now for six hours, so you would have thought

if you're missing that kind of dog, you would be looking for it.

You want to find out where it is, so you would phone us

and say, "We're missing a dog."

Erica and Will take the police dog legislation officer to assess

the stray. He confirms that finding the dog's owner is crucial.

Without that happening, if it's a pit bull,

it will definitely be put down.

A dog's a dog to me, regardless of what breed they are.

I think a dog is definitely what the owner makes them.

Unfortunately...

...the law, we have to go with what the law states and...

..do what the police say we have to do with him.

The police dog legislation officer has asked for his examination not to

be shown.

It involves looking at the dog's physical appearance as well

as his temperament, to decide if he is indeed a pit bull.

After a short assessment, the news isn't good.

The police officer took one look at the dog and said, "Yes, it's a pit."

It's a pit bull. Um...no bones about it. It's an illegal breed. No.

It's not good news.

Tears in your eyes, mate.

And we want that. We do the job because we're animal lovers.

We're dog lovers. And we really want that dog to have a happy life.

But without an owner making themselves known,

Will and Erica know they can't win this battle.

It's heartbreaking sometimes. But the law states...

And we have to go with what the law states.

We can't let our own personal views or feelings, um...

..cloud our judgment, I suppose.

We are big dog lovers, both of us. And it is hard. But...

..it's all part and parcel of the job.

But just as the stray pit bull's sad fate is looking inevitable,

Will has some promising news.

We believe the owner has come forward.

We've given the phone number to the police officer

and the police officer is dealing with it now.

Although pit bulls are illegal,

if the owner is prepared to apply to the court for an exemption,

it might mean they can keep their dog so long as it's muzzled, neutered,

insured, and has a microchip and tattoo.

-Go get a cup of coffee.

-It's a tense time for the dog control officers.

It isn't the first time a dog's life has been taken out of their hands.

Couple of weeks ago we got called to the RSPCA that a German Shepherd had

been handed in as a stray.

We attended and the dog was in the kennel.

It couldn't move. It's back legs had gone. He couldn't see.

So sadly, because of its condition, I had to sign it over to the RSPCA

to give them permission to put the dog to sleep.

And it was heartbreaking. Because the dog was an old dog.

Clearly he's been loyal to somebody for all them years

and in his last moments, nobody cared.

And it... it's that bit that breaks my heart.

It's not long before the police call Will with their news.

Right. OK. No problem. We'll be down here on reception waiting for you.

OK. No problem. OK. Thank you very much. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Well, fortunately the gentleman has confessed that it is his dog.

The dog's called Kaiser and it will need to be seized by the police.

So he's making his way back to us.

Now they've confirmed who the dog's owner is,

it's become a police matter.

He's confessed straight away. He knew what the dog was.

He knew it was of type.

Although the police are duty-bound to take Kaiser the pit bull tonight,

it isn't the end of the story.

He won't automatically be put down.

It is... From what the police said, it's looking quite promising for the dog.

The police seemed confident that the guy will appear at court to...

..for a magistrate to decide the fate of the dog, really.

He's quite confident that the owner will attend.

It's time for Will and Erica to fetch Kaiser the pit bull

and hand him over to the police.

Are you Kaiser? Are you Kaiser? Yeah. Come on.

-Get him straight on the lead?

-Yeah.

But there's just time for one last goodbye with the dog.

It's been a long and emotional day for them all.

Yes. You're a good lad. You're a good lad. Yeah. Beautiful.

Oh. Don't do this to me.

-Good lad.

-Very powerful. Very heavy. It's good news.

The dog could have a future

and we've actually got a dangerous dog off the streets.

And so that is what we're paid to do and I'm very, very delighted that,

you know, everyone's a winner.

No tears. That's good.

I hate it when you cry. SHE LAUGHS

-Only cos you fill up as well.

-Yeah, well, that's your fault.

THEY LAUGH

The puppy Erica and Will found has now been adopted.

Lily the dog is still at home with her owners

and at the moment, they have no plans to rehome her.

And good news for Kaiser the pit bull.

He's been assessed by the police and shows no signs of aggression.

He's been neutered, microchipped and tattooed

and is now safely back home with his owner.