The Yorkshire Vet

(no audio) (cheery music) - [Narrator] In the heart of glorious North Yorkshire lies the quaint market town of Thirsk.

Here, the world's most famous vet, James Herriot, lived, worked, and wrote his best-selling books.

His former surgery and home are now a museum, but his practice lives on nearby.

(phone ringing) - Good morning, Skeldale Veterinary Center.

- We still feel that we've got that Herriot ethos, you know, a mixture of different type of animals.

You feel like you're a part of the community rather than just being a professional who does his job and goes home.

That's a beauty.

The miracle of life!

- [Narrator] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire Vet.

- It's a great place to be.

I don't think I'd want to be working or living anywhere else, really.

(Julian laughing) - [Narrator] Julian runs the practice alongside partner, and former Herriot trainee, Peter Wright.

- [Peter] I will put my top on, I'm not quite as well torn as he is.

(laughs) - [Narrator] Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team.

- [Vet] Been a bit of chicken under all those feathers.

- All right, Toots, buckle up!

- [Narrator] They treat animals of all shapes, sizes, types, and temperaments.

(Julian shouting) - Oh, Fey, you've been sick everywhere.

- [Narrator] It is definitely not glamorous.

But, it's varied.

- He's a fine chap.

- Not the biggest testicles, though.

- No, maybe not.

(both laugh) - [Narrator] It's rarely easy.

- [Vet] Naughty!

- [Narrator] As the Yorkshire Vet carries on the Herriot tradition, looking after all creatures, great and small.

(uplifting music) Spring has sprung in the dales.

The moors are bright and beautiful.

(sheep bleating) And lambing season has begun.

(sheep bleating) Julian's been called out to an emergency.

- This is a sheep farm that's just outside Thirsk.

We've got a sheep that is having difficulty giving birth.

If there's a problem, it usually means it's something that's either a bit tight or a bit complicated or legs jumbled up.

But we'll see what we've got when we get there.

(sheep bleating) Ah, morning Janet!

- [Narrator] Sheep farmer Janet has had a hectic week.

And she's been up all night with a ewe that's struggling.

With the lives of both at risk, there's no time to waste.

- So this is the water bag, and basically inside this bag is the lamb.

I'm feeling inside now to see what's in there.

Yeah, it's quite a big lamb, which is maybe why she's not been getting on with it naturally.

There's various reasons why sheep don't lamb naturally.

One is if the lambs are too big.

And there's not enough space.

Other problems are if the lambs are jumbled up together or they're presented wrongly.

So, if a leg's back or a head's back, that sort of thing.

She been doing much in the way of pushing, no?

- No, not at all, not yet.

- There we go.

That's a fair size lamb!

(tender music) Look at that.

That's a lovely little lamb, or a big, look at that one, beauty!

There we are, little fella.

- [Narrator] It seems Julian got there just in time.

- Lamb feces, this discoloration, this yellow there and the little black bits there.

Sign that she's been you know, on, and really waiting to come out, so, not progress naturally, so it's good that we've got the lamb out.

So yeah, there's another one in there.

Usually the second one comes out without so much trouble.

And there we are.

Tell you what, doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Two beauties like that.

And they're both big, aren't they?

- [Narrator] Janet's relieved.

She knows it's unlikely the lambs and their mother would have made it without Julian's help.

- When I came in, she was making the noises and the water bag was there, but she wasn't really straining or anything, so, she's probably been thinking about it since yesterday, some of them take a while.

- She's a good mother, isn't she?

We do a lot of lambing, obviously, and it's always a absolute pleasure even if it's middle of the night or you know, really challenging kind of lambing.

Whenever you see them sitting up and shaking their head and taking their first few steps, it's always a massive buzz.

(lamb bleating) (inquisitive music) - [Narrator] Back at the surgery, Steve from County Durham has traveled almost 50 miles to Herriot country with his English bull terrier.

Some say one of our most misunderstood breeds.

And this one has got a big problem.

- This is Dave.

He's coming in today.

I don't know if he's got an abcess in his mouth or to get his teeth cleaned.

There's a bad smell coming out of his mouth.

He's so friendly, you know, but he really objects to us going near his mouth.

So, I'm gonna get you sorted today, big lad, aren't we?

- [Narrator] Julian's partner, Peter, is seeing Dave.

- Oy, big fella.

Hey, how are ya big fella?

How are you doing?

- [Narrator] Once Peter gets up close and personal, the problem's obvious.

- There's a good lad, aren't ye?

There's a good boy.

- [Steve] Smell something.

- Can smell it, yeah.

Can smell it.

I think we need to have a look in there now that you're here, Steve, and then we'll have a proper look because it's all very well in a glimpse, but we need to see what's going on there.

- Course.

- [Narrator] Dave may look tough, but he seems a bit of a softie.

- [Peter] I think he's a nice, amenable chap.

- Oh yeah.

(Dave barks) - You agree, don't ya?

You agree, don't ya?

Hey, you agree, Dave, you do, hey!

We'll get that mouth sorted out, won't we?

We'll have a proper look.

We'll pop him on the scale.

- [Narrator] To sort out Dave's halitosis, he's been handed over to Nurse Zoe.

- Come on then, big lad.

I'm just absolutely smitten.

I just madly love bull terriers, they're just my favorite breed ever.

- [Narrator] Rachel gives Dave a sedative to calm his nerves.

- [Zoe] Good lad, good lad.

Good lad.

- [Narrator] They'll now have to wait a while for the medication to kick in.

(Dave panting) (inquisitive music) Coming up, Julian visits a bull with an embarrassing problem.

- There's nothing there at all.

Come on out!

Oh!

- [Narrator] Back at the surgery, Julian sees a handsome moggy with an ugly problem.

- [Julian] We should probably anesthetize and then have a little look.

- [Cat Owner] Oh yeah.

- Yeah.

- Right.

- [Narrator] And, we meet two of the practice's most colorful characters.

- We've never had a cross word for one another in 37 years, we love it.

We wouldn't swap one another for the world.

(laughs) You watch where you're walking else you'll be arse over tit.

(suspenseful music) - [Narrator] Earlier, bull terrier Dave was brought in with a pungent problem.

- [Peter] Good boy.

- [Narrator] Stinky breath.

(vets groan) - [Peter] Solid chap, aren't ya, Dave?

- [Narrator] He's getting an anesthetic so that Peter can get a better look at what's going on.

- Good boy, you have a little sleep for a few minutes.

- [Narrator] Nurse Katie is assisting.

- Ah, little boy.

That's it.

- [Narrator] Peter checks that the breathing tube is in the proper position.

- Come on, Dave, let's pop over.

- Gosh, he's heavy.

He has very smelly breath.

(laughs) - [Peter] See what the problem is there.

That tooth is absolutely rotten.

Dogs suffer from periodontal disease in the main and that's typical of it there with gum recession, gingivitis, and that's, this is where the smell's coming from.

You can see at the center of that tooth there, it's black, it's horrible.

The root's exposed there and the gum's also irritated.

And that tooth, both those teeth need to come out.

The problem is, these type of dogs mask the pain.

And they just learn to live with it, they just get on with it.

So, owners aren't aware that they've got such major problems.

But we'll be able to sort this chap out.

Get those teeth out.

I'll need the drill.

(dramatic music) Right, now this molar tooth here is actually quite loose.

There we are!

- [Narrator] The tooth comes out easily and reveals another stinking surprise.

- Here's food, food material been trapped up there.

- I do not wanna smell that!

(laughs) - It's all food, which is adding to the halitosis.

Dave's dental pattern is quite interesting.

There's one there which is not in an ideal position.

That's the root so horribly exposed there.

I'm afraid that needs to come out as well.

That's it.

Those are the two roots.

You can see the...

It's a horrible tooth.

The carnassial teeth are quite important for dogs though, because they're the main crunching teeth.

See where they, those two teeth have come out there.

- [Narrator] Now the worst is over, Dave needs a scale and polish.

- [Peter] Dave will have a fantastic smile and he'll have a lot to smile about because all that pain will have gone.

I think that's looking rather nice, a lot better.

(uplifting music) - [Narrator] While Katie gives Dave painkillers and antibiotics, Peter gives an anxious Steve the good news.

- [Peter] I could see where the smell was coming from.

The big carnassial tooth at the back and the molar just behind it were infected.

- To me, to you.

- I don't know whether you'll get him back, I think Zoe's fallen in love with him.

(Peter and Steve laughing) - Very relieved, it's nice to see he's... Just wait for him now to come back home.

I'm glad it's all been taken care of.

You know, they're such tough dogs, they don't show that they're in pain.

The pain that they take is unbelievable.

And they're just still wagging their tails, God love 'em.

(Zoe laughs) Hello, son, hello!

Hello!

Oh, who's a good boy?

(plucky music) - [Narrator] As one happy and fresh-smelling hound heads home, others are not so lucky.

- [Woman] I think it's just getting fed up.

She's having explosive diarrhea.

- Oh, has she?

- Yeah.

- (whispers) I know what that's like.

(both laughing) - [Narrator] Back in the waiting room, Kerenza's very worried about her three year old moggy.

- Fudge has come down to the surgery because he has a badly infected eye.

It actually doesn't appear to be bothering Fudge.

It's more that it's actually visually quite gross for us adults to look at so Fudge is coming back.

But Fudge doesn't seem to be at all bothered by it other than he can't close his eye properly.

We're worried very much so.

Hopefully he'll come home.

- [Narrator] If young Fudge is to make it back home with his eyesight intact, then Julian needs to have a closer look.

- We do have a cat box.

- Oh, that's a good one, isn't it?

So did it swell up very suddenly?

- Yeah, we came home Friday night with the white, well, you know, the white bit quite far across the eye, which he has done before.

- [Julian] Right then, Fudge, let's just pop him on there.

- [Narrator] The mystery swelling is dramatic but Julian has a plan.

- [Julian] I think there's very likely to be something to be stuck behind that.

Because there's not many other things that make an eye swell up as quickly and as dramatically as that.

- Right.

- [Julian] What is often the foreign body can be tiny.

- Tiny.

- [Julian] But I think we should probably anesthetize her and then have a little look.

- Oh yeah, great.

Great, okay, we'll do that then.

- Fudge!

See this eye and it looks great and he looks very happy, doesn't he?

- He's a very happy, so, no, no!

- This side of his face.

- That's his good side, good (indistinct) side.

- [Narrator] To sort out the problem on his bad side, Fudge will need to be knocked out.

- Right then, Fudge, let's sort you out.

- [Narrator] Once the anesthetics kicked in, he's ready for surgery.

- Grass seeds are very common foreign bodies.

We see them in dog's ears, in feet, they get stuck between the toes.

And they're problematic, mainly because they're pointy but they have barbs.

They can go behind the eye, that's another major problem if they go behind the eyeball then you've got major problems.

- [Narrator] By using carefully placed sutures, Julian's able to get a better look.

- Cats and dogs have got three eyelids, obviously the two eyelids which are like our eyelids, they open and close and protect the, uh, the main parts of the eye, but they've got this third eyelid which is an extra protection mechanism.

And usually it works very well and I suppose in this case it's worked well because it's stopped any damage to the eye itself.

Nothing immediately obvious, which is a nuisance.

(suspenseful music) - [Narrator] While Julian tries to solve Fudge's problem, the waiting room is getting busier.

(dog barks) (dramatic music) - That beauty.

Do you know where the blood's coming from?

- [Bird Owner] I imagine it's from his beak 'cause he flew into the patio window.

- [Receptionist] Right.

- [Narrator] Outside, the car park has become a makeshift A & E. One of local farmer Richard's ewes is struggling to deliver twin lambs and the lives of both mother and babies are at risk.

(dramatic music) Vet Ruth Cowey knows she must act fast.

- I've got two legs and a head, it's just getting the head between the two front legs so she, so he comes a bit nicer.

- Thank you.

- [Narrator] Fellow vet Sarah Beckelay clears the airways and the second lamb comes fast.

- So the problem was is that we had two feet but then we had the head stretched out over one of the front legs, so it was a case of trying to get the head up between the front legs so all can come together.

- There, there, there, stop, stop, you're fine!

My goodness, me!

- [Ruth] Right, I suppose we've gotta shove her back in now.

- [Narrator] It was just a case of the right tools for the job.

- I tried to deliver them myself, but, obviously, I've got big hands.

Lasses have smaller hands and you know, they know what they're looking for.

(uplifting music) - These ladylike hands.

I'd be worried if you had ladylike hands.

- [Ruth] Looks a bit less like a murder scene now.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Earlier, Fudge was brought in with a painfully swollen eye.

Julian's still searching for the cause.

- There's nothing that looks like a foreign body under the eyelid there.

But I'm just suspicious that on the front part down there is a rather inflamed looking area and I'm just suspicious that there's a grass seed actually in the substance of the third eyelid.

So what I'm gonna have to do is make an incision in there.

(suspenseful music) Think I might have found the solution.

I think there's an insect sting just there.

There's a little bit of brownish debris that I think might be a bee sting.

That would awfully account for the dramatic sudden swelling.

I'm gonna now stitch up that incision that I've made.

I'm gonna inject some strong steroid into the eyelid itself which should hopefully solve the swelling, take the pain away and save his eye, save his eyesight.

- [Narrator] With the mystery of the swollen eye solved, Julian gives Fudge his meds.

And calls his worried owner.

- Right, you go on there Fudge.

Hi, it's Julian here, there's nothing in the eye that looked like a grass seed.

But I've taken out what I think is a bee sting right from the sort of depths of the third eyelid.

There's still a fair bit of swelling that needs to be resolved obviously, but I'm hoping that by tomorrow, when he's woken up fully, that things should be looking a lot less aggressive.

Okay, no problem, thanks, bye!

One very delighted owner.

(uplifting string music) - [Narrator] Fudge is back home now and what a difference three days have made!

(cat purring) - We're still shocked on how good he looks and how he's recovered so quickly.

And I thought we'd have weeks before his eyelid had actually gone back to what it should be.

And we haven't, we've had days.

- [Narrator] Kerenza's son, a budding vet, has taken charge of Fudge's meds.

- His treatment and his success is really down to Tommy because Tommy's the one that hasn't felt ill looking at his bulging eye.

And Tommy's put the eyedrops in from beginning to the end, reliably.

And following exactly what Julian said.

Great.

- [Narrator] Fudge is now free to explore the great outdoors and hopefully, he'll stay well away from any bees.

- He loves to be in our paddock out there.

He loves to walk around with us when we get the chickens and ducks in on the night.

So I've let him out, he's caught a few mice and rabbit and he's running around the field with the hens and the ducks and he's back to his normal self.

(bee buzzing) - Let me take him up or something.

- [Narrator] Coming up.

- [Julian] So, Copper, how's he getting on?

- [Narrator] Head nurse Sara's dog needs urgent help.

- [Julian] I think we need to have a look inside and see what it is.

- Good morning, Jean!

- [Narrator] And Peter's called out to his favorite farming family.

- These are my pals.

- [Husband] You don't have to be mad to work here.

But it helps.

- There's no better than a good old cow.

- [Narrator] When a member of staff's pet needs a vet, there's only one place to come.

Head nurse Sara's brought in her three year old lab cross, Copper.

- We noticed over the last two to three days that he's really been quite miserable.

Looking quite depressed.

He's hanging his head quite low.

Which to me, rings quite a few alarm bells.

He's not been very willing to eat as much as he used to be.

And he's not willing to exercise.

He used to run like a greyhound and now he just hovers round your heels.

(Julian whistles) - Trying to escape, come on, Copper.

- Good boy, this way!

Good lad.

- [Julian] So, Copper, how's it getting on?

Not so good.

- Yeah, he's lost quite a lot of weight this weekend.

He's just not himself at all.

- Hello, little man.

How long has he been losing weight you think?

- 'Bout three days, Friday.

- And you think there might be something?

In here?

- [Sara] He's got a very tight tummy.

Haven't you?

- [Julian] Yeah, well you're quite right, there's a big lump.

As you suspected in the front of the abdomen.

It's quite hard, it's quite knobbly.

Is he pale, have you been?

- [Sara] Yeah, he's very pale.

But the refill's quite steady.

- I think you're right, I think we need to have a look inside and see what it is.

I mean, basically, as you know, it's either gonna be on his liver, on his spleen, or in his intestines.

If it was on his liver, usually that's further forward.

And I think if it was on his intestines, it would be causing him to be sick.

I would think that that might be on the spleen, you know.

In which case, we'll get it out.

- You're a good boy!

- [Julian] I think you can tell a lot about a dog's personality when they are poorly 'cause when a dog's healthy, you know, they're just healthy normal dogs.

But when you've got a poorly dog, I think that's when the character really kinda comes out.

'Cause he's obviously feeling pretty rubbish at the moment.

- [Sara] Ah, he's feeling really rubbish.

- [Julian] And yet, he's still wagging his tail and he still wants to be your pal even though he's feeling kinda rubbish.

So we'll take him I think straight away to theater and do it, do it straight away, see if we can get you fixed.

Cases like this are always difficult because we see poorly animals all the time, it's our job, and Sara obviously knows her own dog very well but she knows the medical side of things as well.

I'll be doing the surgery, Rachel'll be doing the anesthetic and we all know Sara as a colleague and a friend but it does make the emotions somewhat frayed.

But once we've started the surgery I think it'll become fairly clear as to what we need to do next.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Earlier, English bull terrier Dave was brought in with an anti-social problem.

- Very smelly breath!

- [Narrator] He had teeth removed.

- It's a horrible tooth.

It's food, food material been trapped up there.

- [Narrator] And a lot of stinking debris.

(bright music) But now, back at home in County Durham, he's pain-free and much happier.

- He's doing absolutely fine.

There's no smell from his mouth.

It's really, really good, what a difference it's made.

It's nearly a week now, well in fact, it's a week tomorrow.

So we'll try him with the chewing, fingers crossed, hopefully should demolish it.

- [Narrator] With his mouth healed, Dave can once again enjoy one of his favorite snacks.

- [Steve] Come on Davey boy, in you come.

These are a bit harder and I think it's these that was giving him the problems.

There you are, son.

Oh, wow, is that good, son?

That didn't touch the, hey, there's a good boy.

As you see, that hasn't lasted very long (laughs).

- [Narrator] Now he's passed the chew test, it's time for a banquet, doggy-style.

- We've got tins of rice pudding, sardines, and I do them a chicken stew as well and I cook them some best mince in there.

And they also get tripe twice a week as well.

Just like to give him bit of variety.

Come on, lazy bones.

- [Narrator] Just time for an after dinner stroll.

- Come on, Dave, come on son!

- [Narrator] Looks like someone's eaten too much rice pudding!

- Come on, you silly boy!

Over here.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Back in North Yorkshire, Copper's been rushed through to surgery.

Sara wants to stay with him whilst Julian gives him an anesthetic.

(somber music) (somber music continues) - [Julian] All right, you go, Sara, I'll give you a shout.

- [Narrator] Nurse Rachel knows Copper well.

So this won't be easy.

- Rachel's just prepping the surgical site.

And then when she's finished I'm gonna make an incision in the mid part of the abdomen and that's when we'll find out what we've got in there and whether or not we'll be able to solve the problem.

(somber music) (somber music ends) (Julian inhaling) Mm.

It's not so good.

So this is the tumor.

Wow.

- [Narrator] The mass is much bigger than Julian expected.

- This is the spleen, this big purple thing, and I was hoping that the tumor would be confined to the middle of the spleen there, but certainly it's not, it's attached to the intestines.

And I suspect, looks like it's coming from the pancreas, which is bad.

It's gone all into the mesentery as well.

- [Narrator] As it's far worse than he imagined.

- [Julian] It's not good.

- [Narrator] Julian needs to tell Sara.

- It's right in the, it's coming from the pancreas, do you wanna come and have a look?

Are you sure, it's not very nice.

- Yeah, no, no.

- It's on the pancreas.

And it's right between the spleen and all round the intestines and I don't think we can get it out.

- [Narrator] It's upsetting news for all the staff.

- Yeah, it's terrible, isn't it?

Basically, it's a big inoperable mass on the pancreas that's extended to the spleen and the intestines, so it's not operable.

I've spoke to Sara and just giving her a few moments really to come to terms with it.

- [Narrator] Poor Rachel's finding this difficult, too.

- Yeah, it's not good news.

Gonna hit us quite hard.

Just gotta see what Sara wants to do.

- Just spoke to Sara and gonna put him down.

There's not really any other option in this circumstances.

- [Vet] It's just so packed in there, there's no way to clear it to get in more.

(mournful music) - Just gonna close the abdomen now because Sara wanted to take him back home to bury.

This was a very aggressive cancer.

It's just amazing he wasn't showing more signs of illness.

This is so unlucky, the dog's only three.

- I saw Julian come in to find me and I knew exactly what he'd found.

To see your dog laid on the operating table with such a massive tumor protruding out of it's abdomen, it's just absolutely heart-breaking.

If I decided not to euthanize him, it would have just been a very long, painful death for him really, he'd have suffered, he wouldn't been able to eat and drink towards the end.

But it's something that we have to deal with on a daily basis and we do understand that every animal that we deal with here is someone's beloved pet.

And for them, helps their world go round, as did Copper for me.

But better place now, and he's a happy boy again.

(mournful music) (cheerful music) (lamb bleating) - [Narrator] Next day, in the Herriot tradition, it's business as usual.

And Julian's partner, Peter Wright, been called out to a farm owned by two of his favorite clients.

- [Peter] Mr. and Mrs. Greene have been with the practice for many, many years.

Jeannie is very colorful, Steve says very little.

They are very, very keen on animal welfare and it's fair to say that all their animals are treated like royalty.

And it's a sad fact that one of the few family farms which are slowly dwindling away.

When Mr. and Mrs. Green retire, it'll be a sad day.

(bright music) - [Narrator] Despite Steve being in his eighties and Jean in her sixties.

- Hello, you lot!

- [Narrator] They're still doing things the old-fashioned way.

- [Jeannie] Just going to see if there's any eggs.

No, there ain't.

They ain't laid me an egg for me tea, neither.

What a disgraceful chicken.

- [Narrator] Born and bred in Thirsk, they've lived here all their lives.

- [Jeannie] Oh, look what we found!

I love nettles.

Hey, put your pal up!

Say hello to your net.

Say hello to your net.

- Oh, hello.

(laughs) (Jeannie laughs) - [Narrator] They've been happily married for decades.

- [Jeannie] We've never had a cross word for one another in 37 years, we love it.

We wouldn't swap one another for the world.

You watch where you're walking, else you'll be arse over tit.

- [Narrator] They still work 365 days a year.

- [Jeannie] Wow, which one?

- [Narrator] All weathers on their 30 acre farm.

- Sometimes they come galloping and other times they won't come at all.

There's only this field, now.

We used to have 40.

(Steve coughs) - [Narrator] And they've seen many changes in recent years.

- [Jeannie] Life's changed.

And it hasn't changed for the better.

Walk, you remember lad?

All the fellows we knew when we were kids have all gone now, all houses.

(cow mooing) - [Narrator] Farming has changed, too.

Modern dairy farmers are revolutionizing the industry by investing in high-tech automated systems.

- These are my pals.

Most of our friends are in bigger scales now.

And it's all robot, but we prefer that you feel the teat, you feel the cows, they've got a personality.

All this, see, is a robot.

And when you're called to want to handle 'em, you can't handle 'em 'cause they haven't seen a human.

Talk to 'em, treat 'em with respect like you would, and that's life.

I love 'em, there's no better than a good old cow.

- [Narrator] Here, there's not a robot or a laser beam in sight.

This milk's not destined to end up in your corn flakes, though.

The Greene's milk is used to bring on their younger stock.

- [Jeannie] Well, she's enjoying that, she's loving every minute of it.

- [Narrator] Steve and Jean once had 40 dairy cattle, but now they're down to just six.

- [Jeannie] We're happy enough.

We can get up in the morning and enjoy the day, whatever it throws at me, I'm happy.

I'm grateful to be alive.

(cow mooing) Oy, ya lazy little toral.

(laughs) (rooster crows) - Good morning, Jean!

That's a grand morning.

- [Jeannie] Oh, I had a flea!

- [Peter] You had a flea?

- Yeah, it was on me back.

Savage!

- [Narrator] The Greene's have asked Peter to dehorn their young calves.

- We're going to numb it first of all, we're gonna put some local anesthetic in.

So the calves don't feel anything.

And then, we're gonna give that a few minutes to work.

And then some of them, these horns will be a bit long so I might just have to saw them first of all.

But the calf won't feel anything.

And then, we'll burn out any root that's left, too, so the horn doesn't grow back again.

Right, we'll do the biggest first, shall we, Steve?

- [Joan] Right, cool.

- [Peter] We'll start with that chap and see how we manage.

- [Narrator] Peter's going to need some reinforcements.

(Peter chuckling) - Do you want a hand, Peter?

- [Peter] We might do.

- Yeah, Peter's here but we need Ruth as well.

Cheers!

- [Peter] Come over here, chap, please cooperate.

- [Jeannie] C'mon, you know you want it!

(Peter laughs) - [Narrator] Coming up, Julian turns up the voltage with a big boy's toy.

- So it's been to the charge all night, so it should be good to go.

- [Narrator] And Peter's still having fun on the farm, Herriot style.

(Jeannie speaking indistinctly) (bright music) - [Narrator] The dales are stirring from their wintry slumber.

Green shoots and new life are all around.

(inquisitive music) The Yorkshire Vet, Julian Norton, has been called out to a local Limousin cattle farm where resident bull Rambo's nearing retirement.

(inquisitive music) Here, to take his place, and introduce fresh blood, is Gel.

But there's a problem with his family jewels.

- [Julian] We facility tested him about six weeks ago and he produced a good semen sample that was, you know, excellent.

The problem that we had, he didn't extrude his penis fully at that point.

And we really need to examine his penis and obviously that's critical if he's going to do his job and Mr. Swales has been observing him with heifers and cows and he, whilst he shows enthusiasm to mate the cows, he's not actually managing to do the job as it were.

If he can't mate and serve cows, then his role as a stock bull is fairly nonexistent.

- [Narrator] And Julian's brought along an impressive piece of kit to help with the test.

- [Julian] What I'm gonna do is put the electro-ejaculator into him and, ordinarily what happens after about a minute or so, he develops an erection and then after another few minutes, produces a sample.

So it's been on charge all night, so it should be, should be good to go.

- [Narrator] Julian's going to need a lot of lubrication to get that where it needs to be.

He doesn't look too chuffed.

- Get myself symmetrical.

So this is the machine that sends electrical pulses to the probe, it's up to two now and it goes up to a maximum of nine.

- [Narrator] But, there's a problem.

- Hmm, ordinarily by now, we would be seeing the penis extruding, it's still not there, I'm afraid.

- [Narrator] It's not looking good for young Gel.

- See, there's nothing there at all that's coming out, it's not even nearly there.

- [Narrator] Mr. Swales has spent hundred of hours and thousands of pounds to find the perfect bloodline in Gel but if he can't perform his duty.

- All right, I'm just gonna switch it off now.

- [Narrator] His future's bleak.

- That's the second time we've examined this bull.

And, um, as I say normally, the penis would have appeared and extruded by a good, that length, really.

And it's not happened on either occasion.

So, it doesn't look very good for this young man, unfortunately.

(sad music) - I'm very disappointed.

It took me a long time to find the bull.

I thought I'd got an exceptional, good bull.

Reasonably priced.

So, therefore I'm very disappointed that I'm not gonna be able to use him for breeding.

I'm not sure where we go from here, whether we keep him for a while longer, getting the vibes from Julian he doesn't think he's ever going to work.

So we've got to start and look for the future.

I've got to try and buy another one with the breeding as good as I've got.

That's not easy.

It's heart-breaking.

(sad music) (uplifting music) - [Narrator] Earlier, Peter was called out to two of his favorite clients, Steve and Jeannie Greene.

He is de-horning their calves, but it's not the easiest job.

- [Peter] That's it.

Right, I've got her, Jean, I've got her now.

Why didn't you stick around, Steve?

- Oh, I'll be all right.

- [Peter] I'm just going to go and, I'm just going to go and get some local anesthetic.

Halfway between the base of the horn and the eye there's a nerve called the corneal nerve that runs in there, so we're just numbing that nerve now.

So that Rachel doesn't feel anything.

Well done, Jean.

- [Jeannie] All right, so, you aren't getting out of playing.

(Peter laughs) - Ah, your one-liners are very good, Mrs. Greene, they always have been.

(Jeannie speaks indistinctly) Have you seen him this morning?

- [Peter] Seen who?

- Have you seen him this morning?

Invisible man?

(both laughing) - Morning, Steve, how are you?

- Those horn buds there are a little bit too big to burn off, so, we're just going to saw them off.

And then we'll burn off, burn off the base of the horn to stop it growing.

- [Narrator] The process may look a little brutal, but Peter's thoroughly anesthetized the area.

- Let her go if she wants.

She's not feeling it.

She may sometimes, there are other branches of nerves that give you a little bit of supply, but the main branch of the nerve is numbed.

- [Narrator] Once the horn bud's reduced, it's cauterized.

- If we burn this out now, it'll stop it regrowing.

Because they use their horns when they're feeding, no, to bully their mates, that's why we like to do it.

- [Narrator] One down.

- [Peter] Lovely, yeah.

We'll just leave her to settle down now.

- [Narrator] Six more to go.

(upbeat guitar music) - I've got this end.

- Well done, Jeannie!

(Jeannie speaking indistinctly) - You don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps!

(all laughing) - [Peter] That's it Tulula!

That's lovely.

(bright music) (people chattering) That's it, I think.

- They're all done now, all dehorned.

- Take care!

- Ay, and you, Jean!

(Jeannie speaks indistinctly) See ya, Steve!

I love Steve and Jeannie dearly.

They're true characters and it's farms like this that are dying out now, sadly.

All the animals have names and they all live happily side by side, the greyhound was there, the cats, they're just one big happy family.

And it's a pleasure, and the whole farm is so happy.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Next time, on "The Yorkshire Vet", Julian meets an amorous alpaca with issues.

- This is Lothario, I mated him with eight girls last year and none of them got pregnant.

So he's not living up to his name.

- Hey around here, old lad!

- [Narrator] And for Peter's old friends, the Greenes, life's about to change forever.

(cow mooing) - 200 years of being cows on here, I just can't cope.

(uplifting music) (uplifting music continues) (uplifting music fades) (no audio) (no audio)