The Yorkshire Vet

(bright upbeat music) - [Christopher] 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 bestselling books.

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

(phone rings) - Good morning, Skeldale Veterinary Centre.

- The practice is the original Herriot practice.

That brings with it a certain feeling of responsibility that we're carrying on that Herriot tradition, treating animals of all types and sizes.

Whoa.

- [Christopher] Julian Norton is the Yorkshire vet.

- A-ha!

Coming to work, we're never quite sure what's gonna happen.

It's a great place to work.

I think it's the best job in the world.

- [Christopher] Julian runs the practice alongside partner and former Herriot trainee Peter Wright.

- There's no better sight anywhere.

I've been doing it for 35 years now and I still never get bored of it.

It's what it's all about, really.

- [Christopher] Here, together with Skeldale's dedicated team... - She's a fast one.

- [Christopher] They treat animals of all shapes... - You've got it!

Well done.

- [Christopher] Sizes, types... - Oh!

Crikey, get it off me.

- [Christopher] And temperaments.

- Don't bite.

- [Christopher] It's definitely not glamorous.

But it's varied.

- [Julian] That shouldn't be there.

- It isn't every day you get a chance to cuddle an emu, is it?

- [Christopher] It's rarely easy.

As the Yorkshire vet carries on the Herriot tradition, treating all creatures great and small.

(gentle music) As the winter sun lifts the early-morning mist and slowly turns sharp frost to glistening dew, Yorkshire vet Julian prepares for his day ahead.

This morning's call-out is to an old friend more familiar with the high plains of South America.

- We're going to a house just outside Boroughbridge where there's a gang of male alpacas that all live together.

When male alpacas live in a group, there's a lot of bickering and they tend to fight with each other.

So to sooth their angry tendencies, we're going to castrate them all.

One of the alpacas, I've met quite a few times before.

He's called Lothario.

He used to belong to a breeder of alpacas.

and he was the stud, or supposedly the stud.

- [Christopher] Lothario was owned by Jackie Barlow.

- I mated him with eight girls last year and none of them got pregnant, so he's not living up to his name at the moment.

- [Julian] He looks keen enough, doesn't he?

- [Jackie] Yeah, yeah.

- This is turning into a veritable alpaca orgy.

Between the bulls, there's not any sperm at all.

So he's been rehomed as a pet.

About six months ago, he was all geared up to be a stud, and now he's going to be anything but a stud when we take his testicles away.

Morning.

I'm obviously in the right place, then.

- Yeah.

- I bet they're not looking forward that much to seeing me.

- I've come to help Carol who bought Lothario.

When we found out that he was infertile, it was a good opportunity for him to find a forever home.

He was getting a little bit frustrated being near the girls and not getting any of the action, so he's gone with all his friends.

It's a good opportunity for him to have a happy life in a beautiful location.

- We have a small herd of alpacas, but they're all pet boys for us.

We don't want to breed.

We just don't really have the time for that, so we needed them castrating.

With Lothario, he really just needs to stop thinking about the girls.

- [Julian] Is that Lothario?

- [Speaker] Yeah.

- He looks different!

Lothario, mate, I'm sorry about this.

It's kind of my doing really, this.

They'll have been fighting and things, have they?

- [Speaker] Yeah, some more than others.

- Poor old Lothario.

- [Christopher] For these feisty Andean alpaca boys it's the moment of truth.

- Ideally, would have had a life of luxury, wouldn't he, with all his girlfriends?

But sadly things have turned around for him and he's now with a bunch of blokes and he's about to lose his testicles.

Oh, it's not food, I'm afraid.

It's a scalpel.

Push him up like this and then the best thing is if you can just hold his tail like that.

So we'll put some local anesthetic in first and then we cut through the skin.

Rather relaxing, kind of Himalayan, isn't it, with the bells in the background.

Yeah.

He's being really good, actually.

I thought he might've struggled a bit more than this.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] At Skeldale, there are some new arrivals.

- [Sylvia] Aren't they lovely?

- [Christopher] And they're causing quite a stir with receptionist Sylvia.

- There's a bit of a mark on the little tot.

Some odd-shaped nipples there.

You're fine, if you want odd-shaped nipples, but... Oh, yes, all babies are cute.

- [Christopher] Peter's meeting Doreen and her beloved pug.

His problems are only too obvious.

- Bramble is a pug with increasing respiratory distress.

In fact, if you listen not too carefully, you can hear Bramble out in the waiting room now.

It sounds a bit like a traction engine.

Bramble has typical pug breathing, but it's quite accentuated.

Some pugs manage okay, but they're not well designed.

And that's our problem.

We may have to consider corrective surgery.

We couldn't miss Bramble in the waiting room, could we?

We could probably hear Bramble the other side of Thirsk.

Now, young man, let's have a look at you.

(Bramble breathing heavily) Yes.

The problem there is we've got no nose.

Everything's squashed up, everything's concertinaed in.

And the soft palate is squashed as well, and basically it's interfering with the larynx.

And you can hear there, as he makes that noise, the soft palate's vibrating away there and getting caught in the top of the larynx.

Good boy.

He's having to breathe all the time through airways that are only just patent.

Such a shame.

- They're lovely dogs.

- Oh, they're lovely.

Their characters are tremendous.

He can't exert himself because if he exerts himself too much he'll collapse.

So we've got to try and do something to help him.

- [Christopher] Peter checks Bramble's fitness for corrective surgery.

- It's no life, cause it isn't just short-term, it's all the time.

Now, I've other things booked in tomorrow.

I wonder if we could have him in on Monday.

- Yeah.

- Nothing to eat after nine o'clock on Sunday night.

I can see he likes his food.

I've got you now.

I've got you.

Let's take you through.

Just a minute.

Your mother's there.

What a character.

- Right, see you Monday.

See you on Monday.

Okay, Doreen.

- [Christopher] Coming up... - [Julian] Pigs don't like being injected.

- [Lisa] Oi!

- [Christopher] Find out why Julian's making a pig's ear of things.

- Sorry about this, mate.

(pig squeals) It's done.

- [Christopher] And rugby-loving vet Haddie tackles an emergency in the car park.

- It's just getting its back in through the pelvis.

- It's touch and go whether it's gonna come through there.

- [Christopher] On a small holding near Boroughbridge, the Yorkshire vet, Julian Norton, is castrating male alpacas to stop fighting among the herd.

- If I can just keep him there with my knee... - [Christopher] First up is old friend Lothario.

His former owner Jackie Barlow knows it's for the best.

- He's got a champion fleece, and it would've been lovely for him to be a herd sire, cause he would've passed on his genetics, but as there was no hope of that, it's just one of those things.

- These are the fellas that do the work.

I feel awful.

It could've been so different, couldn't it, Lothario?

Always a sharp intake of breath at this point.

Give him some antibiotics.

There we are.

Sad day for Lothario.

Sorry, mate.

That went well.

I mean, that's good.

It doesn't really hurt.

It's a nice simple thing to do.

I don't often get attached to patients when I'm doing this procedure, but I've known Lothario for quite some time.

He's looking at his mates as if to say, "Don't go in there."

- [Christopher] It's all over for Lothario, but today's a bit of a family affair.

- His brother.

- Oh, no.

What's he called?

- Eli.

- Sorry Eli.

There we are.

That's a sad noise.

He's just seeing what's gonna be happening to him in a minute.

So, does this one have a name?

- [Jackie] Elvis.

- [Julian] Oh, Elvis, you've got small ones.

Judging by testicle size, Lothario's definitely the boss.

- I've got a right little pile of things going on here.

- Sorry, old boy.

Off you go.

Go on.

- [Christopher] Less testosterone among the males will bring peace to the herd.

- I feel awful.

I feel it's partly my fault really that he's just lost his knackers.

So, yes, I'm quite moved at the moment.

But he'll get over it, and I think I'll get over it.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] For the staff of Skeldale, there's a constant flow of creatures in search of comfort.

Senior vets Julian and Peter have just spotted treasure.

- This is gold dust, isn't it, this?

- Yes.

It's like Christmas, isn't it?

- Yeah.

But we need to keep these under lock and key.

I'll put them in the gun cabinet.

These are mercury thermometers.

You can't get them any more.

We have to otherwise rely on battery-powered digital ones.

- They're so rare, these.

Highly prized amongst veterinary surgeons.

Dual-scale mercury thermometers.

- [Julian] Makes your mouth water, doesn't it?

- [Peter] No longer available.

- [Julian] There's seven spares.

- Yeah, but we need them.

- That'll see you to retirement.

- I hope so.

Yeah.

- Out you get.

- [Christopher] Julian's clients arrive thick and fast.

But not all of today's creatures are quite so cute and cuddly.

- Sorry about that, mate.

- [Lisa] Looks like we're gonna have to wake them up.

- [Christopher] On a nearby farm, Lisa Hodgson goes about her daily chores.

- Good morning.

Are you coming for breakfast?

Come on.

- [Christopher] She's the proud owner of a herd of Mangalitza pigs.

And she's just as happy as they are in their surroundings.

- These are ideal for Yorkshire weather, cause up here it gets pretty bleak in winter.

And these were bred in Hungary, where it can go down to -30.

And mangalitza means hog with lots of lard, to keep them warm.

Come on!

Ah, you're struggling.

We have 208 Mangalitzas and they all have names.

This is JD.

He's really old, he's retired, really.

He's a lovely boy.

This one's Veronica.

She gets nicknamed Ronnie.

Her and her sisters are kind of like the Kray twins.

They get Monnie and Ronnie.

Don't you?

They're bullies with other pigs.

They don't like anybody to get in their way.

She wants to be somewhere, you don't argue.

Do we?

- [Julian] Hello.

- [Christopher] Yorkshire vet Julian knows the Mangalitzas well.

- You all right?

- [Christopher] Particularly Monica, and they've got history.

- [Julian] How amenable is she to being examined?

- You're a braver man than me if you go in with here.

- [Christopher] Last year, he had quite an encounter with her.

- Shove it into her and run for your life.

- [Julian] Argh!

(pig growls) - Are you all right, Julian?

- Yeah, fine.

- [Christopher] Julian survived, and so did her piglets.

- Right.

Hello!

- [Christopher] One of Monica's offspring has grown into a fine fellow and he takes his name from the herd's favorite.

- This is Julian.

After the fun and games Julian had with Monica, I thought it only fitting to name one after him, so every time he comes back to the farm, he's reminded and never forgets.

He likes his tummy rubs and his ear rubs, and he's quite a fast runner, like Julian himself.

The blondish hair, sparkly eyes.

I can't say whether Julian likes his tummy rubbed, you'll have to ask his wife.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] Julian's visiting the Mangalitzas to test for blue ear disease.

- Give us a kiss.

What, is my breath as smelly as yours?

- [Christopher] Six pigs are to be exported.

First, they need a clean bill of health.

- Once that comes back clear, they'll be off for a new adventure, the first Mangalitzas to go to Japan.

- Is it a big one you've pulled out, or a small one?

- A medium one and a smaller one.

So you can have your choice.

- [Christopher] The memory of Julian's last visit to Monica is still fresh in his mind.

- Hi, Monica.

- [Christopher] This time he's hoping to win her affection.

- Okay, little one?

Remember me?

She says, "I do, with your big spear."

We're friends now.

Monica, hello.

Hello.

That's a good pig.

It's been a while since I've seen Monica, and she's obviously a lot calmer than she was before.

I don't know whether she remembers who I am, but I'm not taking any chances.

I'd rather be on this side of the electric fence.

Just to be safe.

- [Christopher] It's time for the blood test.

Lisa's got a pig in mind, but he'll need a sedative.

- So we've got little Julian here.

- That's a good name for a pig.

Whatever gave you that idea?

- Well, I just thought whenever you come back, it'll remind you of his mum.

They're doing well, aren't they?

- I mean, they just look like teddy bear pigs, don't they?

So gentle and cute.

Let's pick Julian.

This'll be the clash of the Titans, Julian versus Julian.

He's a bit of a dude, isn't he?

Hello.

Look at his little face.

Very handsome, as you'd expect.

He'd be the best candidate.

- Don't take it out on him for what his mother did to you.

- No.

I'll just get my syringe.

I won't need my spear this time.

- No, definitely not.

- The initial hurdle is getting the stuff into Julian.

Pigs don't like being injected.

- Come on, Julian.

This way.

Come on, sweetie.

Oi!

- [Julian] Go on, pig.

- [Christopher] Lisa's partner Tim is on hand to help with the marauding Mangalitza.

- [Tim] Go on.

- [Christopher] With Monica's powerful genes, pig Julian is a force to be reckoned with.

- Sorry about this, mate.

Done.

Good.

It looks like he's ready for bed.

With sedation like this, you need to give it time to work.

The best thing to do is to sit tight and let the drugs quietly take their effect.

(bright upbeat music) (sheep bleat) - [Christopher] While they wait for the sedative to work its magic, at Skeldale, the waiting room's filling up.

- Oscar!

- [Christopher] Alison and daughter Beth have brought in a couple of cats.

- Smokey and Tilly, please.

- [Christopher] To see vet Sarah Beckerlegge.

- [Sarah] What can I do for these guys today?

- Smokey's in for his claws clipping.

- [Sarah] Right.

And Tilly?

- And Tilly... We saw Peter last time, and he suggested a low-fat diet.

It's not worked.

If anything, I think she's bigger.

- [Sarah] Okay Hey, grumpy guts.

- Oh, he is.

He is.

Old man.

- [Christopher] A pedicure wasn't exactly at the top of Smokey's wish list.

- [Sarah] Oh, Mr Grumps.

I know.

That wasn't very polite language, young man.

All done.

- Were you swearing?

- Shall we get Tilly out?

My goodness, missus.

So last time you were 6.75.

And now we are 7.2... Mm-hm, five.

So we have put on half a kilo, which is quite a lot of weight to be putting on.

Does she graze throughout the day?

- [Alison] She's got access to biscuits.

- [Sarah] Yeah.

And is that measured out so she's getting a specific amount each day?

- It's in her cat bowl- - So she can eat anyone's?

If you put out, this is Smokey's, this is Tilly's, she will probably think these are all for me.

We need to get her into the sort of position where she only has access to her food, which will be weighed out.

What we do have here are weight watchers courses.

Get her booked in on one of those.

Sooner rather than later, really.

Why I'd say do it with one of the weight-watchers nurses rather than with me is I'm going on maternity leave fairly shortly anyway.

- Really?

Shocking, that.

But they also- - The things people do to get out of work.

- I know!

I'm skiving.

It's just actually all a big turkey dinner.

- What about this scurvy?

- I think that's more to do with the fact that she can't physically get to this part of her body.

I can't bend and touch my toes, so I'm in a very similar situation to Tilly actually, that we're both far too large to be able to do everything that we want.

So just like I have no idea of what my feet look like anymore, she probably has no idea what her back end looks like.

I think you're just fat.

Over-indulged, kid.

Okay.

See you both.

- Thank you.

Bye.

- I think it's going to be hard work, but you know, we'll give it a good go and make life better for her.

- Mm.

Pretty good.

- And you can come and bring her as well.

- Yay.

- It's weight lifting for us just carrying the cage.

- [Christopher] At Skeldale, many animals turn up in small cages.

But occasionally, they need something bigger.

New vet Haddie Mills has been called to an emergency in the car park.

Farmer Ralph Alderson has a sheep that's struggling.

- There's no room at all.

I've tried to turn him round.

- Mm-hm.

It's getting its back in through the pelvis that's... - [Ralph] It's touch and go whether it's gonna come through there.

- Mm.

Here they come.

- It won't turn?

It's coming backwards, which is quite risky anyway.

Its pelvis is struggling to get through mum's pelvis, so the other option in that situation is to do a Cesarean.

Out the side, yeah.

- [Christopher] Farmer Ralph and Haddie move the struggling mum.

Senior vet Peter's needed to perform the emergency procedure.

- We're giving her a little rest now and then we're going to prepare for a Cesarean once Peter arrives.

- Losing your wool's the easy bit.

- Have you had many that have needed Cesareans?

- In the past, I've had ones.

Yeah.

I certainly know when it's a Caesar job.

- Yeah.

- I usually can get them out.

- This is the local anesthetic.

So this, in theory, should be the most painful bit, having this done.

- It's only a young sheep, it's her first lambing.

I'm fine.

It's all par for the course.

Been there, done that!

- Sheep Caesars, you can usually do on your own if you've got the farmer to help you out.

It's usually a one-person job.

But I've never had any experience of doing one before, so it'll be good to have a wiser, old hand.

- [Christopher] Coming up, there's more pig-headedness out on the farm for Julian.

- As you can see, he's not exactly cooperating.

- [Christopher] And for Peter's patient, life hangs in the balance.

- Lots of blue in there, Ralph.

Just hope she hasn't ruptured.

(gentle music) - [Christopher] At the practice, Haddie preps a heavily-pregnant sheep for surgery.

- Ralph.

- [Christopher] Peter's performing an emergency Caesarean.

- She's no room, has she?

- [Ralph] None.

- We're bringing the theater outdoors.

Peter doesn't want to be bending down.

Usually, they lie pretty nicely for us, so hopefully she'll be well-behaved.

- Right.

It's much easier on farms because, on a farm, we'd normally just put a couple of straw bales down and perform on that.

Right, let us begin.

- [Haddie] I think it's amazing they lie so still for this.

- Ssh.

- She's quite peaceful, quite calm, and she accepts humans quite readily, so I don't think there'll be too much trouble.

But I might be wrong.

- Lots of blue in there, Ralph.

Just hope she hasn't ruptured.

It's a bit of a concern.

I just hope that the uterus hasn't torn.

Having said that, I can't feel a tear there.

Finding it quite difficult because it's not straightforward.

She might just feel a strange sensation now.

What we're doing now is bringing what farmers call the lamb bed, which is the uterus, just bringing that up now into a position where we can make an incision.

That's good.

Right.

It's all right, missus.

(Peter sighs) I think that's been dead for some time.

Yeah.

That's a pity.

But other days, Ralph, in the same position, that lamb would be absolutely fine.

We might sound matter of fact about this, but it's part and parcel of lambing time.

There's going to be deaths, sadly.

And everybody wants every lamb to be born alive, but sadly, that isn't the case.

- If at all possible, you've got a mam that's not got a lamb, you try and graft them on, foster them on.

It's always easiest when they're actually giving birth to foster them on, because you can con them, because they're very, very shrewd, they can smell, they have a scent.

- It'd be nice if you could get a lamb for her.

Always disappointing when that happens, but there's nothing we can do about it, we've done all we can.

It would just be nice if Ralph can get a baby to put on her now.

Yeah, that would be lovely.

(bright music) (cockerel crows) - [Christopher] Back on the pig farm, Julian's hoping the sedative has taken effect on his namesake.

- Let's see what Julian's like now.

He should be a bit sleepy, but absolutely not sleepy at all.

He looks less sleepy than the others.

I don't really want to give him any more.

Do you think you can grab him, Tim?

(pig squeals) Right, that's okay.

- I take off.

I don't like to hear it.

I know he's not in pain and it's just the fact he's not getting his own way and he doesn't like being held.

I suppose it's like hearing your baby at the doctors when it's getting an injection, it's just not nice.

- Got him somewhat slightly sedated.

As you can see, he's not exactly cooperating.

Come on, pig.

It's not the end of the world.

Well, I've got some blood.

- [Tim] Is that all we need?

- Well, I think that's all we're gonna get.

You can let him go if you like, Tim.

- [Tim] Well done, Julian.

- I feel quite pleased about that.

We've got the all-important blood sample.

I think it's from the pig, and not from me.

Go on, piggy.

We'll send this to the lab to test.

If it's clear, then that gives the go-ahead for some of the other animals to be sent to Japan, so this is good news.

- [Lisa] Are you proud of your namesake?

- I am, yeah.

Really proud.

He's obviously got his mother's genetics though in terms of defiance.

So, yeah, it's a good combination.

(dog barking) - See you later, thanks a lot.

Bye.

- [Julian] See ya.

- See ya!

- Thank you.

- [Christopher] The tests came back clear.

And three weeks later, six of Helmsley's finest Hungarian Mangalitzas said see thee to Yorkshire and ey up to Japan.

(melodic music) At Skeldale, for fat cat Tilly and owner Alison, it's the moment of truth.

After a week of dieting, she's back for her first weigh-in.

Husband Dave's here for support.

- She's a chunky girl and she's been on a fairly strict diet of prescribed biscuits, which she eats very well, so fingers crossed, we might have lost a gram.

- Hello, Mrs. Hewson?

- Hello.

- This is Tilly, right!

Shall we take her through?

- [Christopher] Vet nurse Helen Quartermaine's in charge of Skeldale's fat club.

- Come on, Tilly.

Hello, sweetness.

- There you go, Till!

Let's see where we are today.

Good girl.

- What did she weigh in last week?

- She was 7.25, so she's lost a very small amount.

This is a scale that we use.

It's from one to five.

- [Alison] Oh, five.

- Yes.

And five is markedly obese.

Oh, sweetheart, we're being rude about you, aren't we?

What we want for her, ideal target weight, we need to be aiming for about 4.7 kilos.

That would be her ideal weight.

Do you know how many grams you're measuring out at the moment?

Cause I might need to tinker with that.

- [Alison] 93.

- 93?

In actual fact, for a five-kilo target weight, we'll start her on 55g.

- Oh, right.

- So it's quite a lot less.

- It is.

See you back in your box, then?

Yeah?

- I've had cats in over the years that have weighed 10 kilos plus.

With perseverance and an owner that's going to comply, I know it can be done.

All right, then.

Thank you.

- [Christopher] Precious pug Bramble is waiting for surgery.

to correct his snuffling and snorting.

- Well, Bramble has got a soft palate, which I think, when we get in there, it'll be impinging into the top of his larynx, his voice box.

This dog has no quality of life at the moment, so we're going to try and improve things.

It's quite a tricky operation.

- Right, we're ready, I'll go and get him.

- And we're also going to open out his nostrils so he can breathe a bit easier.

- [Christopher] Nurse Helen's assisting Peter.

- Come on, Bramble.

- You're a bit calmer than you normally are, aren't you?

(Bramble whines) - [Helen] Aw!

- Good boy.

- Very noisy little boy, aren't you?

- Horrible, isn't it?

- He really struggles, doesn't he?

- He does struggle.

Poor chap.

You can see, even now, the sooner we get control of his airway, the better.

That's it.

Any breed with a short, squashed-up nose, you watch any anesthetic carefully but particularly these squashed-up fellas.

Helen's been a veterinary nurse for just over 30 years now.

Is that right, Helen?

Just over 30 years?

- 15.

Apart from that... - Right.

- [Helen] Better?

- [Peter] Yeah.

That's lovely.

There's the offending bit of tissue.

See how that palate just goes on.

- [Helen] Yeah.

- It's all inflamed and chunky.

Any time he tries to breathe, all that tissue there is sitting in his voice box, stopping him breathing.

So we're going to trim some of that off now.

Can I ask you to hold me that now?

Thank you.

Okay.

I think we've probably done what we need to do there.

That's it.

There's going to be a lot of post-op swelling, so his throat is going to be pretty sore and inflamed.

The aim, it'll be that his breathing is a lot better, that he can go out and have a run around instead of struggling to breathe all the time, so that he can live the life of a normal dog.

Fiddly little jobs, aren't they, these, Helen?

- They certainly are.

- [Peter] Halfway there.

- He's very stable under the anesthetic, he's doing very well.

He's never breathed so well, given he's got an ET tube in.

But I reckon, once that swelling goes down over the next few days, then he should be able to find it a lot easier to breathe while conscious.

- Right, what we're gonna do now, because these...

The nostrils are too narrow, so we're going to widen those a little to try and make it a bit easier.

Okay, Helen.

Lovely.

That's a nice chunk.

- Not the most attractive view of a pug, is it?

With his eyes bulging... - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

- [Julian] Have you done the sub-palate?

- Hm.

- Ooh.

How was it?

- Okay.

It's always difficult to assess, but like you say, you don't take too much off.

I think I've got it right.

- That's nice and neat, isn't it?

- Thank you, sir.

That's fair praise.

- It is, yeah.

I don't often come and visit when you're doing neat and tidy things.

- Good.

- It's a bit of an occupational hazard being a pug, not being able to breathe very efficiently.

They're not designed in the best of ways, are they?

- [Peter] No.

- Now, approximately, that's the length of his soft palate.

It's going to make a huge difference to him in about a week's time.

It'll be like a breath of fresh air.

- Literally.

That was slipping into his larynx every time he tried to breathe.

So, hopefully, I've taken enough off.

Good.

Right.

Thank you, Helen, for your assistance.

- [Helen] Okay.

- I couldn't have done it without you.

Right, me old mate, it's down to you now.

Do your best for me, won't you?

- [Christopher] As Bramble recovers, his breathing's improved.

But he's still snoring.

(Bramble snores) Coming up, Peter visits Ralph's sheep and hopes she'll adopt an orphaned lamb.

- She has a little but there isn't as much there, she isn't producing quite as much as Ralph would like.

- They're amazing, aren't they?

- [Christopher] And a chameleon's off its food but can't resist Julian.

- Oh!

Crikey, get it off me.

Oh, that's not very nice at all.

(bright upbeat music) - [Christopher] The winter sun casts a golden hue over the weary-looking moors.

Its people and creatures make the most of its warmth.

At the practice, Bramble's back.

His surgical scars are now healing.

Peter and Sarah are keen to check his progress.

- Bramble.

Hey, how are you doing?

How are you doing?

You sound a lot better, don't you, eh?

Let's take those stitches out now.

He could hardly walk anywhere before.

Now he's a heck of a lot better.

Certainly, you know, all the time he was on the table previously and he was in the waiting room, he was like a traction engine in the background.

But now he can breathe reasonably normally.

Hopefully, we've rejuvenated his life now.

Now he can stroll around the country lanes and lead a pretty normal life, with a bit of luck.

Good boy.

It gives us an enormous amount of satisfaction.

That's what our job's about, really, improving quality of life.

There you are.

And there isn't a vet in this country that wouldn't take satisfaction from what we'd call an instant cure, and it really puts a spring in your step when you see Bramble coming back and not breathing normally, but he's 90% better than he was before the surgery and that's what life's about for us as veterinary surgeons.

- [Christopher] For the staff at Skeldale, many creatures coming through the doors are familiar to Yorkshire folk.

But occasionally they see something a little more exotic.

Like Ziva, the bearded dragon, and chameleon Django.

Owner Jenny's worried about Django, so she's brought him in to see Julian.

- [Julian] Hi, there.

- Hi.

- You've got an interesting bagful.

How's he doing?

- He's not been eating properly.

I'm trying to get as much food into him as I can.

- [Julian] What does he eat?

- Mainly vegetables.

But he's not really bothered about vegetables at the moment.

- They're amazing, aren't they?

- They are, yeah.

- I'm not madly keen on reptiles, but chameleons, I think, are the most fascinating and amazing of animals.

Broadly looks okay, doesn't he?

His color's bright, he looks in quite good general condition.

What do you give him, with regard to insects?

- [Jenny] I've brought some with me, actually.

- [Julian] Whoa.

- [Jenny] There's locusts in there, there are crickets in there and there's morio worms.

They're gonna jump around a lot.

He's not really interested.

He's just trying to get to my head.

- So this is a cricket, is it, or a grasshopper?

- [Jenny] This is a locust.

- [Julian] A locust.

It's not too quick, is it, for him?

Oops.

- [Jenny] He's quite calm, he's just trying to find a high spot to... - Would he like to aim from up there?

How about that?

- [Jenny] What's this?

He's gonna try and climb on your head.

- [Julian] Really?

I'm not sure whether I'd like that.

- [Jenny] They find the highest spot- - If he goes on my head, will you be able to get him off if it looks like he's gonna bite my ears?

- He's not gonna bite your ears, but it is gonna tickle, I will warn you.

cause his claws are quite sharp.

- Oh!

Crikey, get it off me.

Oh, that's not very nice at all.

It just feels a bit weird when his feet are on my neck.

He may be feeling a bit under pressure.

Oi!

He's not gonna attack me, is he?

- No.

You'll know if he's gonna bite you cause he'll open his mouth.

- Right, I'd quite like him to open his mouth.

Ah.

He's dehydrated, I think, this little fella.

This is a multivitamin injection, but, importantly, it's got vitamin D in it.

Quite often, reptiles, if they're not making vitamin D, that comes from sunlight, it means they don't get strong, healthy bones.

So I'll give him one of those.

It's not a bad idea to have those injections every three or four months.

- [Jenny] Boy!

- [Julian] Do I need to look at this one as well, or has he just come along for the ride?

- She might need a few nails clipping.

- There's one there a bit curly.

Look at that.

Cool.

Nothing wrong with his mouth.

Of course, that's not a great... Oh, yum, look at that.

What a breakfast.

That is a greedy bearded dragon, isn't it?

It's always interesting to see different animals that are not quite as furry as our usual patients.

Little Django, the chameleon, what a beautiful specimen he is.

The colors are brilliant and just the whole way the eyes move and the legs move is fascinating to watch.

Right, then, good.

It just adds to the variety of a normal day at the practice.

- Great.

- Okay, brilliant.

Thanks very much.

(upbeat music) - [Christopher] For Peter, there's just one more patient to see.

- I'll just pop in to see Ralph Alderson.

We carried out a Caesarean section on one of his ewes.

Sadly, the lamb was stillborn, so he was going to try and adopt a lamb onto her, so I'm just gonna call in and see if he's been successful.

She looks happy enough Ralph.

This is me patient and as you can see from the wound, the stitching is lovely.

That's healed beautifully.

Me granny always used to say, "Self praise is no recommendation."

If you don't blow your own trumpet, nobody'll blow it for you.

Hello!

What do you think of your new mother?

- [Ralph] Rubbish!

- Inquisitive little thing.

- [Ralph] You know what thumb is, don't you?

- She's taken to it?

- [Ralph] Oh, aye.

- Excellent.

She's not got as much milk as Ralph would like, so he's having to top the lamb up with a bottle.

Yes, your Uncle Ralph's going to get you some bottle.

- I've brought some milk in a flask.

I hope it doesn't make my tea taste of wool.

(both laughing) Come on, then.

She's psychologically complete now.

She's got a lamb, she's achieved her mission in life, that this spring she was gonna have a baby.

She's quite happy and she's gonna rear it, she says.

- It's a lovely sight.

I know it's not her baby, but she's taken...

It sounds a bit soppy this, but he wouldn't have a mother otherwise.

So it's lovely that he's got a mother, even though she hasn't quite sufficient milk to rear him.

- He's growing though.

He says, "I'm full, I don't want no more."

- Sometimes, it's nice just to stand, look at the views, look at what Yorkshire has to offer.

Not work, just stand and look.

Next year, hopefully, she'll have a baby of her own rather than having to adopt one.

There's two winners there, anyway, isn't there?

Good.

- [Christopher] Next time on "The Yorkshire Vet", Julian takes a bull by the horns.

- They don't really like being pulled round by the horns.

- [Christopher] Peter and Julian fight to save a working sheepdog, but they might be too late.

- We're in a pretty precarious state at this moment in time.

- [Christopher] And we visit the practice's most remote farm to see an over-amorous ram.

- Whether he's just overdone it, or...

I just don't know.

(bright upbeat music) (bright upbeat music continues)