Animal Hospital Episode From 1994 (2)
Transcript
00:00Moment
00:02Music
00:29G'day, welcome back to the Animal Hospital
00:31here in North London.
00:33Now this is a pretty cosmopolitan type of city.
00:35You meet people from all over the world here.
00:38But last Friday in Vet Barbara O'Malley's clinic
00:40I came face to face with my first bilingual cat.
00:44Meet Socrates.
00:46What's wrong with Socrates today?
00:48Well, he's got a little problem with his skin
00:51on here near the tail.
00:53On his bottom here, right?
00:54That's right, yes.
00:55On Socrates?
00:56Usually I look quite well after his fur.
00:59Yes, right.
01:00I noticed this a couple of weeks ago.
01:03Is he biting their nippling at all?
01:05Not at all, not touching it at all.
01:07Let's check your tummy.
01:10He's a lovely boy, isn't he?
01:12He's a good cat.
01:13He knows it.
01:16Now you haven't seen any fleas on him at all this year, have you?
01:18I haven't seen any.
01:20Yeah, because it's just, even though it's November this year,
01:23it's a funny thing, it's actually been a really horrendous autumn for fleas.
01:26Well, every autumn and every spring I buy flea collars,
01:30like September in the autumn.
01:31Yeah, right.
01:32And I spray the house as well.
01:34Yes, very good.
01:36Let's just check his back.
01:38He's very well looked after.
01:40Do you take great care of him, obviously?
01:43Yes, I comb him on a regular basis and I bath him as well.
01:47No, he doesn't like bath, he likes showers.
01:49Showers?
01:50Yes, and I have to sing for him in the bath.
01:52You give him a shower?
01:53Yes, and he loves it.
01:54Do us a bit of the singing now.
01:56Oh, no, anything.
01:58Or shut your eyes and pretend it's over to you.
02:00I say, oh, no, no, my little, oh, he's a good boy,
02:03oh, he likes his shower, he's going to be beautiful,
02:07and then we're going to dry him.
02:09I would take a shower if that was happening.
02:12I would.
02:13And it's always a cold, so.
02:14We'll give you some fleas, Ralph.
02:15Yes, just to try to keep him calm.
02:17And then do you kind of blow him dry afterwards?
02:20No, never, with towel.
02:21So he sits in the bath like this and look at me and say,
02:25what are you doing to me?
02:26He's a very pampered moggy, isn't he?
02:29Oh, he knows it, who doesn't he?
02:31Well, I'm afraid in spite of all your efforts there,
02:33what he's got is actually a very, very mild flea allergy reaction.
02:36Oh, right.
02:37I mean, it would never have happened in a normal year
02:39if you were doing all the right things.
02:40You spray the house, you're keeping him nice and clean,
02:43he's wearing a collar, doing everything right.
02:45It's not your fault at all, actually.
02:47Just this year is the year of the flea.
02:49They were saying that there weren't a lot of fleas around in the really hot summer.
02:53No, no, I think they were biding their time.
02:55They've all come out now instead, you know, they're really bad.
02:58Maybe they all just kind of had heat stroke or something possibly.
03:01So I'm going to give him a very small injection to calm the irritation down.
03:04Oh, I promised him no injection.
03:06Did you promise him in English or in French?
03:09Well, he's bilingual.
03:11He is?
03:12He's bilingual, isn't he?
03:13Right.
03:14He gets told off in French.
03:16You never forgive him.
03:17Do you use psychology on him?
03:19Well, tell you what, you can talk to him nicely while giving the injection.
03:22He won't even notice.
03:23Okay.
03:24You can sing to him.
03:25Right.
03:26No worries.
03:27Okay, Minet?
03:28Huh?
03:29On va faire une petite...
03:30Une...
03:31Une piqure.
03:32Yes, okay.
03:33Une petite piqure.
03:34Petite, yes.
03:35Some petite piqure here.
03:36I'll do a little head massage, that's right.
03:38A little head massage, right.
03:39To keep him...
03:40To keep him calm.
03:41Right, you look nice and white.
03:43Oh, Coude Socrate.
03:44He doesn't even blink.
03:45No, no, no, he's a very zen cat.
03:46He's very wise.
03:47Oh, a wise cat, I see.
03:48Yes, that's why he got his name.
03:49He's been here before, hasn't he?
03:50He's been here before a long time.
03:51He's a philosopher, isn't he?
03:52That's right, yes.
03:53He's a philosopher cat, yes.
03:54Wasn't he a lovely cat?
03:55Just like Vincent here.
03:56It's a good name, isn't it?
03:57If, like me, you're a fan of Van Gogh, I'm sure you can work out why.
03:58This little cat needs a new home, but born with only one ear?
03:59Who knows?
04:00Anyway, you're a nice, calm little thing, aren't you?
04:01Like all the animals in here.
04:02You're a nice, calm little thing, aren't you?
04:03Like all the animals in here.
04:04You're a nice, calm little thing, aren't you?
04:16Unfortunately, that wasn't the case last Sunday.
04:19It was November the 5th, if you remember.
04:21Reporter Mary McAfee went to find out what happened.
04:22It's just gone 7 o'clock.
04:23The Guy Fawkes night has barely begun.
04:24We're just about a mile away from the hospital at one of the biggest events in London tonight.
04:25There are beautiful fireworks.
04:26There's a fantastic bonfire in the background.
04:27There's music.
04:28There's thousands of people.
04:29That's all very well for us.
04:30But this is probably the worst night of the year for animals.
04:31It's just gone 7 o'clock.
04:32The Guy Fawkes night has barely begun.
04:33We're just about a mile away from the hospital at one of the biggest events in London tonight.
04:34There are beautiful fireworks.
04:35There's a fantastic bonfire in the background.
04:36There's music.
04:37There's thousands of people.
04:38That's all very well for us.
04:39But this is probably the worst night of the year for animals.
04:40She was out in the back garden, playing with all her friends, and a firework went off outside
04:41the garden.
04:42And she tried to get away from it, jumped up the front step, and caught her back leg.
04:43Sue, do you think it's dislocated then?
04:44Not according to this.
04:45But it may be popping in and out.
04:46When you look at it, it looks like it's dislocated.
04:47It looks like it's dislocated.
04:48It looks like it's dislocated.
04:49It looks like it's dislocated.
04:50It looks like it's dislocated.
04:51It looks like it's dislocated.
04:52It looks like it's dislocated.
04:53It looks like it's dislocated.
04:54It looks like it's dislocated.
04:55It looks like it's dislocated.
04:56It looks like it's dislocated.
04:57It looks like it's dislocated.
04:58It looks like it's dislocated.
04:59It looks like it's dislocated.
05:00It looks like it's dislocated.
05:01It looks like it's dislocated.
05:02It looks like it's dislocated.
05:03It looks like it's dislocated.
05:04It looks like it's dislocated.
05:05It looks like it's dislocated.
05:06It looks like it's dislocated.
05:07It looks like it's dislocated.
05:08It looks like it's dislocated.
05:09It looks like it's dislocated.
05:10It looks like it's dislocated.
05:11It looks like it's dislocated.
05:12It looks like it's dislocated.
05:13It looks like it's dislocated.
05:14It looks like it's dislocated.
05:15It looks like it's dislocated.
05:16It looks like it's dislocated.
05:17It looks like it's dislocated.
05:19It looks like it's dislocated.
05:20It looks like it's dislocated.
05:21It looks like it's dislocated.
05:22It looks like it's dislocated.
05:23It looks like it's dislocated.
05:24It looks like it's dislocated.
05:25It looks like it's dislocated.
05:26It looks like it's dislocated.
05:27It looks like it's dislocated.
05:28It looks like it's dislocated.
05:29It looks like it's dislocated.
05:30It looks like it's dislocated.
05:31It looks like it's dislocated.
05:32It looks like it's dislocated.
05:33It looks like it's dislocated.
05:34It looks like it's dislocated.
05:35It looks like it's dislocated.
05:36It looks like it's dislocated.
05:37It looks like it's dislocated.
05:38It looks like it's dislocated.
05:39It looks like it's dislocated.
05:40It looks like it's dislocated.
05:42It looks like it's dislocated.
05:43It looks like it's dislocated.
05:44It looks like it's dislocated.
05:45It looks like it's dislocated.
05:46It looks like it's dislocated.
05:47It looks like it's dislocated.
05:48It looks like it's dislocated.
05:49It looks like it's dislocated.
05:50It looks like it's dislocated.
05:51It looks like it's dislocated.
05:52It looks like it's dislocated.
05:53It looks like it's dislocated.
05:54It looks like it's dislocated.
05:55It looks like it's dislocated.
05:56It looks like it's dislocated.
05:57It looks like it's dislocated.
05:58It looks like it's dislocated.
05:59It looks like it's dislocated.
06:00It looks like it's dislocated.
06:01It looks like it's dislocated.
06:02It looks like it's dislocated.
06:03It looks like it's dislocated.
06:04Can you see him?
06:05Aye, sweetie.
06:06Aye, sweetie.
06:07I should be able to get him from that fence, shouldn't I?
06:08I should be able to get him from that fence, shouldn't I?
06:09What are his chances of running away from you as soon as he sees you?
06:10What are his chances of running away from you as soon as he sees you?
06:11What are his chances of running away from you as soon as he sees you?
06:12I wouldn't have thought so.
06:13I wouldn't have thought so.
06:14He looks like he wants to be rescued, really.
06:15He looks like he wants to be rescued, really.
06:16Hello.
06:17Come here.
06:18Hello.
06:19Come here.
06:20Oh, that's a good girl.
06:21Oh, that's a good girl.
06:22That's a good girl.
06:23That's a good girl.
06:24That's a good girl.
06:25That's a good girl.
06:27Grab her.
06:28Grab her.
06:29Grab her.
06:30Grab her.
06:31Grab her.
06:32Grab her.
06:33Grab her.
06:34Grab her.
06:35Grab her.
06:36Grab her.
06:37Grab her.
06:38Grab her.
06:39Grab her.
06:40Grab her.
06:41Grab her.
06:42Grab her.
06:43Grab her.
06:44Grab her.
06:45Grab her.
06:46Grab her.
06:47Grab her.
06:48Grab her.
06:49Grab her.
06:50Grab her.
06:51Grab her.
06:52Grab her.
06:53Grab her.
06:54Grab her.
06:55That's too frightened, I suppose.
06:57I'm sure he's hungry now.
07:03Now, while we've been out with Ciaran, David, you've had a bit of an emergency in here.
07:06What's happened?
07:08Well, this little dog, he's a little stray dog.
07:10I don't know much about him.
07:13Someone threw a firework at him, and he ran off straight into the path of a car.
07:22So he's been run over, then?
07:24He's been run over.
07:25He was seen to be run over.
07:26The firework exploded very near him, and he shot across the road, and a car went straight into him.
07:31See, the point is, if you can immobilize these broken legs, the pain goes almost immediately.
07:37He's not in any pain there now.
07:39He was in agony when he came in.
07:41He's got a bit of damage around his mouth here.
07:44Yes.
07:45Oh, sheesh.
07:46Poor little chap.
07:47That's probably why he's bleeding.
07:49Weeds.
07:50He's got a broken jaw there.
07:51See that?
07:52Oh, yes, I can see it moving.
07:53Oh, no.
07:54Oh.
07:55I want to have a look at the back of him, see if there's anything else.
07:57So just be careful.
07:58He might still go when I start pulling him around at the back here.
08:01Yes, he's in pain, of course.
08:02Yes.
08:03Come on, little chap.
08:04Come on, now.
08:05What else have you got wrong with you?
08:06Let's have a look.
08:07Come on, stand up.
08:08Stand up.
08:09Stand up, little boy.
08:10Come on.
08:11Oh.
08:12Oh.
08:13He doesn't like me doing that, does he?
08:14Come on.
08:15Oh, now, now, now, now.
08:16Watch out.
08:17Watch your hands now, Murray.
08:18That's not a tight...
08:19That's not very tight.
08:22He's not happy, is he?
08:23OK, let's have a feel of you.
08:27Come on, let's have a feel.
08:30That's a good dog.
08:32Well, there's nothing very bad.
08:33I think he's just badly bruised around the back.
08:35He's had a very frightening experience.
08:37We'll give him a pain-killing shot now,
08:40and then we'll bed him down for the night.
08:43That dog is still in a very serious condition,
08:46and the hospital staff don't yet know who the owner is.
08:49So let's hope someone claims him soon.
08:52Fireworks or no fireworks,
08:54road traffic accidents involving animals are very common.
08:58Last week, David Grant had to operate on his own cat, Penny,
09:01after she'd been run over by a car.
09:04It was pretty serious, wasn't it, David?
09:06Everybody's been asking me, how is she?
09:09Well, she's perked up over the last couple of days, thank goodness.
09:11She's been terrible immediately afterwards,
09:13and the nurses have done an absolutely wonderful job with her.
09:16We've had to feed her through the nose,
09:19but now you see the jaw is starting to heal.
09:22All right, sweetheart. You can see it's aligned.
09:25And the next step is for her to feed herself.
09:28We're syringe-feeding her at the moment,
09:29but hopefully in the next day or so she'll start.
09:31And the stitches are out of the eye.
09:33The stitches are out of the eye already.
09:35Amazing, isn't it?
09:37Well, thanks very much, David,
09:39and we all hope that she continues to get better.
09:41Thanks, Rob.
09:43It's down to the vet to diagnose what's wrong with an animal,
09:46but one owner who came in was in no doubt at all about her pet's problem.
09:51This is Rosie, is it?
09:52It's Rosie, yes.
09:53And what can we do for Rosie?
09:54Well, Rosie was...
09:55Just pop her on the table.
09:56She was raped by bikinis,
09:59and she's very heavily pregnant, as you can see.
10:02Sure.
10:05Yes, you can definitely feel some foetuses there.
10:07Yeah, but she's probably not going to need a cesarean.
10:10Why do you think Rosie needs to have a cesarean?
10:13Because she was raped by bikinis.
10:17By bikinis.
10:18Yeah, and a bit worried about the size of the heads getting through.
10:22Sure, sure.
10:23Well, the main thing is that it's actually very dependent,
10:27the size of the litter is much more dependent on the size of the mother
10:30than it is on the size of the father.
10:33The problem with, obviously, bikinis is they've got very short noses,
10:36they've got big heads, and she's only got a little pelvis.
10:39So there is a possibility she's going to have problems.
10:42Now, it's not necessary to actually overfeed during a pregnancy.
10:47You need a slight...
10:48Well, she has about two meals of rabbit a day.
10:54Right, and what has she normally been eating?
10:57She's very fussy normally.
11:00Right.
11:01So you're actually feeding her a lot more than she normally eats.
11:04You've got to be very careful about that.
11:06Because if you overfeed her,
11:07then it means that she's got much more energy than perhaps you would expect her to have,
11:12and that goes across the center and goes into the litter,
11:16and the pups increase in size.
11:18And then if you're going to have a problem at whelping,
11:22then it's going to be because the pups are too big.
11:25But I think it's most likely that she's going to pass them okay on her own.
11:29Right.
11:30I mean, probably the best thing to do is, if you're concerned, to phone us.
11:34Hopefully it's not going to be too much of a problem for her.
11:38It may mean you having a couple of sleepless nights, I'm afraid.
11:41I'm used to those.
11:43Right.
11:44I've got a baby.
11:45Oh, really?
11:47What do you think she will have?
11:51She's certainly going to have a mixture of the two.
11:54So there'll be a dolly mixture, will there?
11:57It won't be either one or the other.
11:59No, no, no.
12:00There will be a dolly mixture.
12:01There will be a mixture.
12:02Yeah, I doubt it very much.
12:04We've seen many of this type.
12:06No, no, no, exactly.
12:07That'll be interesting to see what they look like, actually.
12:09Yeah.
12:11Well, Rosie did have her puppies, without help, in the middle of one night,
12:15and they were a dolly mixture.
12:17Sadly, one of them died, but the rest of them are doing well,
12:20and Rosie is proving to be a devoted mum.
12:24Some conditions are easy to diagnose.
12:27Pregnancy is usually one of them.
12:29But in other cases, just what's really wrong with an animal
12:32only gradually becomes clear.
12:35Last week we saw Cass, the boxer dog, undergoing a series of tests.
12:39Well, this week, David Grant had the answer.
12:42How is he in himself?
12:45Yeah, not too bad.
12:46It's only when the fire works, you know.
12:49Is he off his food?
12:50No, he isn't.
12:51No, but he's eating.
12:52He's finding it very hard to eat.
12:54What's happening?
12:55It's taking him time.
12:56Yeah, and he's very, very lethargic.
12:59No, he's not.
13:00No.
13:01Well, I've just got the results faxed through to me just today, actually,
13:06and it shows that he's got leukemia.
13:11Really?
13:13I thought as much.
13:15Don't start crying.
13:17Stop crying.
13:22Right.
13:24But, um, I mean, the problem is...
13:27Well, this is what we need to discuss.
13:29Right, okay.
13:31The next question you're going to ask me is what about treatment.
13:34The problem is with dogs that we can't do bone marrow transplants,
13:41and actually I just wonder whether it would be right to do it anyway with an 11-year-old dog.
13:48That's right.
13:49So, I think...
13:50It's a lost cause, then, you'll say.
13:52Well, what I'm saying is that in the long term,
13:57yeah, look, he's very poor indeed.
14:00So what will happen?
14:01Will he just deteriorate?
14:03I think it's quite likely he will do, yes.
14:05I think what we need to do is just to make the check-ups.
14:08Right.
14:10And if he shows signs, maybe give him some treatment for that,
14:15but if he starts deteriorating...
14:16Badly.
14:17Badly, then we should let him go.
14:19That's right.
14:22So, I mean, we are probably looking at buying time here.
14:26But on the other hand, I mean...
14:29Do you think he'll last till Christmas, though?
14:31Ooh.
14:32Okay.
14:33That's a $64,000 question.
14:35No, you can't say.
14:37No, I can't say.
14:38It's awful, isn't it?
14:40Well, it's expected.
14:42I've had him since he was three.
14:44Look, bye-bye.
14:45Oh.
14:52It's hard to take, eh?
14:53But look at it this way.
14:55He has had a fantastic life.
14:57He has lived a good life, you know what I mean, Ralph?
14:59He's had the best of everything.
15:01He has lived a good life.
15:03What's the difference, you know what I'm saying?
15:05And if it wasn't this, it would be something else.
15:08In our terms, he's 77.
15:10He's old now.
15:12When you get to 80, I mean, life can be very good indeed.
15:16And we hope that we all do, eh?
15:18That's right.
15:19But it's a bonus.
15:20It has to be said it's a bonus.
15:22So, in his case, let's hope, well, we will ensure that he doesn't suffer.
15:26That's all we want to know.
15:27And yes, a quiet, dignified ending when it comes.
15:30That's right.
15:31Okay?
15:32Okay, David.
15:33Thank you.
15:34That's fine.
15:35Come on.
15:36Come on.
15:37Good boy.
15:38Good boy.
15:39That's it, mate.
15:40That's it.
15:41See you later.
15:42Bye.
15:43Cheers.
15:44Cheers.
15:45His owners took him home again, not knowing how long he would continue to enjoy life.
15:49But, sadly, his condition deteriorated very rapidly and he was put to sleep on Saturday.
15:57It's never easy.
15:59Although this hospital is in the middle of a big city,
16:03all sorts of wild creatures seem to come through the doors.
16:06One of this week's unexpected visitors was a bird which is becoming increasingly common in London,
16:11a sparrowhawk.
16:13Richard Thompson explained to reporter Steve Knight what had happened.
16:17One of the common injuries with these birds is a window strike.
16:20So they pursue a great tit or a blue tit relentlessly
16:24and then they don't see the window and then they smash themselves on the glass.
16:27So is he badly injured?
16:29Well, normally they can be concussed and they can be released almost immediately.
16:32But this one's got an injury to its left wing
16:35and so we want to keep it in for a couple of days.
16:37Right.
16:38When the bird showed no sign of recovery,
16:40Richard decided it needed special treatment.
16:42Yep.
16:43Weight of the tape against the wing.
16:45But before Inspector Mark Buggy could take it,
16:47Gabriel Haggard had to bind the wing for travel.
16:49Nearly.
16:50Did.
16:51Handling birds of prey involves particular risks.
16:55Watch his feet.
16:56Yep.
16:57Yep, see what you mean.
16:58Very strong, aren't they?
17:00If you could grab that right wing.
17:02Hang on.
17:06All right.
17:07That's good.
17:08OK.
17:09There we are.
17:11With the hawk strapped up securely for the journey,
17:13Mark took it to a vet in Kent with a special interest in birds of prey.
17:22He's a bit underweight.
17:23He's 149 grams.
17:25Adrian Doyle often treats wild birds free for the RSPCA.
17:30He covered the hawk's eyes to keep him calm during an X-ray.
17:33That way, he avoided using anaesthetic.
17:36Do you feel anything broken in the wing at all?
17:39There's a lot of grinding sensation and instability in that area
17:43and suggesting either a break or some kind of disruption of the ligamenture.
17:47But, you know, we won't know until we've actually got the X-ray
17:50as to exactly what the damage is.
17:52But, you know, certainly there's something really wrong there.
17:56Right, so we'll just focus down with the collimator.
18:00OK, Mark.
18:01Well, basically, there's no obvious break.
18:04There's no fracture at all.
18:06But what we do have is quite a lot of sort of cloudy disturbance around the joint,
18:12which is really the soft tissue swelling and which is the damaged tissue.
18:18And, essentially, we're going to just strap the wing
18:22and hope that healing takes place.
18:25Adrian soon had the wing strapped.
18:28That's all we're going to do for the wing now.
18:31And then we're going to put him back in a cage.
18:33And that's it.
18:34Any chance of release back into the wild?
18:37I would say not a great deal of hope
18:41in that that joint has a lot of different moving parts.
18:45It's difficult to hope that it's going to heal 100%.
18:49Right.
18:50And that is really what the bird needs to be able to get out and hunt again.
18:53Anyway, we'll do our best and hopefully he can be hacked back to the wild.
18:58I'm sure they will do their best and we'll try to let you know what happens.
19:02A few days ago, an owner brought in her dog.
19:05The dog had developed a slightly embarrassing problem.
19:09She sleeps on my bed at night time, I'm afraid, on the pillow behind my head.
19:14Behind your head?
19:15Behind my head.
19:16She likes to lay with her back against the headboard.
19:19Right.
19:20And her belly.
19:21As long as she can feel me, she's happy.
19:23Right. OK. OK.
19:24A little bit unusual.
19:25And she weed.
19:26Oh, dear. That's not so good.
19:27She weeds a lot, actually.
19:28She's drinking a lot more water now.
19:30Right.
19:31And the same again last night.
19:32So I thought, first of all, I thought it might be chill.
19:34I thought, well, I'd better bring her up here.
19:36Now, she's actually had a couple of operations on her bladder, hasn't she?
19:39That's right, yes.
19:40She's had one big stone taken away and then lots of little ones.
19:42Right.
19:43She's been a sickly dog ever since I've had her.
19:45When she goes out to spend a penny normally...
19:47I take her out three times a day.
19:49Seven o'clock in the morning she has me out.
19:50Right.
19:51And then again about 12 o'clock and then six o'clock.
19:53And then after that, if she wants to weed, she uses the box which I keep in the bathroom.
19:57Oh, right.
19:58With a bit of lino and newspaper on it.
19:59That's very unusual for a dog to do that.
20:01No, she's very good.
20:02That's good. OK.
20:03What's her appetite like?
20:04Very good.
20:05She eats three times a day.
20:06OK.
20:07A little bit overweight, so you've got to...
20:08Well, she's always been a bit on the big side.
20:10Mm-hmm.
20:11But mostly stone, actually.
20:12Right. OK.
20:13You've got to watch out for that.
20:15Stones seem to come into her life a lot, don't they?
20:17Yeah.
20:18OK.
20:20When she had the last operation, her bladder wasn't working for two weeks,
20:25and I couldn't let her sleep on my bed,
20:27so I had to sleep on the floor in the kitchen with her.
20:30Oh, really?
20:31For two weeks.
20:32Right.
20:33I don't want to have to do that again.
20:34No, certainly not.
20:35Rather uncomfortable, I should imagine.
20:36Well, no, I put a bit of foam down and laid on it and put her on the cushion beside me.
20:41You're very well looked after, aren't you?
20:42Well, probably end up in the kitchen again.
20:44Might be a good idea for the next week.
20:46Well, we'll see.
20:47Not you, but her.
20:48Well, if she goes, I'm afraid I'll have to go.
20:51You've got to look after yourself.
20:53I don't think it's such a good idea to be sleeping in the kitchen floor.
20:55She would think she's done something wrong, wouldn't she, if I shut her in there?
20:59But the problem is you do really have to be a little bit cruel to be kind in these sort of cases,
21:03and you've got to look after your health as well.
21:05It's very difficult to be cruel.
21:07Sure.
21:10Now, they've had cats up trees, they've had dogs in canals, swans on traffic islands.
21:15The emergency crews here have to be ready to tackle anything.
21:18But sometimes they need help, especially when it's a little animal with a big problem.
21:23As reporter Mary McAfee found out, a hamster had fallen down a drainpipe.
21:29So, is this it then? This is the fending pipe?
21:31Mm-hm.
21:32And you live right at the very top?
21:34Yep, at the very top.
21:36So, how did it get in in the first place?
21:38I think it must have escaped down the hole, because it's a big hole up there.
21:42And it must have fallen into there.
21:44Yeah.
21:45Yes, yes, there's definitely something there.
21:49That sounds as though it's kind of, you know...
21:51Scrubbing.
21:52Scrubbing about.
21:53It's a really long way to fall, I'm actually surprised it's still alive.
21:56Yeah.
21:57Looks like I'll have to get the fire brigade out on this one.
22:00There's no way that I can obviously reach from the bottom.
22:04There's no way we can get from the top.
22:07This bit of the pipe here goes in on the...
22:09Looks like it's level over this wall, so maybe if we can get that cut through
22:14and see if we can reach in.
22:21Morning.
22:22Morning.
22:27It's like a rainpipe.
22:28Yeah.
22:29A hamster's fallen down that, come all the way down,
22:31and it's leveled out here.
22:33Yeah.
22:34And it sounds like he's just in this bit, just in the hallway.
22:36Take the rods up.
22:37Make a lot of noise and we'll see if he'll come out on his own accord.
22:43Yeah, be in the middle.
22:44The plan was to push rods down from the top to scare the hamster out.
22:50Make a bit of noise and hopefully...
22:51It'd be great if we can trace him out like that.
22:52Well, hopefully, yeah, he'll hear them coming down
22:54and then he'll come out on his own accord.
23:01Failing that, they had another trick up their sleeves.
23:04A blast of air might blow the hamster out.
23:24I was hoping for a cork out of a bottle, but...
23:28No.
23:29Blew a leaf out.
23:32Plainly, more drastic measures were called for.
23:51He's away.
23:53Right.
23:59Have a look in the bottle, Mark.
24:00Yeah, can't see anything there.
24:02I'm getting more and more the opinion that he's not actually in there now.
24:05I think the only way we're really going to know
24:07is if I put the bucket down there and wash him out into the bag.
24:10How much water you got?
24:11As much as I want.
24:12Not too much.
24:13Right.
24:14Just gently.
24:15If we try and just wash it through gently first.
24:17No one wanted to risk drowning the hamster.
24:20You'll be ready.
24:21Right.
24:22Lee.
24:24Right, we want...
24:26Yeah.
24:27A reasonable splash.
24:29All right?
24:30Cut the pints first.
24:32Is that coming out as a flow, John?
24:34No, it's a trickle, isn't it?
24:36Right.
24:38Lee.
24:39Give me about half a bucket.
24:43Lee.
24:44Whole bucket.
24:46Go!
24:53Slowing down now, isn't it?
24:54Yeah.
24:56I don't believe this.
24:58Perfectly clean.
25:00Right.
25:01The whole pipe full of water in one go.
25:03Right.
25:04So he's going to have to come out with it.
25:05Yeah.
25:06Yeah, go now.
25:13I don't know how he can't come out after that.
25:20Still no hamster.
25:23Right, well, we've gone through all the...
25:26..what I can see that we could do.
25:27Short of starting cutting up the pipe all the way up the building.
25:30Right.
25:31Which is...
25:33..really quite a big step to take for this.
25:37And to go that far, they needed to call out the boss.
25:42So where is the hamster pipe roughly?
25:44I reckon he's in there.
25:45In there?
25:47Is that breakable from there?
25:48Yeah.
25:49Chip that out and try and move this pipe away from there.
25:52Because I reckon he's in this section.
25:54Right, OK.
26:12Hang on, darl.
26:13I've got a hamster here.
26:14You can see it?
26:15Yeah, hello.
26:16Yes, he's on top of the pipe and he's very wet, unfortunately.
26:19He's stuck between the two pipes?
26:21Yeah, here he is and he's trying to get out to me as well.
26:23If you'd like me...
26:25Oh, I've got the pipe off.
26:29Right, you've got your box?
26:30Yeah, it's behind...
26:31Right, get it ready.
26:32One, two, three.
26:33God, he's a big old son.
26:34There you go.
26:35It's brilliant.
26:38Oh, look at him.
26:40Oh, he's soaked right through.
26:44Thank you so much, everyone.
26:45Thanks.
26:47Rescued.
26:49Very wet.
26:51Uninjured.
26:52Uninjured.
26:53Return to owner.
26:54Return to owner.
27:04Amazingly, that hamster was absolutely fine.
27:07And now for a story of a young male and his two girlfriends
27:10who were harassing a hairdresser.
27:12The guilty party is currently being held at the Harmsworth
27:15by Richard Thompson.
27:17Right, what's the story?
27:19Him and two hens were found wandering in and out of a hairdresser's
27:22for about six weeks.
27:24Where was this?
27:25In East London.
27:27For a haircut?
27:28You're not sure?
27:29No, no.
27:30I won't be facetious.
27:31So what happened?
27:32How did we get the rooster?
27:33One of the ambulance drivers went out to go and pick him up.
27:36All three of them.
27:37But only managed to catch this fella.
27:39So what do you plan to do?
27:40Well, one of the ideas is to go back down there with our fella here
27:45and try and lure the other two dames down.
27:49It's very much touch and go whether it's going to work.
27:52Well, I think when he starts bellowing out, I think they'll hear him.
27:55And if you get all three of them, what's the plan then?
27:58Well, we'll re-hen the whole lot then.
28:00Is that a difficult problem?
28:02It is with him, not with the hens.
28:04With him, of course, 5.30 in the morning, he starts to crow.
28:08And if you've got neighbours or anybody within an area of about 100 yards,
28:12he's going to wake you up in the morning.
28:14And also, if you've got another cockerel,
28:18you can't put two cockerels together because they're just fine.
28:22So where do you keep him while he's here?
28:24Well, at night we have to keep him indoors because of the noise he makes.
28:27Oh, early morning waking the neighbours.
28:29We really wanted to hear that noise, but he suddenly became camera shy.
28:33He just would not open his beak.
28:35So eventually I gave him a bit of encouragement.
28:38We'll leave you with that.
28:40See you next week. Bye.
28:42COCKEREL CLUCKS
28:48Stay with BBC One for comedy in The Britass Empire next.
28:54COCKEREL CLUCKS
28:59COCKEREL CLUCKS
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29:24Everything will be OK.