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The Supevet S01E01 (2014)
Transcript
00:00Deep in the heart of the Surrey countryside
00:04lies an extraordinary vets practice. Okay let's go.
00:07I'm gonna break her straight through to prep, so you're gonna need to have a seat
00:11right there.
00:11You got a pulse yet?
00:14Here, the hardest to treat pets from across Britain are given some of the most
00:18advanced procedures available anywhere in the country.
00:22You have come here from my opinion about whether it's possible to save his leg or not.
00:26The practice is the brainchild of one man.
00:30Noel Fitzpatrick.
00:32Time to move my friend.
00:34That's not bad buddy.
00:37Known as the bionic vet, Noel has invented
00:40countless operations to help heal sick animals.
00:45Some people come and they expect you to work a miracle.
00:48Whatever happens, happens for a reason.
00:51But most people come full of hope.
00:55Filmed over a year, this is the story of Noel and his team
00:59as they set out to save our pets.
01:05He's stopped breathing, his heart stopped.
01:07My finger's inside his chest and his heart now, I'm pumping his heart with my finger.
01:12Breaking new boundaries in medical science.
01:15Come on, able to walk within 48 hours.
01:25Thanks, bye.
01:27Bye.
01:28Oh, hang on, hang on.
01:31Hello.
01:32Sorry, play that again for me.
01:36A new day is beginning at Fitzpatrick Referrals.
01:40Would you mind ringing Laura for me, just for a hand over?
01:44Over a hundred staff work here, helping care for the animals.
01:48No, no, no, don't hop, don't hop.
01:51There are 40 inpatients and over a dozen new cases come in every day.
01:56Do you want to see the photo of me and the bull?
01:58Go on then.
01:59OK, so here's the bull, I don't know what he is.
02:02Oh, it's a reindeer.
02:03That is?
02:04Show the dog.
02:05I don't know what he is.
02:06A goat, isn't it?
02:07He looks like a goat, but he's not, he's like a fancy goat.
02:13Hello, Charlotte.
02:14Hi, guys.
02:16Today, Noel and his team are working on a new case.
02:20Today, Noel's meeting an old patient, Oscar the cat,
02:24who's returned because his bionic foot needs replacing.
02:28Good boy.
02:29He had both of his hind feet chopped off by a corn harvester four years ago now,
02:34and he was the first cat in the world that had two bionic limbs,
02:40which were actually attached into his skeleton.
02:43Then, unfortunately, the infection came back in one of the legs.
02:47That meant we'd have to amputate the ankle,
02:49and a new implant went straight into his shin bone.
02:52We've had to design a different foot because we can't just put a blade on this.
02:58We do not have a movable ankle like we have with the other leg.
03:03We've never done this before.
03:04To my knowledge, nobody has ever done this before,
03:07and what we're hoping to do is pop this new foot on here.
03:14It's always challenging when you go into theater
03:17to try and create a new procedure to solve a problem.
03:22That's what you've got to do.
03:23In exceptional circumstances, you've got to create an exceptional solution.
03:28Okay, big guy. The moment has come.
03:31All right, buddy. You ready?
03:35Good boy.
03:37That's not bad, buddy.
03:39That's awesome, mate.
03:42That's awesome.
03:45I've seen a raft of things that have never even been described in the literature before.
03:51They're not in a textbook.
03:53It works. It actually works. That's awesome.
03:56We've got a lot of animals out there that are tearing around doing what they do,
04:01really because of Noel.
04:05Incredible.
04:13Fitzpatrick Farm's Karen speaking. How can I help?
04:17Who do you think you're speaking to?
04:20No, this is a veterinary practice.
04:26The clinic's reputation for ingenious surgery has attracted owners from all over the country.
04:33Good boy.
04:35Often they've come because they believe Noel can offer their pet a unique lifeline.
04:41David and Jill are bringing their Labrador cross, Scooby,
04:44after X-rays taken by a local vet suggest he's got a tumour.
04:51We've brought him here. They've done brilliant with him before,
04:54and it would be nice if something brilliant would happen today, but we'll see.
04:59Right, Scoobs? Yes.
05:02What? What?
05:05Scooby and their son, Freddy, grew up together.
05:09The first words are, is Scooby going to die?
05:12He's 11 years old, and like the school run this morning,
05:15it was just a case of, Daddy, will he be all right?
05:18And I said, well, he's in the best hands.
05:24Oh, my goodness.
05:32Wow.
05:34So this is a picture of the humerus right here.
05:37This is the upper arm bone.
05:39You can see that there's this big area that looks like a moth has gone in and eaten it away.
05:44It's like a piece of fabric eaten away by a moth.
05:46That is a tumour.
05:49You see, the thing is that when tumour cases come in to see me,
05:55they inevitably have one of three outcomes.
05:58Death, full limb amputation, or save the leg.
06:04Almost everybody that comes in wants me to save the leg.
06:09Okay, Scooby, please. Hello, guys.
06:12Hi. Hello, Scooby-Doo.
06:14How you doing, mate?
06:16Hi, mate. He's lovely, isn't he?
06:18Yeah. Come on, mate. Off you go.
06:22Now, you are already aware that there's a big tumour eating away the bone on his arm.
06:28That tumour has eaten through the lining of the bone, and that bone will fracture imminently.
06:34He's in more pain than you think he is, and he is stoical.
06:37In other words, he accepts his lot because he's a great, great dog,
06:42and he's going to wag his tail and want to eat dinner if a nuclear bomb went off.
06:46He'd still want to wag his tail and want to eat dinner, wouldn't he, mate?
06:50You have come here for my opinion about whether it's possible to save his leg or not.
06:56And I'm going to tell you the truth, that if he were my dog, I would not try and save this leg.
07:02And there's a very good reason for that.
07:05This moth-eating pattern does not do well with a limb salvage,
07:11which means taking the tumour out and putting metal in place of the tumour.
07:16So if we're going to keep him alive, honestly, you're going to have to get used to the idea of him being on three.
07:22Here's the thing. Almost certainly it has spread at a cellular level, whether we see it or not.
07:32We need a three-dimensional X-ray of his chest to have any idea about how long he's likely to live.
07:42So the first decision that I need to go through with you is, do you or do you not want me to try and keep him alive?
07:51We want to keep him alive, don't we? Yes.
07:53If it's OK for him, though.
07:55Yeah.
07:56I couldn't say goodbye.
08:00You know, when he bought him, he was wagging his tail.
08:06And he was happy.
08:08I don't think I've got it in me to say, oh, no, sorry, mate, it's game over.
08:13Because Freddie hasn't said goodbye to him.
08:18Poor.
08:22Three legs is OK.
08:25Just want you back, mate.
08:28I never know what's going on in people's minds when I meet them for the first time.
08:33But I knew that David was pretty anxious and troubled from the moment he entered the room.
08:40I'm going to take you for a walk, buddy.
08:42OK.
08:43Look after yourself.
08:44Stay brave.
08:45I just haven't been myself recently.
08:49And yeah, he has helped.
08:51Off we go.
08:52Good boy.
08:53You can just chat away to him and, you know, he can walk back and give you a smile.
08:58I've got no idea what you're saying, but, you know, I'm obviously doing something right because you're smiling, so.
09:05If the cancer hasn't spread, Noel can amputate the leg.
09:11Scooby's taken into the hospital's CT scanner to discover the extent of the disease.
09:17We're here to look after people's animals that are so precious to them and part of their family.
09:22And it's really important that we remember that and that we care for them like that.
09:29David and Scooby are as good a friendship than you would ever see with two human beings.
09:36In fact, better.
09:40I'm highly motivated by the bond of love that exists between a human being and an animal, yes.
09:48But I have to provide for that dog or cat the very best solution that's medically possible but in their best interest, as if it were my dog or cat.
10:00Otherwise, I can't sleep at night.
10:11Fitzpatrick Referrals is one of the most advanced veterinary practices in the country.
10:17So is this just a vet as well?
10:20No, I think it's just referrals, isn't it?
10:24Hence the name.
10:26Yeah.
10:28It's midday and the waiting room is filling up with new patients.
10:32Come down.
10:33But Noel has received an emergency call and needs help from Porrick, his right-hand man.
10:39Grab a seat, Porrick.
10:40Thank you, boss.
10:41I've just had a vet on the phone from Pinton in Devon and there's a pussycat that has just had its feet trapped in a, they think it's a fox trap.
10:49They reckon they can save one leg but the other leg is becoming gangrenous.
10:52Right.
10:53But the thing is that the only way we're going to be able to save this cat's leg is if you go and get the cat.
10:58Yeah.
10:59Because we need this cat within 24 hours.
11:02Working at Fitzpatrick's, it's more of a lifestyle choice than a job.
11:07I have friends that are doctors, I have friends that are lawyers, engineers and they have no idea what I do.
11:14You know, I'm a vet but people just revert to type, they just think about James Herriot.
11:20Porrick has arrived in Painton.
11:24Hello, darling. How are you, lover?
11:27Oh, he's a lovely boy, isn't he?
11:30The cat belongs to a local roofer, Ernie.
11:33He walked in.
11:34He walked in?
11:35Friday night, like it?
11:36Because we thought, rest overnight, he might be all right.
11:38So that's when I brought him in.
11:39He's a lovely boy, isn't he?
11:41The cat belongs to a local roofer, Ernie.
11:43He walked in.
11:44He walked in?
11:45Friday night, like it?
11:46Because we thought, rest overnight, he might be all right.
11:48So that's when I brought him in, Saturday morning, first thing.
11:50Yeah.
11:51It looks like it was a snare or something, is that correct?
11:54Yeah.
11:55Your plans are to take him back to Surrey, isn't it?
11:57I think this is his only chance, really, to see, can we save him?
12:01Tiger's wounds are badly infected.
12:04There's a chance that he will lose his hind legs.
12:08When he went in the car, I thought, well, that could be the last I see of him.
12:12He was a bit upset, I'm afraid.
12:16You live and sleep with them, don't you, really?
12:18You know.
12:20They're like your children, aren't they?
12:21I'm in tears now.
12:23If you've got animals, you've got to look after them, haven't you?
12:34Back in the clinic, Noel has the scan results for Scooby, the Labrador cross.
12:40If we're lucky, we'll get in at a point where we have a serious chance
12:43of mopping most of those cells up before they grow into tumours elsewhere in the body.
12:49His owners, David and Jill, are waiting to hear if Noel can save him by amputating.
12:57I think we're rather a three-legged dog rather than a no-dog kind of thing.
13:04It's just the way you're now, I don't know how I would feel if it is bad news.
13:11Now, Scooby's mum and dad?
13:13Yep.
13:14Okey-doke.
13:15All right, guys.
13:16I'm so sorry about the delay.
13:19We kept looking because what I do not want to do is give you information that isn't 100% factual.
13:26Right.
13:27And I wanted to scan the entire spine, every leg, and the lungs and the belly to see if I could find anything.
13:36So we looked through the lungs.
13:37What we're looking for is anything that's bigger than that speck of white.
13:41So at the moment, I cannot see any evidence of spread in the lungs.
13:46Wow.
13:47Which is good, right?
13:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:49Right?
13:50Yeah.
13:51We're in with a chance.
13:52Yeah.
13:53That at least is a bit of a smile.
13:54So my recommendation is to take that leg off now.
13:59Are you happy for me to proceed?
14:01Yeah.
14:02I'm going to get permission now.
14:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
14:05Good.
14:06Thank you very much.
14:07My pleasure.
14:09All right, mate.
14:11Good evening.
14:12Good evening.
14:13Break your plexus block.
14:15Yes, we've had a block.
14:16And we're on lidocaine and ketamine, CRI as well.
14:22Stable?
14:23Yep.
14:24You ready?
14:25Well, cancer hasn't spread.
14:28That's good news.
14:29Leg coming off.
14:33It's a big responsibility, you know.
14:36You're holding people's emotions in the palm of your hand.
14:40And to a very large extent, you're holding the life of this dog in the palm of your hand.
14:45Doctors can't make those decisions.
14:47They can't switch out the lights.
14:49We can.
14:52I'm glad I'm not going home to pick up his bed and his toys and put them away and not to be used again.
14:59I'm going home to look forward to Monday and see my mate back and just look after him and get him back to full health.
15:18So, James, what I do is I know that I'm doing this amputation different than you've ever seen it before.
15:24This is not in any textbook.
15:26So I try and keep muscles that the dog, I think, is going to feel so he feels more complete.
15:33I think.
15:34How do I know?
15:35I don't know.
15:36Forward.
15:43After two hours, the operation is over.
15:52I think that's beautiful.
15:53So I look at it and I feel joy for the dog.
15:58And some people look at it and feel pain for the dog, but they don't see what I see, which is the severe pain the dog was in this morning.
16:06Tomorrow morning, this dog's not going to be in pain and the team have done a great job.
16:10I'm happy.
16:13Noel's team will keep a close eye on Scooby in the hope that he will make a full recovery.
16:24Porik is returning from Devon with the cat that was trapped in a snare.
16:31OK, matey, what's going on?
16:33That leg's not looking the best of Nick. The left one, not very good at all. The right one may be salvageable, but you're the boss.
16:43It's been four days since Tiger received his injuries.
16:47Oh, that's horrendous.
16:49It's like smelling a zombie.
16:54It's dead. It's just rotting off.
16:59This is a very, very bad situation.
17:10Over the following weeks, Tiger has a number of operations.
17:15We're on 82 in blood pressure at the moment.
17:17But after one of them, something goes badly wrong.
17:21I'd actually just gone up to Kennel's to see him.
17:24Clever boy, ain't he?
17:26He was, you know, walking around in his kennel fine and then all of a sudden he laid down and started making funny noises.
17:31No, no, don't do anything.
17:33And I picked him up and I ran. I ran him to prep and we just started straight away.
17:38You see anything?
17:41Have we got a big problem?
17:44Tiger's just crashed, so basically he was in recovery from anaesthetic.
17:48Tiger has gone into cardiac arrest.
17:51But every way of resuscitating him has been tried and failed.
17:56Now Noel has only one option.
17:59I've just cut a hole in his chest. My finger's inside his chest on his heart now.
18:03I'm pumping his heart with my finger to try and get him to breathe again.
18:08Basically his heart stopped for about three minutes.
18:12Is he breathing for himself now?
18:15Is that him or you?
18:17He's breathing.
18:18All right, I've got a heartbeat here. Have you got a pulse yet?
18:22It's not going to read, so try and feel a pulse anywhere else.
18:26All right.
18:27I have a fairly strong heartbeat. I'm not picking up anything.
18:30Well, it is getting a small trace, but it's not getting a reading off.
18:33All right, I've got a ventricular beat now, but if I take my finger out, he's going to get a chest full of air.
18:40I want a surgeon.
18:42Russ, I need your help.
18:44I'm going to need your help. You're going to have to stitch it when I pull my finger out.
18:48I'm going to pull out a little bit. I'm going to pull out a little bit.
18:51You got him?
18:53Okay, good.
18:55When I pull my finger out, you're going to need to give a positive puff at the moment I pull my finger out.
19:02So I'll count you in, and when I say three, you give him a puff.
19:06His SpO2's just dropping.
19:09When I pull my finger out, it's hard for me to stop.
19:12We've got more adrenaline and stuff ready.
19:14Okay, here we go. On three. One, two, three. Go.
19:25Talk to me. What's happening?
19:27Okay, my heart rate's going up because saturation's going down.
19:30Come on, buddy.
19:32My entitled's dropping to 26. It was 53.
19:38That's him breathing.
19:44Slowly, slowly, slowly. Slowly.
19:49All right, buddy. Shh, shh, shh. Keep it open. Keep it open.
19:52All right, buddy.
19:54Where's the mask?
19:58All right, buddy. Shh, shh, shh.
20:03We got him back, and it was amazing, and I've never had that before.
20:09It's still emotional now.
20:13I've definitely never seen a cat come back before, and I don't think I'll ever see it again.
20:18It was a one-in-a-million chance, really.
20:23Yeah, it was just amazing, and the team did really well.
20:26I sat with him for, like, two days afterwards. I didn't want to let him go.
20:31I was so worried about leaving him, but he did really well.
20:40After being brought back to life, Tiger is taken to the intensive care unit,
20:45where he'll be nursed back to health.
20:51Up to 40 pets are kept here at any one time,
20:55and two-year-old Bacchus is the longest-staying resident.
20:59He fractured a leg when he was a puppy before being taken in by a rescue centre.
21:06Bacchus was in a great deal of pain.
21:08The fracture had been there a long time and had completely dislocated the elbow,
21:13so every time he moved, it hurt him terribly.
21:17So the best surgical solution was to join the top and bottom of the arm together with plates and screws.
21:25All right, let's see him walk.
21:27Two weeks after the operation, Noel's taking him to the exercise field.
21:31OK, so just get him to move around there a little bit.
21:35Come on, Bacchus. Good boy. Come this way, towards me.
21:37Good boy, Bacchus. Come.
21:38Yeah, that's not good. All right, buddy. That's really quite bad.
21:42OK, so he's dragging this behind him. We can't have that.
21:46OK.
21:47He's all tightened up here, so what we need is we need him to place the foot like that.
21:52It's fine when he's just standing there,
21:54but when he's walking along, he's still dragging it behind him.
21:58Come here. Come here. This way. This way.
22:00No, don't do that. Don't do that.
22:02Look, put it down. Put it down.
22:05We have to get these muscles used to the exercise again.
22:08He's got to get used to putting that leg in front of him.
22:11Pull this as much as you can forward and keep his shoulders down.
22:14It's all right, buddy, I know, because that stretch will hurt.
22:17It's like a footballer going back into training.
22:20The muscles hurt.
22:21Good boy. I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow.
22:25Good boy.
22:27You know, ultimately, most solutions are simple,
22:32and when it came to trying to get Bacchus to walk again,
22:36I just thought, well, a pair of tights are pretty stretchy.
22:40Why not just tie the end of a pair of tights to his leg
22:44and pull it forward like an elastic band?
22:47It made perfect sense to me until it came to actually buying the tights.
22:54Yep.
22:56Right, I've done my embarrassing job.
22:59These are only knee-high, but Bacchus is only quite small,
23:02so I think it'll be OK.
23:07That's not what we wanted, is it?
23:09Are these longer? My God, look, I didn't want lacy ones.
23:13He'll be fine, honestly. He's a dog.
23:15Make it happen, but don't let the nurses see you carrying tights around.
23:19All right, thanks, buddy.
23:21Cheers, Noel. Cheers.
23:22Bacchus, I need you to start using that leg properly,
23:25so if you do it, then you don't have to wear this anymore.
23:30OK.
23:32Oh, he wants to fly.
23:36OK, buddy.
23:39Go.
23:41Come on, Bacchus.
23:43Oh, no.
23:45Fail.
23:46Epic fail.
23:56Come on.
24:00It's mid-morning at Fitzpatrick's,
24:02and a new set of customers has been referred here.
24:05What's the dog's name? Gump.
24:10Today, you're going to be seeing Miguel.
24:13Mr Miguel. Mr Miguel.
24:15Well, his name's Solano, his surname.
24:17Oh, right, right. Miguel.
24:19Thank you. Thank you.
24:21Come on, then, let's sit down.
24:24Dave and Yvonne recently noticed that their staffie, Gump,
24:28has not been walking normally.
24:30She's walking with a limp for about six, seven weeks.
24:34I personally think it's just a poor muscle, but...
24:38It's taken too long to get fixed.
24:40Even the vet said it was not a poor muscle.
24:46Hi, good morning. Do we have Gump, please?
24:48Their local vet recommended a scan at Fitzpatrick's.
24:52Hi, there. I'm Miguel.
24:54Hello, mate. How you doing? You all right?
24:56Yeah, have a seat, please.
24:57So, I see that she's one and a half years old.
25:00Yeah, and I personally think that she's just pulled a muscle out,
25:04but our vet x-rayed her and said,
25:06no, we don't think so, but, you know, I do think so, so...
25:11Just changing the wrist.
25:15On the way up.
25:19She doesn't like it. No, she doesn't like that, no.
25:24One very common condition we see in young dogs
25:28is that there's a mismatch in the rate of growing
25:31in that elbow joint.
25:33Miguel suspects that Gump may have a defect in her elbow,
25:37which over time would make her grow lame.
25:40So, in terms of what we would like to do with her...
25:43But if she needs surgery, it won't come cheap.
25:46I can go and get an MRI scan for 400 quid.
25:49How come it costs more of a dog?
25:51Yeah, it's exactly the same. It's a question of scale.
25:54I'm a big fat bloke and she's only little.
25:56No, no, come on. If you run every day a hand that scans,
26:00each scan is much cheaper.
26:02Oh, I see, by volume, yeah? Yeah, it's a question of volume.
26:05So, in terms of her aesthetic...
26:12Ow.
26:17I knew foil was just a pulled muscle.
26:19Well, there you are. You don't know, do you?
26:23Right.
26:25Gump is staying in overnight.
26:27We'll have to pay for accommodation, yeah.
26:31So, he reckons about 3,500.
26:341,000? Yeah.
26:361,000? Yeah.
26:38This one pays some point.
26:40There's no money in the bank, so who cares?
26:42That ain't the bank.
26:44As long as we've got enough credit.
26:46Better get a night job.
26:53Hey, Marcus. Good boy. Come on, put it down.
26:55Put it down. Good boy.
26:57Have you got the tights? Which ones would you like?
26:59Give me those. Yeah, the nice ones.
27:01After failing with the first attempt at tights therapy,
27:04Noel is determined that Bacchus should be stretched further.
27:07Do you want the lacy end or shall I take the lacy end?
27:10Come on, come on. Pull the tights.
27:12There you go, buddy.
27:14Come on, buddy. Next one. Come on. Good boy.
27:16Come on, you got the hang of it. Come on.
27:18Come on, let's go. One, two. One, two.
27:20One, two. One, two. Come on, buddy.
27:22Good boy. Good boy. Come on.
27:24Come on.
27:26Come on, mate.
27:28You've got to do better than that.
27:30You've got to do better, man.
27:32God, this is going to take forever.
27:35All right, guys.
27:37You're going to need to practice.
27:39He's going to have to learn how to walk again.
27:41Ten, 15 minutes, four times a day.
27:43Use the nylon stocking, pull it forward.
27:46We need to build up his biceps and his pectorals.
27:50So, I mean, I would just keep trying everything I can
27:53to get that leg forward.
27:59Noel prescribes six weeks of intensive hydrotherapy.
28:03Bacchus was a bizarre little creature.
28:05He was a little trooper.
28:07He really wanted to get back onto four legs again.
28:10That's pretty miserable, having a chronic elbow fracture, really, isn't it?
28:17While the physio team look after long-stay patients,
28:20some cases demand Noel's immediate attention.
28:23OK, guys, we're going to take some different steps here.
28:27Good. All right, you all ready?
28:29Yes.
28:30An emergency has just come in.
28:32A greyhound, apparently he's been shot multiple times,
28:35picked up by a charity.
28:37He doesn't have any owner, but I think they've called him Otis.
28:41All righty, let's do it.
28:43So it looks like this is actually a shotgun
28:46rather than just a single airgun pellet.
28:48So somebody was really out to kill this dog, it appears.
28:51He's just absolutely despicable.
28:54Apparently he was just left to die after they shot him
28:57and somebody rescued him. He was covered in snow.
29:00We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine that I can see,
29:07and I can feel some more.
29:09There's a pellet right in here.
29:11The vet tells me that this leg is fractured.
29:14Oh, it feels crackly, and that's not good.
29:17We're going to need to take some radiographs of that
29:20and see what we're going to do. Let's get him anaesthetised.
29:23All right, big guy.
29:26As Otis has come from a refuge, Noel has agreed to treat him for free.
29:32So the vet who referred Otis has done a really great job
29:35at taking care of pain and doing the initial bandaging.
29:38Let's just pull up these radiographs of the leg itself.
29:43My goodness, wow, look at that.
29:45You can see the bullet's just gone straight through that bone, shattered it.
29:50This is a tibia here, shin bone of Otis.
29:53The bullet's gone straight through.
29:55I'm going to have to take that bullet out, figure out a way of fixing that.
30:01Right, let's go operate.
30:08There's the hole through which the pellet went, right there.
30:11You can see it's a ballistic impact hole.
30:14The pellet's got to be in here somewhere.
30:19OK, I found him. He's down here in some blood.
30:22I'm just going to pop him up out of the muscle here.
30:26There he goes.
30:27So you can see him in there.
30:29I'm going to get some forceps here and take the pellet out of the tissue.
30:36There we go.
30:39Good.
30:40Now we can start the fracture repair.
30:42My worry if I put a big plate and screws or a pin in here
30:46is that the infection would run up and down the bone.
30:49Infection holds on to metal.
30:51If I don't put metal in there, the body can deal with it.
30:55So what I'm going to do is I'm going to pull the bone ends back together
30:58and I'm going to put a frame on there.
31:02Pull, pull, pull.
31:04Right, clamp it, clamp it, clamp it, clamp it.
31:07Clamp it, clamp it, clamp it, clamp it.
31:10Lining up the bullet hole is telling me exactly
31:13where this piece and this piece must go back together again.
31:24Whoa.
31:25This external frame will hold the bone together while it heals.
31:31Otis is sent through to recovery.
31:38Gump, the limping staffie, has just had her scans come through.
31:43Hello, it's Miguel calling from Fitzpatrick Referrals.
31:46Yeah, so we got the CT scan results
31:49and we can confirm that there is disease on the left elbow.
31:53My recommendation is we can just do a nut keyhole surgery
31:57and give her a better future.
32:00So hopefully we can have your consent and proceed, yeah?
32:08Gump has been anaesthetised and is being prepared to go into theatre.
32:16Her owners, Yvonne and Dave, are back at home taking care of their other pets.
32:22Come on, Flossie.
32:26Come on, you. Gotcha.
32:29There he is, Herbert. He's got an attitude.
32:33What's happening, Herbert?
32:35It's strange without my dog in the house, isn't it?
32:37It is very strange, yeah.
32:39Because it's the first time we've left her.
32:41We've never left her overnight before, have we, anyway?
32:45But hopefully it's for the best.
32:48She'll be able to run around then with the other dogs.
32:53Miguel is operating a high-tech miniature camera inside Gump's elbow joint.
32:59But it is expensive.
33:01A little operation there was the best part of £4,000.
33:05I mean, there must be a lot of people who've got dogs that aren't treated
33:08because they can't afford it.
33:10I think if you love your animal, you pay it.
33:12Yeah, but I mean, you might love your animal,
33:15but if you haven't got the money to fix it, then what do you do, you know?
33:19A bit of a dilemma.
33:21It's a bit of a dilemma.
33:23If you haven't got the money to fix it, then what do you do, you know?
33:26A bit of a dilemma.
33:29We finally managed to remove that piece.
33:32It has been very, very difficult, very challenging
33:35because of the small size of that joint.
33:38After an hour of precision keyhole surgery,
33:41Miguel's happy that the operation has been a success.
33:54It's the only thing I can think of doing.
33:57I think I remember that lady from last time.
33:59Who was?
34:00The lady at the reception.
34:02Yeah.
34:03I think I do.
34:05OK, Natalie.
34:08Good, so Otis is ready.
34:10Brilliant.
34:11Let's go through.
34:12Excellent.
34:13Just days after his operation, Otis is ready to leave the practice.
34:18So what I did was I put some pins in here and some pins in here
34:22and then pulled it apart and then joined it on this carbon fibre frame.
34:27So here we go. Ta-da!
34:30Wow.
34:31Wow.
34:33That's amazing.
34:35Natalie, who works with the charity that rescued Otis, is also a vet.
34:39We took out the bullet and then we put a little wire on here
34:43like a barrel sheave just to keep the crack together
34:47and these pins at the top and the bottom hold everything apart.
34:53Three pins here, three pins here, like grappling hooks going in.
34:58And then these carbon fibre rods were cross struts
35:03and he walked on it literally within 24 hours.
35:07Come on, buddy. Let's say hello to Natalie.
35:10There we go.
35:12Hello, little man.
35:15There then.
35:17OK.
35:19Excellent. Where's your car?
35:21Just there.
35:22Oh, look at this. Another friend in there. Two friends in there.
35:26Three.
35:27Three friends in there.
35:29They all need homes. They all need homes.
35:32Why, is this the homing centre of the world for lurchers and greyhounds?
35:36Yeah.
35:37How many dogs do you have that need homes?
35:40Four.
35:41Four. And you're looking after all of them right now.
35:44Mm. I know.
35:46Amazing. Amazing. All right.
35:49Otis has made a remarkable recovery.
35:52There we go.
35:54Thank you. Bye.
35:56But not all of Noel's patients are so easy to fix.
35:59All right, mate. How you doing, buddy?
36:02Hey, buddy. So how's he been?
36:05Yeah, he's been OK.
36:07It's four days since he operated on Scooby, who had a tumour in his leg.
36:11Hey, man. Is he in any pain?
36:13No, he's doing well, actually. He's really comfy.
36:16Happy when you palpate.
36:18Come on then, buddy. Up we get.
36:20Come on. You're going to show me you can stand, mate.
36:23Come on then, buddy. Up we get.
36:25OK. Come on. Oh, yes!
36:28Good boy! Good boy!
36:31Hey, mate. Well done, buddy.
36:34He's made a remarkable turnaround in the last two days.
36:38I'm very, very pleased with him now.
36:41He's just turned a corner and he wants to get on with life.
36:45He doesn't seem to be in any pain, as far as I can tell.
36:48His wound looks great, so he can go home tomorrow.
36:52Great dog, bud. Great, great dog.
36:55Come on then.
36:57Scooby's owners, David and Jill, have been anxiously following his progress.
37:01Up we go. Come on, bud.
37:03I rang Noel on Sunday, I can't remember,
37:06and I had to press for one for emergency,
37:09and I said, I'm really, really sorry,
37:11and I said, but I've got to know how my mate is,
37:14and they said, no, no, no, it's fine,
37:16and they just gave me an update then.
37:18I think it is going to be a bit of a shock to us all when we see him.
37:22Tomorrow, the family will be coming to collect Scooby,
37:26but Noel has some difficult news to share.
37:29Was that the one when he went down with Tony?
37:33In the midst of the happiness of seeing him so active,
37:36I'm also cognizant of the fact that I've just received his lab report,
37:40and it's not good.
37:43So he had a very bad cancer in his bone.
37:49It will spread, and it will kill him.
37:53We just don't know when.
37:57We just don't know when.
38:09Good morning.
38:11Let me see if Dinika's in yet.
38:14Hi, is Dinika in yet?
38:16Could you let her know that her visitors are here,
38:21and we're just passing them down for guns and lethal weapons?
38:26LAUGHTER
38:31It's been a week since Scooby's operation.
38:34He no longer needs the specialist care from the team here at Fitzpatrick's
38:38and is well enough to go home.
38:41His owners, David and Jill,
38:43have brought their son Freddy along to collect Scooby.
38:47Hiya.
38:49I'm going to have to tell Scooby's mum and dad now,
38:52and their son, who I've never met before,
38:54that it is likely that Scooby's going to die sooner rather than later,
38:58regardless of how well he's doing on three legs right now.
39:01So, no, I'm not looking forward to telling them that.
39:09So, today's a big day, and, Freddy, this is the first time I've got to meet you.
39:13Yeah.
39:14You know that Scooby has lost a leg.
39:16Yeah.
39:17Have you ever seen a dog on three legs?
39:19Yes.
39:20So, here's the thing, and the thing I need to tell Mum and you.
39:23I do have the lab report back on the cancer now.
39:27Based on the type of cancer he has,
39:30it's likely that it has spread already.
39:34And I don't know how long he's going to be alive.
39:38If spread happens, then he'll begin to cough.
39:42But the reality is, matey,
39:44that you've got to enjoy all the life you have with him, right?
39:47But you do need to take on board that you're not going to have him forever.
39:52Good.
39:53And you've just got to make the most of every day, every month, every week that you have with him.
39:58It's important that you're brave for him and that you don't be despondent.
40:04When the time comes to say goodbye, you're going to need to be brave,
40:08and we're all going to need to put on our big boy pants and say,
40:11we have a responsibility, because you love him, right?
40:14Yeah.
40:18I was told by my son not to cry today, so I'm being strong,
40:22and I just want to... I'm not going to get upset.
40:25I'll just smile. I don't want him to scoop.
40:27He picks up when... Well, he picks up, doesn't he, if you're sad or...
40:31So...
40:34All right, bud.
40:36There we go, man. There we go.
40:39Hello, Mum and Dad. Hello, Freddie.
40:42He's wagging that tail, fella.
40:48Scoops.
40:51Is he allowed? A Scooby snack, yes.
40:53Give him a Scooby snack.
40:56What do you think, Fred? Yeah.
40:58Yeah? Yeah.
41:02All right, guys. Well done.
41:05He looks great. We made the right decision. Yeah, no question.
41:14There you go, Scoops.
41:16How many Scooby coughs, like, once...
41:20..we take him to the...
41:22No, champ.
41:24Why?
41:26What would happen if Scoobs just coughed, like, ten times?
41:30Nothing.
41:33Back at the practice, it's six weeks
41:36since Noel prescribed Bacchus hydrotherapy and physio.
41:41Yes!
41:43Yay! That's amazing!
41:46Yay!
41:48After daily swimming and exercise sessions with a pair of tights,
41:52Bacchus has finally learnt to walk again.
41:56Oh, I just remembered, you probably just licked your, you know, balls.
42:02There's more good news.
42:04Gump the staffie is back with her owners.
42:07It's going to be so hard, really, the next few days,
42:11trying to keep her from jumping up and jumping off.
42:14You're going to make it.
42:16Look, help me. You can still see what's going on, can't you?
42:19And once again, she's ruling the roost.
42:21Sit there in the middle. Is that better?
42:23You let her do anything, don't you?
42:26If she takes something off his plate, I go mad.
42:29It's not fair.
42:31If she takes something off his plate, I go mad.
42:34It's not the right done thing.
42:37Oh, she's all right.
42:39That's what you say. She's all right. I don't mind.
42:42Just don't do that.
42:44It's just like kids, you know, you argue over your children.
42:47We argue over the dog.
42:49I'll give her a bit of stuff off my plate.
42:52I like looking after the dog. It's good.
42:55Make sure she's brought up properly and all the rest of it.
42:58Again, just like your kids, I suppose.
43:00What makes you happy?
43:02Winning the lorry might make me feel happy,
43:04but I suppose the dog's the next best thing, I suppose.
43:07Yeah.
43:09Not them people that were in the paper last week.
43:12Two or three of them weren't happy winning all that money.
43:15Should have got a dog.
43:21Three days after being declared fit by Noel,
43:24Bacchus has come home too
43:26and has finally reunited with Rose, his owner.
43:29He's surpassed my expectations.
43:32When you see him running around the garden
43:35and there's a dirt track developed on his running route
43:40and his sprinting,
43:43I never expected him to be able to do that.
43:46And there he is running around like an absolute loon.
43:50It's as if someone has turned the volume up on his personality.
43:54He's just more.
43:56Yes, he's our little soldier.
43:58Good boy.
44:01But most surprising of all is Scooby.
44:04Good boy.
44:08He goes so brilliantly.
44:11He's like a little rocket man.
44:17It's been four months since Noel operated on him
44:20and he's defied all expectations.
44:24It's Scooby's eighth birthday today.
44:27It's such an amazing thing that he has actually reached this birthday
44:31because everything is a milestone about
44:34will he get to Christmas, will he get to New Year.
44:36And now he's got to his birthday,
44:38so it's just fantastic to celebrate
44:40and I think actually maybe we all need a good excuse
44:43just to have some good fun.
44:44If he could look at me in the eye and could talk,
44:47I think he'd just say thank you.
44:49I'm here, I'm full of life and I'm going to keep on going.
44:52You've got me for a while longer, a lot, lot longer.
44:56Happy birthday, mate.
44:58Love you always.
45:02Scoob, do you want some of your cake?
45:04We kind of feel part of the family of every dog and cat we treat.
45:08So when they have a birthday party, we have a birthday party.
45:11And that really is the most amazing gift of veterinary medicine.
45:17It's the gift of life.
45:23Right, Borek, I have another mission for you.
45:29He's worrying me immensely.
45:34Next time…
45:35He's gorgeous.
45:36Noel impresses with more than just his surgical skills.
45:40I've offered to be his mother and I said hands off, he's mine.
45:43A young rabbit's life is on the line.
45:46Hi, Rufus. Don't die.
45:48And when a dog falls victim to a vicious attack…
45:51Whoever hit this dog with a machete went like that.
45:55Noel seeks inspiration from science fiction.
45:58You can see what I mean here by Wolverine.
46:00Just don't know what she's going to be like when she comes back.
46:21To learn more, visit www.fema.gov