For The Love Of.Dogs With Alison Hammond Season 13 Episode 01
Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs is a British documentary in which comedian Paul O'Grady follows the work of Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. In each episode the cameras follow Paul as he leaves his home to help rehome some of Battersea's Dogs.Year started: 2012
Country: UK
IMDB rating: 8.6
Categories: Documentary
Stars: Paul O'Grady Shaun Opperman Marc Baylis
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00We're back at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
00:16They've been looking after animals for over 160 years.
00:20You're like a little scrappy, you do, don't you?
00:23Look how good she is, look at her little face.
00:25And I'm here to lend a helping hand.
00:28That's my finger.
00:30Every step of the way.
00:39She's tied to my glove. Come here, give me my glove back.
00:42Go and get my glove.
00:44This week, I fall head over heels with an injured lurcher.
00:48Do you like a little rug as well?
00:53Try to calm a chaotic golden retriever.
00:56Pull it.
00:57So this is what we don't want, isn't it?
00:58Exactly.
01:01And put a mother and daughter duo through their paces.
01:05Really use those hips, bubble and squeak.
01:07Lovely.
01:13Over a third of the two and a half thousand dogs taken in by Battersea each year are strays.
01:19Don't worry baby.
01:20Don't worry baby.
01:21Don't worry baby.
01:22Don't worry baby.
01:24You're going to win somebody's heart, aren't you?
01:27We're trying our hardest to give them a brighter future.
01:30You're going to be fine, ain't you?
01:32Might not let you go, but you're going to be fine.
01:37But the one thing that can't be changed is their past.
01:43This lurcher is only 18 months old.
01:48She's at Battersea's old Windsor site after being found alone and barely able to walk.
01:54Staff have named her Marble.
01:59She's with vet nurse Amelia after an urgent x-ray has revealed she has a fractured leg.
02:06Hello.
02:07Can I come in?
02:08Yeah.
02:09Hi.
02:10Look at this little baby.
02:11Hello sweetheart.
02:12This is Marble.
02:13Are you coming to say hello?
02:15Yeah.
02:16Hello.
02:17I've never seen such a beautiful dog.
02:20Yeah.
02:21I mean I say it to all the dogs, but this is the most beautiful one.
02:25She's really sweet.
02:27She seems really thankful that she's here and then we're looking after her.
02:31I can see she's a little bit wobbly on that leg.
02:34Yeah.
02:35She could have been hit by a car.
02:37She could have been chasing something and got her leg caught.
02:40That's the problem with Australia isn't it?
02:41You never know.
02:42Yeah we just don't know.
02:43Anything about their history at all.
02:45You've been through a lot haven't you?
02:47But we don't know what you've been through.
02:49We don't know what you've been through darling.
02:52One thing is clear.
02:54Marble needs surgery to fix her leg.
02:57Hopefully it won't be too traumatic for her.
03:00But sometimes it's the recovery that takes the longest.
03:03Despite her obvious pain, I don't think I've ever met a more loving dog.
03:08Oh!
03:11She's so loving isn't she?
03:13She is so loving.
03:15Oh!
03:16You're so loving!
03:21Do you like a little rub as well?
03:23Do you?
03:24To think she's going through all this pain.
03:27We don't know where she's gone from.
03:28Yeah.
03:29She's a stray.
03:30Yet she's so friendly and kind.
03:31She's taking it all in her stride.
03:33I'll see you at your operation.
03:35I'll bring you some nice treats so that you get better quickly.
03:39OK?
03:40Gorgeous.
03:41She literally looks at you and you're like,
03:43OK then, have whatever you want.
03:49For the operation, it's decided she needs to be transferred
03:52for more specialist care to the London side.
03:55Marble is on her way because we're going to load her into the van nice and gently.
04:01Come on then.
04:02Oh, Xenia.
04:03She's struggling a little bit so it's good that we're getting her to London.
04:06Right, I'll put some treats in there.
04:08OK.
04:09Go on then.
04:10Do your thing.
04:11Come on then.
04:12Get in there, bub.
04:13Good girl.
04:14Look what Alison's left you.
04:15She'll just get herself comfortable and travel really well.
04:18And you've eaten all your treats already.
04:19Great.
04:20They don't last long.
04:21OK.
04:22Well, look after her and I'll see you in London.
04:25Take care.
04:26Bye.
04:27Aww.
04:28Marble already feels like part of the family.
04:31See you.
04:32Bye.
04:36But some dogs are lucky enough to arrive at Battersea with the real thing.
04:40Like Bubble here and her daughter Squeak.
04:53Hello.
04:54How you doing?
04:55Hello.
04:56I'm making friends straight away.
04:58Hamlet Ellie has settled them in.
05:01So, Bubble's the black one, Squeak is the brownie one.
05:04Squeak is the spotty one, yeah.
05:05They came from a home, there was just a change in their own circumstances.
05:08And now they're with us.
05:10I'm trying to be polite.
05:11They're very big, aren't they?
05:13Round, yes.
05:14Shall we say full bodied?
05:15Yes, that's a nice word.
05:16They do love a treat.
05:17And I like a full bodied body.
05:19Fair enough.
05:20I do.
05:23Well, they're Jack Russells.
05:24They shouldn't really be this big, should they?
05:26They are.
05:27No, they are quite round for Jack Russells.
05:28Jack Russells are usually quite bouncy, excitable dogs.
05:30But you can see these guys are quite chilled.
05:32Chilled.
05:33It might be because they don't have that much energy to spare.
05:36But mate, you just like your food.
05:37They do.
05:38Do you know what?
05:39I've been there guys.
05:40I've been there.
05:41The average Jack Russells should weigh between six and eight kilos.
05:45But these two are nine.
05:47Which could add pressure to their joints and increase strain on their hearts.
05:51So we need to get them fighting fit.
05:54I could get you into shape.
05:55I know I could.
05:57But there's no time like the present.
05:59That's what we want.
06:00We want some good exercise like that.
06:02And again.
06:03Yeah, come on.
06:04Get some exercise in.
06:05Yeah.
06:06We need to lose a bit of weight.
06:07And again.
06:08Go on then, go.
06:09Yeah.
06:10And up again.
06:11Exercise.
06:12Yeah.
06:13We're losing that puppy fat.
06:14Yeah.
06:15That's it.
06:16That's enough.
06:17You've done really well.
06:18Good training.
06:19Well done.
06:20Have a break.
06:21Have a break.
06:22So that's enough.
06:23Whilst we've got our work cut out, getting this pair fit and healthy.
06:28For one new arrival, that's definitely not a problem.
06:33This way.
06:34Oh.
06:35Pull in.
06:36This way.
06:37Jump in.
06:40Meet Colin.
06:41An 18-month-old golden retriever.
06:43Who was brought in by his owners after a change in their circumstances.
06:48Can you see doggies to play with?
06:49Slow down.
06:50Slow down.
06:51Oops.
06:52Behaviourist Ella is taking charge.
06:54Oh, look at this bundle of energy.
06:56So this is Colin.
06:57He's a very OTT young man.
06:58He's a sick boy, man.
06:59Oh, hi Colin.
07:00Wow, no jumping buddy.
07:02Sick, sick.
07:03I'm very strict, Colin.
07:04So, he doesn't have very many manners.
07:07He's really over the top with dogs.
07:09Is he?
07:10Yeah.
07:11So we just need to make sure that we're teaching him you can't say hello to every dog you meet
07:14because some dogs aren't going to tolerate your over-the-top nature and he'll end up getting himself in trouble.
07:18And he's a big dog, isn't he?
07:19He's big.
07:20Exactly.
07:21You're a lovely big dog.
07:22So we want to encourage these sorts of behaviours as much as possible where he has all four paws on the floor.
07:27Oh, lovely little paw.
07:28Sometimes three paws.
07:29He was just shaking my hand.
07:32Yeah.
07:33Retrievers are known for their playful nature.
07:35But with adult males weighing up to 32 kilos, Colin's got to learn how to be calm.
07:41All right then.
07:42What are we going to do?
07:43We're going to go for a little walk?
07:44Yeah.
07:45So we're going to head down this way and we're going to see how he is.
07:48Oh.
07:49So that's him getting excited.
07:51Like going to the club.
07:52Pretty much.
07:53Seeing who's there.
07:54Yeah.
07:55Oh, there's a dog coming.
07:56Look.
07:57He's going to start bouncing over in a little bit just to be like, oh my God.
08:01Let me go say hi.
08:02Oh my goodness.
08:03But you can see as he pulls, it's not going to be manageable for every person.
08:06Right.
08:07So what can you do to stop that then?
08:09So one of the main things would be we make ourselves more exciting than meeting another dog.
08:14We can use food.
08:15We can use toys to sort of build up that good bond and teach him.
08:19It can come back to us.
08:20You can still play with someone, but it's with me, not with the other dog.
08:24Yeah.
08:25Just got to realise.
08:26This is where the party's at, babe.
08:28I just hope this giant bundle of love learns how to control himself.
08:32No.
08:33Otherwise rehoming him will be a challenge.
08:39Not that we're scared of a bit of hard graft.
08:44Ain't that right, Bubble and Squeak?
08:46Our curvy Jack Russells are now one week into their weight loss regime.
08:51I'm happy being fat.
08:55We're curbing their dindins.
08:58And as their very own personal trainer, I've been upping their exercise levels.
09:04Welcome to boot camp, guys.
09:06We're going to get the tree at the end.
09:08There you go.
09:09Good.
09:10Over this step.
09:11Can you do it?
09:12Wow.
09:13Good girl.
09:14Lovely.
09:15You're doing so well.
09:16Come on, Bubble.
09:17Good girl.
09:18That was quick.
09:19Here we go.
09:21And obviously, I can lead by example.
09:24I think I need to lose some pounds myself.
09:27When they arrived, they were nine kilos.
09:32Which is a couple more than they should be.
09:35Come on, Bubble.
09:36Let's get your weight.
09:37It's time to see if all that hard work has paid off.
09:40Here's it.
09:429.15.
09:43Come on, that's great.
09:459.15.
09:47Come on.
09:48Come on.
09:49Oh, dear.
09:50There's still clearly a lot of work to be done.
09:52But don't worry, ladies.
09:53We've all been there.
09:56Over in clinic, our gorgeous stray Marble with the fractured leg is now here.
10:01And under the care of vet Ellen.
10:03Good girl.
10:04Great.
10:05Great.
10:08But further x-rays have revealed Marble's leg bone has started to heal in the wrong position.
10:14My other bit dubious how much we're going to achieve by doing this.
10:18And suddenly, her operation isn't as straightforward as we hoped.
10:23Let's have a chat.
10:25Vincent, have a look and a feel at this one.
10:28Vet Vincent is called in to discuss.
10:32We don't know what's happened to her.
10:34How long has been like that for?
10:36We don't want to put her through major surgery if it's not the best thing for her.
10:41The team have to assess whether Marble has a decent chance of recovery.
10:46My gut.
10:47My first thought was to go and try and pull it back down a little bit further.
10:51You're going to have to...
10:52Yeah, exactly.
10:53I'm going to have to do a bit of pulling it down.
10:55It's still a bit maybe better.
10:57You don't think it's inappropriate to do the surgery?
10:59No.
11:00Good.
11:01No.
11:02It's a major surgery.
11:05We need to just make sure we can get it right back into the correct position.
11:08That's the aim.
11:10Marble's road to recovery has just got a lot more complicated.
11:15Back to Bubble and Squeak.
11:25The food loving, exercise avoiding, mother and daughter whose weight, despite our efforts,
11:31is heading in the wrong direction.
11:33Come on Squeak.
11:34The time has come.
11:42To step their fitness upper gear.
11:44Bubble.
11:45Squeak.
11:46We're going to keep it low impact and we're going to do some training.
11:50Yes Bubble.
11:51You're ready to go.
11:52You're ready to go Squeak.
11:53Let's do this.
11:54Okay guys, I just want you walking around nice and steady.
11:59Jack Russells are a naturally energetic breed.
12:02If we can just pick up the pace just a little bit around the tree.
12:06But we need to make sure we don't put any undue pressure on their joints while still giving
12:11them a good exercise.
12:13Really use those hips Bubble and Squeak.
12:16Come on.
12:17Lovely.
12:19Okay, now we're going to go for a jump.
12:21Good luck guys.
12:22Let's do this.
12:23Come on Squeak.
12:24Come on.
12:25Yes, round of applause.
12:26Yes, Bubble.
12:28Okay, Bubble and Squeak.
12:30This is the dirty dancing bridge when she walks across the bridge.
12:33You ready?
12:34So we go up.
12:35Take our time.
12:36A little pause.
12:38A little shimmy.
12:39And then down.
12:41Okay, you ready?
12:42Let's go.
12:45Show me your shimmy.
12:48Next.
12:49Come on, show me that shimmy.
12:50Come on, shimmy.
12:51We've got a shimmy as well.
12:52Yes, that was a good shimmy.
12:53Well done.
12:56And we're going to wind down and finish.
12:59Round of applause for Bubble and Squeak.
13:02Yeah.
13:06I think that's enough of that now.
13:08Don't wake up.
13:15When we last saw Marble, she was undergoing a gruelling two-hour surgery to fix her broken leg.
13:23She's now in recovery.
13:25Oh, here she is.
13:27Hi, girls.
13:28Hello.
13:29Hello, darling.
13:30How is she getting on?
13:32She's still feeling a bit groggy, I think, after her anaesthetic.
13:34Bless her.
13:35To think that she was going through that much pain when I saw her at Windsor.
13:39Oh, I just feel so sorry for her.
13:40Look at her.
13:41Oh, no.
13:42She's been in the ward.
13:43How long do you reckon this is going to take her to recover from this?
13:46The first step's gone okay, but we've got a lot of steps to go yet.
13:49There's always a risk after any surgery that they can get infections.
13:53I mean, the absolute worst case would be that it completely fails and we end up having to take her leg off.
13:58But I really hope we don't come to that.
14:00Oh, no.
14:01I'm not going to even think about that.
14:03I'm just thinking positive thoughts, darling.
14:06Oh, little Marble, look at her.
14:09The surgery may be over, but Marble has a long road to recovery ahead.
14:14It's slow and steady for this one.
14:18Whilst over in kennels, it's more bold and bouncy for our retriever, Colin.
14:23Hey, hey, hey.
14:24Who just wants to show his love to every dog he meets.
14:27Love me, love me.
14:29Say that you love me.
14:31Not too soft.
14:33I'm back to help teach him not to be so excitable around other dogs.
14:38Although maybe I've got a thing or two to learn first.
14:41Oh, look at these dogs.
14:44Two little sausagey dogs.
14:46They're so cute.
14:48I want them dogs.
14:50Hello, Colin.
14:53Good to see you.
14:55So today we're going to get him focusing on us a little bit more and teaching him that a dog isn't something to get overly excited about.
15:04Battersea often use other dogs to help with behavioural training, like super chilled Bulldog Bruce.
15:11Hi Bruce.
15:12Listen, I need you to do me a favour.
15:14I need you to come in here, have a little chat with Colin and then hopefully he doesn't get too excited.
15:21You up for it?
15:23So here's Bruce.
15:26So at the minute you can see he's really interested in Bruce.
15:29What I ideally want to do is stop him from doing things like this.
15:33So we'll practice calling him.
15:34Colin!
15:35What's this?
15:36Okay, so this is what we don't want, isn't it?
15:38Exactly.
15:39To distract Colin's attention from our Bruce here, we're going to need treats.
15:46Oh, here we go.
15:47Yay!
15:48Good boy!
15:49So what we're going to do now, now that I've got his focus with me a little bit, is I'm going to let him see the dog.
15:54Yay!
15:55Good boy!
15:56So he looks and checks back in with me.
15:57Yes!
15:58Good boy!
15:59This is so good!
16:00Each time Colin seems more interested in us and less interested in Bruce.
16:06So we're going to stop there.
16:08Yay!
16:09Good boy!
16:10Yay!
16:11Good boy!
16:12Nice.
16:13Good job.
16:14So you're literally focusing his energy.
16:15So there's a dog over there but he's not bothered.
16:17Exactly.
16:18And that's what we want.
16:19Yeah.
16:20Great work, Bruce.
16:21Colin's definitely losing interest.
16:23Woo!
16:24Well, almost.
16:25He's gone.
16:26Forget Bruce.
16:27Bruce who?
16:29Bruce worked wonders but Colin still needs to prove he can behave himself with other dogs.
16:35Just excitable ain't ya bub?
16:37Before he's ready for his forever home.
16:47I must check in with my marvellous marble.
16:50It's been a week since her operation to fix her fractured leg.
16:54And now her long journey of rehabilitation with vet nurse Tracey can begin.
17:00Aww.
17:01Hello darling.
17:03Put your head down.
17:04That's it.
17:05That's it.
17:06Relax.
17:07Do you know what?
17:08I have not stopped thinking about this little diamond of a dog.
17:12I just love her so much.
17:13So the last time I was here it was kind of touch and go whether or not this operation had worked.
17:19She's doing really well.
17:20She's actually started to use her leg.
17:22This is great news.
17:23But we just need to make it so she can shift her weight between each leg because she's got
17:29some muscle wastage there.
17:31Physio sessions like these are crucial for marble to build up her leg muscle.
17:36I'm just going to get her on here.
17:38So the main important thing is that she has a straight spine.
17:42Right.
17:43And then make sure that her legs are in a good position so they're pretty much even.
17:46You think that's good?
17:47And then what we're going to do is we're going to shift the weight between.
17:50So we just move her head round.
17:53So she's moving the weight between both the legs.
17:57That's so clever.
17:58So what you're just giving her a little bit of cheese.
18:01A bit of cheese.
18:02And she's going from side to side on the leg.
18:04Side to side.
18:05Stretching forward really well as well.
18:07And how often would you have to do this?
18:09We have to do it twice a day.
18:11We're doing this particular exercise for about four weeks and then we reassess it.
18:16Honestly I'm so happy to see her in this state.
18:19I can't believe she's doing a bit of exercise.
18:22She's caning the cheese.
18:24Like this.
18:25Marble is like a super dog.
18:27She's a very good patient.
18:29You've done so well yeah.
18:31Have a little lie down.
18:32Yeah.
18:33Have a little chill.
18:34He's exhausting stuff.
18:35It may not seem like much but dogs can take months to recover from an operation of this scale.
18:41So she's heading in the right direction.
18:44I can see like if anybody takes this dog on.
18:48You wouldn't get anything done would you?
18:50You coming out tonight Al?
18:51Nah.
18:52I'm with marble.
18:53Yeah.
18:54Like this.
18:55You know I might just hang out here a little bit longer.
19:03Round the corner Colin has come on leaps and bounds.
19:06Colin this way.
19:07Literally.
19:08Staff have been working hard on these manners with other dogs.
19:12Ah ah ah ah.
19:13Colin.
19:14Good boy.
19:15Good boy.
19:16And today's the day we see if he's finally ready for a new home.
19:20The thing is we're out of the paddock now.
19:23This is going to be completely different isn't it?
19:25Exactly.
19:26It's so much more distracting out here.
19:28Dogs just appear from everywhere.
19:30For his final test Colin is about to get closer to his old pal Bruce than ever before.
19:36Good to see you.
19:37Let's do it Bruce.
19:38Come on.
19:39But can he keep his cool?
19:41You ready?
19:42Yeah.
19:43You ready?
19:44Okay.
19:45Come on darling.
19:46Ready.
19:47Say hello.
19:48Say hello.
19:49Good boy.
19:50Colin let's go.
19:51Good boy.
19:52Good boy.
19:53Sit down.
19:54Good job.
19:55Hold on buddy.
19:56Good boy.
19:57That was perfect.
19:58That was so good.
19:59And the reivers are such bright dogs.
20:01Colin let's go.
20:02Colin has picked up his new manners in no time.
20:06Ella what do you think?
20:08I think he smashed that.
20:09He did a really good job.
20:10Well done.
20:11Well done Colin.
20:12Well done.
20:13I think the big question is, is Colin ready to be rehomed?
20:17Absolutely.
20:18We'll get searching for his forever home straight away.
20:21Oh brilliant.
20:22I'm so happy.
20:23Yeah.
20:24Well done Colin.
20:25High five.
20:26Yeah.
20:27Good boy.
20:28Good boy.
20:29Aww.
20:30Now what's in store for our two love handled ladies?
20:34Come on then Bubba and Squeak.
20:36Let's have some fun and get weighed.
20:38After three weeks of healthy eating and exercise.
20:41Oh 8.9.
20:42Yay.
20:478.95.
20:48Our mother and daughter are finally below nine kilos.
20:52And they're edging towards the right weight.
20:55Well done.
20:56You've lost loads of weight.
20:57Oh thank you.
20:58Well done girls.
20:59I'm sure you'll have a new home in no time.
21:02As for Marple, she's been working hard with her physio and laser treatments to stimulate
21:15blood flow and look at this for a transformation.
21:18I'm not being funny.
21:19I can't even tell which leg it is.
21:21The only reason I know is because she's shaved on the one leg.
21:24Yeah.
21:25As much as I'd love to wave Marple off to start a new life, there's still work to be done.
21:32So she's not quite ready to be rehomed just yet.
21:35You've done so well.
21:36Don't worry.
21:37You're going to get all the love that you possibly can get here.
21:41Alright?
21:42And you will get a home eventually.
21:44It's just going to take a little bit more time because you've got to get better.
21:48It will happen.
21:49And in the meantime, I'll be here for all the cuddles you need.
21:54I love you darling.
21:55I love this dog.
22:03But what about our big bundle of love, Colin?
22:07You and me belong together.
22:11Well, it wasn't long before he was whisked away to a new home in South London with Elizabeth
22:17Matthew.
22:18Colin is loving life.
22:20Yeah.
22:21He's got a lot of energy.
22:22That's the fun of having him.
22:24Good boy.
22:25And now he can say hello to dogs without being OTT.
22:29He loves all dogs and people.
22:31Say hello.
22:32Yeah, he's really social, isn't he?
22:34Yeah.
22:35Good boy.
22:36So polite, Colin.
22:37He's made our lives complete, I think.
22:40This way?
22:41Yeah.
22:42I love him a lot.
22:43Yeah, we do.
22:44We do.
22:45He's got his forever home.
22:47Have fun, you lot.
22:48We do.
22:49We do.
22:50We do.
22:51We do.
22:52We do.
22:53We do.
22:54We do.
22:55We do.
22:56We do.
22:57We do.
22:58We do.
22:59We do.
23:00We do.
23:01We do.
23:02We do.
23:03We do.
23:04We do.
23:05We do.
23:06We do.
23:07We do.
23:08We do.
23:09We do.
23:10We do.
23:11We do.
23:12We do.
23:13We do.
23:14We do.
23:15We do.