³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

At the mixed practice in Downpatrick, the vets treat farm animals and pets, and in the spring, concerned locals often bring wild animals into the clinic.

A pregnant dog is rushed into surgery. Cocker spaniel Tilly has been in labour for 12 hours and is struggling to give birth. It is a potentially life-threatening situation, and vet Maurice King decides to perform an urgent caesarean section. It is a huge and valuable litter, but can Maurice save Tilly and her pups?

A young jackdaw has been brought into the clinic. He was found under a tree and is unable to fly. The vets rehome him with Belinda, a local woman who has Asperger’s. Belinda has a particular affinity with animals and at home she hand-feeds him and encourages him to use his wings on short test flights.

At Tullyraine Equine Clinic, vet Hugh Suffern examines mare Echo, who has a lame hind leg. Owner Alex trusts only Hugh with Echo’s treatment, but it is unclear exactly what is causing her lameness. Alex has spent years training Echo in eventing, and if Hugh can’t fix Echo’s leg, her sporting career will be over.

At the Downpatrick clinic, Dexter - a therapy dog at the local hospital - is brought in to see vet Rachael Frew. Dexter has had cancerous lumps on his skin before, and owner Lavinia is concerned about some new lumps that have recently appeared. Rachael books him in for an operation to remove the lumps, but they must wait for the results of tests to find out whether the cancer has returned.

In the town of Newcastle, Maurice’s son Cahir King runs Downe Vets’ sister practice. Umbrella cockatoo Brolly has an appointment to get her nails clipped, but it is not something she enjoys.

Maurice is booked in to assess the hooves of some semi-feral ponies and tries out a new blowpipe that he will use to sedate them.

Maurice also has an appointment to provide a horse with a passport, and vet Daisy Dillon heads out to inoculate some puppies that will form part of a pack of hounds for a local hunt in Northern Ireland.