The Bionic Vet

The Bionic Vet
Genre Animal welfare, documentary
Developed by Jason Giberti
Directed by James Incledon
Presented by Jon Rand
Country of origin United Kingdom
Language(s) English
No. of series 1
No. of episodes 6
Production
Executive producer(s) Paddy Haycocks
Producer(s) Simon Cowell
Editor(s) Jason Giberti
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Wild Productions
Broadcast
Original channel BBC One
Picture format 16:9
Original run 30 June 2010 (2010-06-30) – 4 August 2010 (2010-08-04)
External links
Website
Production website

The Bionic Vet is a BBC documentary television series following the work of vet Noel Fitzpatrick. The show details the Fitzpatrick's multimillion pound revolutionary vet practice in Surrey. The surgery itself contains state of the art equipment and methods including hydrotherapists, radiographers and more. Within his surgery and along with fellow surgeons and nurses he finds new methods and techniques to help pets within more unique problems that would often leave the only option to be put to sleep. Many of these techniques had not even been attempted before. Many pets that are brought to the practice are from all over the country. One such example being Oscar the Cat that was flown over from Jersey[1] featured in the first episode.

Episodes

# Title Original airdate
1 "Give a Cat Two New Feet - Done!" 30 June 2010 (2010-06-30)
Fitzpatrick gives a cat named Oscar new back feet[2] and a dog, Mayo, an implant to aid him walking. 
2 "Improvising With a Hypodermic Needle" 7 July 2010 (2010-07-07)
Fitzpatrick removes a tumour from a Labrador and provides a bionic knee for a Border Collie cross. Also a Chinchilla has its bones secured after breaking them 
3 "Game Over?" 14 July 2010 (2010-07-14)
The Border Collie from the previous episode requires spine surgery and a cat hit by a car has its pelvis rebuilt 
4 "I Can Only Give You 50/50" 21 July 2010 (2010-07-21)
Six-months-old puppy Ice has been rushed to Noel's referral centre having been trampled by a horse. Noel tries to reconstruct the dog's shattered leg as he battles the infection caused by the horse's hoof. There are concerns, too, for Gatwick sniffer dog, Neo. He's been compensating for a serious knee problem in one of his back legs and requires significant surgery. And there's an update on Lottie, the cat with a shattered pelvis. 
5 "One Grumpy Person Is Enough" 28 July 2010 (2010-07-28)
There's no let up at the referral centre as the cases continue to flood in. Noel is presented with another major surgical challenge. Seven-month-old puppy Jolly has a painful bone deformity in both his front legs. His owner, Christine, agonises over whether it's fair to put him through an operation in which Noel proposes to use a new technique to treat the bone growth deformity. 
6 "A Couple More Taps and, Hopefully, We're In" 4 August 2010 (2010-08-04)
Noel Fitzpatrick attempts a rare operation on a nine-year-old corgi. We also find out whether the groundbreaking surgery to correct puppy Jolly's bone growth deformity has been successful and whether he can now walk pain free. There's a rare visit from an unusual patient and a barn owl with a broken wing, plus the story of a stray Jack Russell terrier, Jade, who needs treatment on a dislocated elbow. 

References

  1. ^ Morrison, Ryan (25 June 2010). "A cat from Jersey has shot to fame as the 'bionic cat'". BBC Online (BBC Jersey). http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/jersey/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8762000/8762217.stm. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
  2. ^ Cheng, Maria. "Bionic British cat gets faux paws". Google Search (The Associated Press). http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iXq2jSNiRynLRPRPoWCDa5w3DPhAD9GIFGMO0. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 

External links