- The problems with Sophie started 18 months ago.
She started pissing and pooping in the house, which was strange.
At first I thought it had to do with my cat.
So I took her to the vet and told him.
He took some blood and it turned out she had diabetes.
He said: she has to be pricked. I said: fine.
So he did, and it went well for quite a while...
...until a couple of months ago, when it all went wrong again.
She stopped eating and drinking and became a real nuisance.
He said: try putting her on a special diet, which I did.
That went okay for a while too.
But now she's getting worse again.
She hardly eats or drinks.
So I went to the vet again.
Two months ago she had this lump here.
So people advised me to go to the vet, as it could be cancer.
Then on Sunday the lump burst,
and all this pus and stuff came out.
Then she started biting me, she was in such pain.
So I used some force to calm her down.
He said her teeth had to be drawn,
as they might be the problem.
So it goes on and on. She often has diarrhea too.
I live by the day where she's concerned.
- Hi. Hello.
Hi there. Hello.
There he is.
Good morning.
Hello.
Are you so angry?
- Hi. Are you going to bite me?
Are you trembling? It's okay.
Go ahead.
Hi, sweetheart.
Let me see.
Minnie, can you clear a cage for me in C5?
I've got a cat in the night box.
The owner is away,
the cat sitter has been arrested by the police.
- Yes, will do.
- This doesn't look good.
I got a fright... - This looks bad.
- I've already called about it.
- Oh dear. He's dying. - Yes.
- I thought as much.
Hans?
I've got our wounded cat here.
- Which cat? - Our wounded cat.
He's...
- His temperature is very low.
Damn!
- How is this possible? - I have no idea.
- Dammit. This is a real shame.
- It's not a huge part of his skin that's affected.
He does have a lot of healthy skin left.
But his temperature is so low
that I don't think he'll make it.
- You don't? - No.
I think it's better to let him go.
- That's such a shame.
You go to sleep now.
- Where did you come from? I guess they found you somewhere.
Go and eat it.
It's good.
Show me how good you can eat.
No?
Okay, I'll leave it. Where did you come from?
Oh, dearie me.
"Purmerend, Stekeldijk. Covered in ticks and little flies."
Were you neglected?
You were hit by a car on the A5 and dragged along.
Grazed foot pads, all your nails torn off.
Tongue pierced by your canine tooth.
And your jaw, your back, your legs...
Now you're starting to growl. Then I'll stop.
You don't agree? Okay, sweetie, I'll leave you.
You've had enough.
Yes, I can hear you. Enough stimuli.
- Hi, sweetheart.
You're thinking no one's going to bother you...
...behind your little towel, and you're not bothering anyone.
I totally get you.
You've lost trust, you've lost your way.
I hope you'll be all right.
I'm all right again, you will be too.
- How about Mozart? Yes?
Mozart.
Now don't get a fright.
SHELTERED
- Will you put him in the freezer?
- Yes.
- Get up. Yes.
He's going to pass out.
- His tongue is all blue.
- Grasper open.
- Got him? - Yes, but...
- Wait. - No, let's walk.
- I'll let go off his leg.
- Mine is quite slack now. - Pull it tighter.
- I don't want to pull too hard.
So you had a fight with your boyfriend? When? At the weekend?
And the dog is with you now?
You're not at home.
So the dog is home alone?
Okay. Last night?
So the dog is on his own in your flat...
...you're not at home and your boyfriend won't come anymore?
We've got a huge problem on our hands.
The period of time before a dog...
Do you love this dog? Was it yours too?
I'm so sorry for you.
I may sound businesslike, but I really feel sorry for you.
Make sure you report it to the police.
Yes, but you have to get him out of there.
You're staying at your mom's now.
Take the dog there and explain it to your mom.
Take your time.
So you're returning him. - I can't hold him.
Last Saturday it took two of us
to pull him away from a small dog.
And he snapped at my little nephew's ankles.
So I'm sorry, but...
- Let me see. What age are the children?
- They're 10 and 7.
- This was his first time?
Ankle snapping? - No.
- He's done it before. Only with small children?
- No. My 21-year old son has a friend.
They were building stock cars...
...and he grabbed his trousers too, and bit him on his bum.
The friend had bite marks on his skin.
He wasn't too happy about it, obviously.
Yesterday he bit my husband in the butt.
He said: what is this?
If he gets scared, then that's the end of it.
He also grabbed a Jack Russell terrier
and bit him till he bled.
Gave him a broken rib and a punctured lung.
The owner wasn't too happy.
We're yet to hear about any other damages.
It could cost us up to 1500 euros.
This sucks.
- For both parties. We didn't want this either.
You dumb dog, you had such a good home
and now you've blown it.
- My husband said: You're being trained well.
But outside he switches to another mode: Kill and attack!
Then there's no stopping him.
- My colleague said you might be interested in another dog, Sam.
We'll go to the counter to re-register Gijs.
- Right, so you're here to surrender Rambo.
- Yes.
- There's one incident that we know of.
Was it after they were fed or did it happen suddenly?
- No, I'd already fed them.
Mother walks into the room with our meal...
...with them following behind her.
And I don't know what happened...
...but suddenly they're at each other's throats.
He bit him on the head and his eye nearly came out.
Are you coming with me?
- We'll go and find you a pen.
Rambo Surrendered
- You're so good-looking.
A real Rambo. Really good-looking.
He's not sure what to make of it.
- Yes, he's a bit shy. - Yeah.
- He's at the age of puberty...
...so he should get used to other dogs as soon as possible,
before it's too late.
Not nice to other dogs
Gijs. Still has to see vet. Surrendered.
Surrendered for chasing cats
Crisis Hostel
Is blind! Theo, food aggression towards other dogs
Owner died
Spencer, deaf?
No basket! Doesn't use it
Rufus
- You will see 17 animals here that were returned.
In November we found homes for 105 animals.
Dalton became un-house-trained at his new home.
- We put Gemma on the website.
With a different name and different photos.
- Noortje, Noud. Sam has gone, right?
- Why is Noud still here? Didn't that nice boy want him?
- He's been online for a while now,
not attracting much interest.
- We can remove him, then put him back on again.
- Like they do with real estate.
- I fear not many people will come for him.
- I don't think anyone has ever come for him.
- Very little interest for a long time. He's a bit different.
- And he's nearly 12 years old.
- Has he been on Facebook hard luck stories?
- Not yet.
- We can try that,
but both the owner and the neighbors have to be deaf.
- At the training session he did show that he can be quiet.
|
I've got a new friend for you, hopefully.
How does that sound?
My husband passed away.
I got through the winter this way.
But now,
the fact that he's gone is starting to force itself on me.
Sweetie.
Looking after the rabbits,
putting up the parasol when it's hot.
When the doorbell rings, who answers the door?
When the phone rings, who answers the phone?
I feel completely unprotected.
We were together for over 36 years. That's a long time.
Let's see if you can be together. Let's give it a try.
Do you like her?
Two can go to the vet.
Hi, sweetheart.
No, they're pretty fat, due to worms.
Can you take these to A1? The heat lamp is still there.
This is the last one. Of the pups, that is.
- I think I'll go straight to the vet with this one.
- I think he's missing some toes too.
- This one should go straight to the vet too.
- No biting. - Does he bite?
Can someone come and help the vet?
He needs to take an X-ray.
- I've got them here.
These four can go in one pen.
- They said five. - Yes, five puppies.
25 in all, but I haven't counted them yet.
- There are two left, the police are going there now.
These puppies were outside, in the garden.
It was 30, 35 degrees even in the shade.
- This dog is much too young to have puppies.
- Only nine months, that's ridiculous.
When they're this young, you know it's just a puppy mill,
it's about making money.
People are queuing up for them.
- And these ones? - They were kicked senseless.
- My God. Together with the sturdy one?
- Yes.
- The dog was stabbed by the owner.
- Three times.
- Do we know why he was confiscated?
- Left behind in a building.
- Right, in an office building. - Yes.
- Sure, and then you can go on holiday.
Dog 24
Don't look at me, go and sniff the umbrella.
No, you're not going to?
Not freezing as such. Looking away.
Going after him? No? Good.
I will...
The list of abbreviations is being printed.
These are all the abbreviations...
...you can use when you're scoring.
- You haven't used them yet on this.
- I've circled words for now, because you're still learning.
Circling is easiest for the time being.
Then when you've internalized all this information...
...you should be able to...
...look at the dog and write at the same time.
He's really scared of hands over his head.
You have to write that down, because if you don't...
...it won't be mentioned to a prospective new owner...
...and then the dog will bite and will be returned.
- Hi, love. Look who's here.
Can she say hello to you?
Hello there.
Come and say hello. Hi.
Come and sniff. A lick on the hand. Walk away.
He's distracted by the outside sounds, see that?
If we put him under a little pressure,
you can see he wants to leave.
- Low posture, shying away.
- He comes to me now. - But not to the doll.
- So what's he doing? - Looking for your support.
- That's right.
We'll just walk past a bit faster.
- Do you hear that sound? -Yes.
- What is that sound? - I'm not sure.
You can write that down as a little growl.
"Brrr grrr knn."
- Have you moved?
I can't see you at all.
Where are you?
Where are you, where are you?
You don't have to be scared.
You're a little scared, aren't you?
Hi. How are you?
Little Tom.
Oh golly. What is happening?
I'm sure someone will come along who likes that.
Let's try and...
Look at that!
Tom. Needs attention.
- No, we don't have any guinea pigs.
Thank you. You're welcome. Bye, Martine.
Good afternoon. Amsterdam Animal Shelter, Marijke speaking.
Are you the Jan who wants a German shepherd?
Okay. Well, what...
It doesn't have to be another German shepherd, right?
The thing is, and I think they explained this to you...
...that our dog carers don't really want you to...
This will sound insulting,
but I'm also very old, so I can say it...
They'd rather give you a smaller dog than a German shepherd.
No. But then we've got a...
...a problem, as we can't give you an...
I don't even know if we have any German shepherds at the moment.
I had the same thing and they told me:
you can't hold a German shepherd anymore.
That's the way it goes when you get older, Jan.
You can... Yes, but it's our dog carers' responsibility.
They're experienced and they say people who are...
You're 74, aren't you?
People who are a little older...
Of course we don't feel old, but...
...in the eyes of the young we're ancient
and we can't handle big dogs anymore.
Why not take a smaller dog with a German shepherd type face?
- Hi, man.
Rufus, stop.
Calm down.
Do not enter Bites other dogs/people
Good boy. No.
He's leash biting, Majori.
- A bit further...
And stop.
Annelies, your turn to approach.
Fixating, pulling.
Insecure tail, rigid wag.
OK. Is his tail clenched?
- Slightly clenched. - Slightly clenched.
Little lunge. Now walk away calmly.
Keeps following him.
Pulling on the leash.
One more time. Meeting each other.
Flicking his tongue. All right, stop.
He's literally on his toes.
Fixating, looking at me, fixating...
...and walking off.
I'm not jubilant.
If you walk the street with this...
...you're holding a bomb in your hands.
If there's one small dog running free
in a place where he's not supposed to...
...and he runs up to you,
I don't think this small dog will survive.
- I understand you're here for Mischa, the little brown dog.
I'll ask you some questions to see
if I think you make a good match.
Do you have a garden or does the dog have to walk the stairs?
- I live on the first floor.
- Do you live alone? - Yes.
- Do you get visits from children?
- No.
- On to Mischa.
Mischa will be eight in December.
She's out in the field here with other small dogs.
She can be a little hostile towards other dogs.
If she likes another dog,
they sometimes bully other dogs together.
- I see.
- So she can't be out in the field with any other small dog.
She's scared of strangers, men in particular.
It took me about a month before I could put a leash on her...
...because I was too scary.
- Do you have a job? - Yes.
- Full-time or part-time?
- Do you have other pets besides the dogs?
- Yes. We have cats...
- How many cats? - Five.
- Which are all used to dogs? - Yes, they grew up together.
And we have chickens, but they're in a coop.
- Why do you want dachshunds specifically?
- We're not really into chihuahua type dogs.
Out of all small dogs, I only really like dachshunds. And you?
- And they have their own minds, we like that.
- We want a small dog and we like dachshunds best
because they're...
...a bit smarter.
- And I think they're cute. - Yes, that too...
- They look nice. Chihuahuas are so prissy.
Dachsies look cute and funny.
- Betsy's staying here. - We'll come back for you.
- Or maybe we won't.
- Wait here, Bets. - Look at that puppy!
- Open the door, so you can go in.
- I think this one is too timid for us.
- Which one do you like best? - I like this one.
- Can we pet him? - Sure. You can go in.
- I thought you wanted a rough-haired dog?
- I like this one too. - He's so small.
So always look at your dog when you do this.
He looks up... - He stops panting.
- He stops panting, then starts again.
He looks towards me, then towards you.
- He didn't jump. - He did get a fright.
Neglected
- His lower jaw is locked to this.
- He's such an idiot.
- Can someone push back the jaw? - It's locked.
- Can you go and get the angle grinder?
- A little bit lower.
It's much easier with a cutter.
- One more.
- He's stuck somewhere bottom left.
- Put him on his stomach carefully when we've got him.
And keep his rump up.
- I'm standing straddle-legged here.
- He's going to vomit.
- No, it's going well. - Wait!
- One more, guys. Here we go.
- Careful! - Take him down.
- Put him on the floor.
- Hang on, I'll give him some Diazepam.
- Should I get a break stick? - No, it's all right.
- He can't go anywhere.
Easy.
- Cut one more? - Yes, where's the cutter?
- Tanja?
- Mind your fingers.
- He's going to bite.
- Yes! - Well done!
- To the vet. - Shall we lift him?
- Someone walk ahead and get people out of the way.
- The cutter's over there.
- He's so stupid. It's not even the first time.
This is Henk-Jan, he was found on the street, dumped by people.
That's how he ended up here.
We never know the whole story.
I worked in security for ten years
before I started working here.
Early morning shifts, night shifts.
At first, everything was new to me and I enjoyed it.
If your trousers were torn,
the firm had seamstresses who fixed it for you.
Then we were taken over by a big company
with thousands of employees.
Then you were just a number.
And I started getting shitty tasks.
Standing at a barrier for eight hours in the rain.
That kind of jobs they gave me.
Maybe that's why I got a bit...
...burnt out, because of the stress.
Maybe that's why I got ill.
All I wanted was peace and quiet.
He's got his eyes closed.
What kind of dog are you looking for?
- Small.
30 to 40 centimeters shoulder height.
- And in terms of character? - Preferably male.
An active dog. - Active.
Is there any breed you like or dislike?
No pit bull-type dog.
Otherwise... - They tend to be bigger too.
Otherwise... - It doesn't really matter.
We'll be the doggie's parents. - That's right.
I've got two dogs in mind.
One male, one female.
Still pretty active.
Six years is relatively young for a dog like that.
- How old was Trix?
- 17 and a half years old. - He's got time to spare.
- We had Trix for many years.
And she remained active till the very last day.
She made sure I took my bag, my keys.
She made sure I ate.
If he said: Trix, will you look after mommy today...
...then she would. She'd sit next to me,
made sure I took my pills.
If I didn't eat two sandwiches, she'd grumble.
- Social control.
Yes...
- And now it's time for a new best friend.
- Yes.
- It's a difficult choice. - Yes, it's really hard.
- So it's going to be Marie?
- I like this one best.
- Maybe, but you can't run with him.
- You want to teach him things. - Yes.
- Punk fits us best. - Shall we take Punk?
- She's too old. - You want the brown one.
- I'll be walking a girlie dog.
- I'll walk him as much as I can, I promise.
He'd fit in my rucksack.
- I'll take him from you.
- This one needs help getting out.
- You know where to go, right?
- Yeah?
Smaller than this one?
Or bigger?
- There are two here that aren't very nice.
- His eye is all swollen.
- Come, sweetie. Keep the doors closed.
Hi, sweetheart.
Let's have a good look at you.
He hasn't got a number yet? - He's been confiscated.
- Listen to you purr.
From stress.
Heart sounds good.
He hasn't got a card yet, so make sure we remember all this.
- I'll write it down. - Criminally bad teeth.
I think everything has to be extracted.
He has a hole in his abdominal muscles,
so his guts are under his stomach.
This is where the chip usually sits
and he has a strange little wound there.
So it could be that someone
successfully tried to remove the chip.
It's also a place where animals often bite each other.
He may have been bitten by another cat or a dog, but...
...if it was a dog,
you would see more teeth marks and rip marks.
Not this right-angled tear.
He also has an abdominal hernia,
which I want to operate on today.
- You think it should be done today?
- Yes, I'd prefer to do it today.
His guts are right under his skin, so that's vulnerable.
He's not resisting. - He must be exhausted.
- If you shave the area for me, then...
We have to record what is wrong with him.
...which is a good signal with his tail.
He fixates, he's panting, starts growling...
- No! Stop it!
Rufus. No!
...there's a high risk of accidents.
- He can be trained, but you have to be extremely consistent.
- As his owner, you're constantly managing him.
- You can never look behind you and...
- You can't have a look at your mobile phone.
It can be a moment
when you're no longer in control of the situation.
- That's scary. - It is scary.
- So where can you place him? Some cabin in the woods.
- But even then... - Without stimuli.
- Without stimuli, without passing traffic,
with someone who...
We've got a few more like that.
- He'll have to go to heaven.
- He'll go before the panel.
Shit job.
Here you are.
Good boy.
Finished.
Where's the ball?
I'll throw it one more time.
Here you are.
Rudy, look what I've got for you.
Go ahead, eat.
- Looks like the diaphragm is not...
- Intact.
- Not intact.
But just that is a surgery I cannot do.
We don't have the materials for that.
- I know, it's the weekend.
- So I have to ask Majori...
Either we want to send him right away to the referral clinic
or it's going to be...
So, can you keep him warm and give him oxygen?
I'm going to confer.
It's not about the ventralis, I can do that myself.
It's the diaphragm.
If I open that up,
I don't have the means to keep the cat stable.
Then I'll have an opening between...
- He's negative.
Something's going wrong.
The tube's going too far into his mouth.
- Jesus! - This is going all wrong.
Turn him on his side.
- We'll get the oxygen mask.
- Yes, but is the tube correct?
The air went straight into his stomach.
So is the tube correct?
- The tube is correct. - Okay.
- We want to fix his hernia abdominalis...
...but it turns out he also has a diaphragmatic hernia,
which a specialist has to deal with.
But now I'm wondering if he also has a tumor in his mediastinum.
I want him to look at the pushed-up trachea.
If he says it's a tumor of the mediastinum,
what's the point of doing this?
Why would you then put this cat through these operations?
- Yes, we've got a...
...schedule for the trainees. They start Monday.
- Monday? - Monday.
- I won't be here.
- Four per day, two cat, two dog.
The second item for today.
We've got a number of euthanasia cases.
Three, I think.
- Four. - Four?
Which ones? - Ninja and Noki.
Rudolph and Rufus.
- OK.
- And you're very upset about Rufus?
- Yes.
- Do we know why this decision was taken?
- Yes.
- They've looked at all the videos,
including our training videos...
...where Rufus did do all right.
The test itself was much better than last time.
He was better with children, with people, with joggers.
Everything was better.
But when the door was opened to another dog...
...he was so scary and he pulled so hard
that we thought he would go through the wall.
- A test like that doesn't give the right picture.
It's a stress situation, the video is edited.
If you have them on the leash, they behave differently.
- Yes, but...
- If there's so much improvement on the leash,
I don't see why this test is so...
- But those are the official guidelines.
I understand why you...
- So you can live with it?
You can see their point? - Yes.
- Are we going to do it all today?
- Yes. - As soon as possible.
Yesterday was too busy, but we're meant to do it today.
- Within 48 hours?
- Euthanasia cases as soon as possible.
- Okay. It sucks. - Yes.
- It's out of our hands.
- I hated my father for a very long time.
Mental and physical abuse.
That is what I carry with me.
But I've forgiven him because...
...he came from a family...
...where he was told he was a stupid kid
and should keep his mouth shut.
And if he did say something, they beat him.
My ex-husband...
...fitted into the picture, as he beat me too.
He came from India, where they play cricket.
They have this bat they use to strike balls against sticks.
So one day I took his bat and beat the hell out of him.
He said: Hit me on the head.
I said: I'd love to beat you to death...
...but I won't go to prison because of you.
But you will feel the pain you made me feel for years.
He never hit me again and I divorced him straightaway.
Oh, dearie me.
Go and eat.
- The other day when she was in a bad way again,
I said: You're going to Ben.
You're going to Freckle, to Snuff and to Snoeska...
...and everyone, to all the dogs I've had.
You're going to dog heaven.
When I say goodbye I tell them they go to dog heaven,
to all their friends...
...to see what it's like there.
I'm in two minds.
What should I do? That's the thing.
Because sometimes she's very active,
she'll play with the ball.
That's what makes it hard for me.
The best thing would be for her to get heart failure
and end it that way.
Not because I find it hard to have her put down,
I've had 18 dogs put down already.
If it has to be done, it has to be done.
But I'm still in between yes and no.
I always have my animals cremated.
I don't want them to be thrown on the big heap.
Hi, Fussie. Hi, sweetie.
Hi, man.
How about that, sweetie? How about that.
Lick, lick, lick. Oh, man.
How about that, sweetie?
Thank you for that. Thank you!
Hello.
Renée and Martine will stay with Rufus, I'll stay with Rudolph.
- Yeah.
- Where do you want to do it?
You're doing him first, right?
- Yeah.
- This is the bigger one? - The smaller one.
The big one comes next.
Come.
Exciting, isn't it?
Such a good boy.
Good boy.
Good boy. Easy.
- Yes? - Yes.
Jesus!
- A lot of power. Yeah.
- Oh, little man. Good boy!
Elroy or Renée, I've got two people coming.
- I'm sorry, sweetheart. Are you okay?
They're coming at 2:30.
I've got no time just now, sorry.
- I'm so sorry, little man.
Such a good boy. You can be such a good boy.
Are you going to lie down?
I'm coming with Cocky,
I'm seeing Majori at 2:30.
- Are you okay?
Good boy.
- It sucks, doesn't it. Martine is also having a hard time.
- All right...
I'll never get used to it.
- We can do this, right? - Of course.
Be careful with other dogs
- Good afternoon.
Amsterdam Animal Shelter, Marijke speaking.
We're happy with every donation, except sheets.
We can't use those.
Towels are... Nappies?
No, Katinka, if we need nappies, we use proper dog's nappies...
...not tea towels.
- Okay.
- Good deal? - Yes.
- Great news for you, Fred.
- Another happy dog.
- Your basket is ready, your food and drink bowls are ready.
- He's nice.
- And you can romp around in the garden.
- Come along.
- And you've got toys.
Come. Yes, little friend.
- Good boy.
- Come, darling.
Freddie!