The Bionic Vet

The Bionic Vet is a BBC documentary television series following the work of veterinarian Noel Fitzpatrick at his veterinary practice in Surrey. Fitzpatrick and his team of over 100 vets, nurses and support staff find new methods and techniques to help pets within more unique problems that would often leave euthanasia as the only option.

The Bionic Vet
Genre	Documentary
Developed by	James Incledon
Directed by	James Incledon
Narrated by	Jon Rand
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producer	Paddy Haycocks
Producer	Simon Cowell
Production locations	Fitzpatrick Referrals Ltd, Eashing, Surrey
Editor	Jason Giberti
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	Wild Productions
Release
Original network	BBC One
Picture format	16:9
Original release	30 June – 4 August 2010
External links
Fitzpatrick Referrals Website
Production website

Many pets are brought to the practice from all over the country. Oscar the Cat, flown over from Jersey,[1] was featured in the first episode.

Episodes

#	Title	Original airdate
1	"Give a Cat Two New Feet - Done!"	30 June 2010
Fitzpatrick gives a black cat named Oscar new back feet[2] and a 8-year-old Labrador Mayo, an implant to help him walk.
2	"Improvising With a Hypodermic Needle"	7 July 2010
Fitzpatrick removes a tumour from a 1-year-old Labrador Charlie's leg and replaces the bone and wrist with a specially designed implant. He provides a bionic knee, replacing an arthritis damaged joint, for a 7-year-old Border Collie Sasha. A chinchilla Zippy has its arm bones secured after breaking them.
3	"Game Over?"	14 July 2010
The Border Collie Sasha from the previous episode requires spine surgery and Lottie the black cat hit by a car has its pelvis rebuilt.
4	"I Can Only Give You 50/50"	21 July 2010
6-months-old puppy Ice is rushed to Fitzpatrick's referral centre having been trampled by a horse. Fitzpatrick tries to reconstruct the dog's shattered leg as he battles the infection caused by the horse's hoof. There are concerns, too, for a 4-year-old Gatwick sniffer dog, Springer Spaniel Neo. He's been compensating for a serious knee problem in one of his back legs and requires significant surgery. There is an update on Lottie, the black cat with a shattered pelvis.
5	"One Grumpy Person Is Enough"	28 July 2010
There's no let up at the referral centre as the cases continue to flood in. Fitzpatrick is presented with another major surgical challenge. 7-month-old Shih-tzu Springer Spaniel cross 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 Fitzpatrick proposes to use a new technique to treat the bone growth deformity. Breezy, an 8-year-old Collie is rushed in partly paralysed, in the middle of the night, after being hit by a car. William the black cat, suffering from internal bleeding and shattered pelvis, gets a blood transfusion from nurse Pat's cat Orson. Overexcited 7-year-old Labrador Flight, cannot contain himself, when seeing his owner Caroline. There is the risk that the newly replaced hip implant may dislocate...
6	"A Couple More Taps and, Hopefully, We're In"	4 August 2010
Fitzpatrick attempts a rare operation on a 9-year-old Corgi. Viewers 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. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
2. Cheng, Maria. "Bionic British cat gets faux paws". Google Search. Associated Press. Retrieved 26 June 2010.

External links

• The Bionic Vet at IMDb
• The Bionic Vet at BBC Programmes
• Fitzpatrick Referrals