♪ ♪
KEEPER: I'm trying to put this browse
right over there in that tree.
We have a multi-species exhibit,
which share their areas with vultures.
They can be quite protective.
Come on, sweetheart.
Good girl.
Coming in hot, coming in hot!
Get in, get in, get in, get in!
(laughing)
She's excited.
She's broody.
MAN: This is amazing.
Can we do this every day?
(laughs)
♪ ♪
(chirping)
♪ ♪
(whooping)
KEEPER: We usually get here pretty early in the morning,
it's dark out.
NARRATOR: 24 hours a day,
keepers all over Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park
watch their charges with an eagle eye.
KEEPER: Want to come over here, bud?
Hi.
KEEPER: Look at that, nice and clean.
You're so clean!
NARRATOR: But while some have just a handful to look after,
out on the savanna,
over 40 hoofstock need constant attention.
♪ ♪
RORY: We'll get to you guys in a second.
That wildebeest with the curved horn,
her name is Curly Shirley.
Observational skills
and being able to just observe your animals
is one of the most important things
about being an animal keeper.
Come on, Adi!
She's happy.
We even have keepers out here during the night.
We're always watching.
I'm not the only keeper out here.
ANGELA: Just doing our afternoon checks
on the savanna animals.
Want to locate everybody,
see what they're up to.
We have eight giraffe total, all Masai giraffe.
This is Jabari coming up.
He is our older male that we have on savanna,
and the one directly behind him
is Lily's youngest son, Humphrey.
And Lily is looking directly at us.
(laughing)
NARRATOR: But Lily worries her keepers.
ANGELA: We've been keeping a very close eye on her feet
for quite some time, just watching the growth.
Now that we're here,
I want to get out, I want to get a closer look at her
on that front right foot.
♪ ♪
All of her feet have a little bit of overgrowth,
but this is pretty abnormal
what's going on in that front right foot.
NARRATOR: Lily may look okay to the untrained eye,
but there's a reason for that.
RORY: The animals that my team works with
are predominantly prey species.
They're animals that live in herds
and they're animals that, if they show weakness,
the predators in the wild are gonna get them.
So, these animals are really good at hiding ailments,
hiding if they're injured.
ANGELA: Hoping it's not anything worse
than what we're seeing with a little overgrowth.
Hoping there's not a fracture.
NARRATOR: Over recent weeks, Lily's keepers monitor
the troubling condition of her hoof.
The two halves are growing apart.
RORY: If Lily does have fractures
in the bones above her hoof,
rest is gonna be the primary healing for her.
Lily will probably have to stay a lot of time back at the barn.
NARRATOR: And an out-of-action Lily
can't take part
in the all-important breeding program.
RORY: Lily only recently had her first calf born in 2018,
and then Humphrey was born last year.
Because she only has two, she's incredibly important
to the Masai giraffe Species Survival Plan.
NARRATOR: With so much still to contribute,
Lily needs to be in first-class condition.
ANGELA: The wild giraffe population
has fallen nearly 50% in the last 30 years.
We're now at the point
where there are fewer giraffe in the wild than elephants.
We need as many giraffe as possible
in the breeding program
so we can establish a safety net population.
So it's important that Lily stays in tip-top health.
I think it's time that we connect with the vets
and see what our next steps will be for her.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: So please make sure
that you guys are listening at all times
because this could get dangerous very quickly.
DR. BETSY: Really need to figure out
what's going on inside the foot,
and the best way to do that is to take an X-ray,
and we need her under anesthesia to do that.
ANGELA: Last check, she's still pretty alert and with it.
Um, definitely knows something's up, obviously.
So the plan is just to move her over right into the chute,
and then injection.
DR. BETSY: I'm concerned that she's in pain.
Right now I'm trying to figure out if her toe is broken
or if the hoof wall is overgrown in a way
that's causing her to be sore and uncomfortable.
One possible outcome could be some lameness.
Either way, we have to get it figured out.
Yeah, so obviously the priority is gonna be
that right front foot,
so we're gonna take radiographs of that foot first.
WOMAN: So, we'll get going.
Whoo!
(indistinct conversation)
DR. BETSY: Giraffe anesthesia is really difficult.
It's one of the species that's a higher risk for us.
Obviously, their head is very far away from their feet,
their heart has to pump blood throughout that to circulate,
so we'll be monitoring her blood pressure
throughout the procedure today.
ANGELA: Whenever you tell us we're good
and they're good in the yard,
we'll start separating.
RYAN: I think we're good. ANGELA: Okay.
♪ ♪
Good girl. Good, Lily.
Good job.
♪ ♪
Good job, guys.
Good on the back door.
Good, good girl.
Come on, Lil. Come on.
I'd like to try to get her up before we put the injection in.
MAN: You need to get her to stand foot forward?
ANGELA: Yeah. Ideally, if we can.
Come on, Lily.
NARRATOR: Once asleep,
the team must transfer Lily into the yard,
so she needs to be at the front of the chute
when she gets the fast-acting anesthetic injection.
ANGELA: Lily weighs nearly 1,800 pounds,
so if she falls asleep in the wrong spot,
it'll be very difficult for us to move her.
One step, one step, one step.
Come on. Come on, Lily.
How are we feeling with this placement?
Ideally, we want her up more.
MAN: At least another step would be great.
ANGELA: Yeah, another step.
NARRATOR: Lily's team is ready for the injection,
but she isn't.
ANGELA: Lily.
RORY: Right now, we want to keep her as calm as possible,
because if she starts to get excited
and she starts to hurt herself,
we'll end the procedure.
ANGELA: Just one more step, come on.
♪ ♪
COURTNEY: Today we are brushing Gino's teeth.
This is something that we do every day with our gorillas.
You want to open your mouth?
Just like humans are supposed to brush their teeth
for two minutes,
we try to do two minutes in their mouths as well.
Good, Gino.
WOMAN: Now, he will let us brush it.
COURTNEY: Gino, you might notice,
doesn't have many teeth right there in the front,
so we don't have to worry too much about that.
Look at that. Where are your teeth?
But we do spend a lot of time on those molars.
Gorillas eat some pretty tough vegetation,
so they're gonna spend a lot of time
chewing with those back teeth.
Another thing we might notice with big males
is that they've got those giant canines,
and that is something that we have to work around.
Do you want to open your mouth?
Hold.
Good, Gino.
I can't get around your canines.
They're so big.
WOMAN: Whoa! That was uncalled for!
(laughing)
WOMAN: You two boys.
COURTNEY: I know you know this, too.
WOMAN: We know you know it, but it's Dad's turn.
WOMAN: He's ready for brushing.
You won't have your daddy's problems.
COURTNEY: I do think that he does enjoy it.
He likes the interaction,
and he likes the way the brush feels on his gums.
We want to give these animals the best care possible,
we want them to live as long as they can here.
Taking care of their teeth is another part of that.
♪ ♪
Gino's kids like to get their teeth cleaned, too.
(chattering)
MAN: Here they come. KATY: Hey, boys.
Hey, Oswald.
Good boy.
NARRATOR: Meet the boisterous brothers
of the painted dog pack.
(Katy cooing)
KATY: Did anyone listen? Luke? No.
NARRATOR: Six strong,
they form one of the park's most socially complex groups.
KATY: It is a hierarchy.
They all have such different personalities,
and that personality lends to their job with the pack.
NARRATOR: In the wild,
the group would be led by a male and female alpha pair,
with the female very influential
in commanding the pack.
With no girls here, the pack still needs a leader.
KATY: Oswald is right there in front.
You can see the "O" on his shoulder.
He's our highest-ranking dog.
(chattering)
That was Alfred,
that real deep vocalization.
(bark)
NARRATOR: Then there's Riddler.
KATY: Riddler! You missed it, silly!
NARRATOR: Not the most coordinated,
but a great pack guardian.
KATY: That was kind of like an alarm call
to the rest of the pack.
It looks like Luke is just walking up to us now
to grab a meatball.
You can see he's kind of got to get in
between those higher-ranking dogs.
He is the middle dog.
Bruce is definitely the annoying little brother.
He just gets in everybody's business.
That's when you'll see some cool behaviors
from Oswald, the alpha, that will tell Bruce,
"Hey, you need to chill it out, buddy."
♪ ♪
Up on top of the den, further away, that's Hugo,
and he's our most submissive dog.
He will be one of the last ones to eat.
Here you go, Hugo.
There, buddy.
Hugo, we all say he has a heart on his side,
'cause he's just such a big lover.
(dogs vocalizing)
NARRATOR: Like the rest of the pack,
Hugo has the unique coat pattern
that makes painted dogs living works of art.
♪ ♪
BRANDON: As little as just a hundred years ago,
there were hundreds of thousands of painted dogs
located all across Sub-Saharan Africa.
KATY: There's only about 1,400 adult painted dogs
estimated to be left in the wild today.
BRANDON: They have habitat fragmentation
with the growing population of humans,
as well as getting caught in snares,
which is a wire hoop that is placed in the bush
used to catch antelope,
but because painted dogs hunt antelope,
they often get caught themselves.
♪ ♪
KATY: I mean, could you get any cuter than those ears?
♪ ♪
The bonds in the pack are very, very strong,
which is how we like 'em to stay
so that they don't break apart,
but also makes it really difficult
when we want to separate them.
NARRATOR: But today brings their scheduled health check.
For that, these close brothers must split up.
WOMAN: We'll do some load stuff over there.
KATY: When one is gone for an extended period of time,
they come back and the others are stressed out,
we run the risk of causing changes in the hierarchy.
There could be aggression towards each other.
It's a lot on them.
DR. NATI: On here, we have each dog's health history,
and then a checklist of the procedures to follow,
and the bottom is each dog's special needs
and medications, okay?
BRANDON: This is a huge day for not just us,
but the dogs as well.
(chattering)
WOMAN: Come on, come on. Let's go.
Just one more step, come on.
NARRATOR: In the giraffe barn,
Lily needs an X-ray to check for a broken foot.
WOMAN: Come on, Lily.
NARRATOR: One more step forward,
and she'll be in position for anesthesia.
ANGELA: Come on, Lily.
DR. RYAN: Do you want to try touching her back here?
Give her a little bit of stimulus?
ANGELA: Yeah, we've tried everything else, so...
DR. RYAN: You guys want to?
ANGELA: Yep. DR. RYAN: Alright.
NARRATOR: Lily's slated to get a vaccination shot,
after she's anesthetized.
DR. RYAN: I think I will vaccinate her.
NARRATOR: But it could be the shot in the arm
she needs right now.
Well, a shot somewhere.
(gulp)
RYAN: We'll just poke her in the butt
and give her an injection.
We'll see if maybe that'll stimulate her.
ANGELA: Oh, good job. This is a better placement.
NARRATOR: Now she's in the best possible position.
ANGELA: So, if everybody's ready to proceed...
DR. RYAN: Alright, drug's going in.
ANGELA: Okay.
DR. RYAN: Drug's in.
ANGELA: Injection's in, yard.
DR. RYAN: Good girl.
ANGELA: She's down!
DR. RYAN: Alright, she's breathing nice.
MAN: Door's opening.
DR. RYAN: I think we're in an okay place.
MAN: Bring the sled out. We'll do this first rear leg.
DR. BETSY: If the neck kinks
during induction of anesthesia when she's going down,
there's potential that it could impair the airway,
so we need to support that head.
MAN: Now, we're gonna start moving the front leg.
She is gonna start to drop.
Are you guys ready when everything comes down?
Rear-end start to pull, pull at the same time.
Nice and easy, nice and easy.
ANGELA: Got her?
MAN: Right there. Hold.
ANGELA: Great job, guys.
MAN: Everybody ready, towards Dr. Jen.
One, two, three.
WOMAN: Good! WOMAN: Okay, stop.
MAN: That's good. WOMAN: Neck forward.
MAN: Got to go under her shoulder.
WOMAN: There we go. We're good.
Good for now? Okay.
ANGELA: We're gonna transition from the chute to the yard.
The vet staff is gonna take over,
and they're gonna get her intubated.
NARRATOR: A tube passes into Lily's 4-foot-long windpipe.
JEN: Head straight. Yep.
DR. BETSY: We need to have control of her airway
to help her breathe.
There we go. WOMAN: Great job.
DR. RYAN: She's nice and steady.
I just want to move fast.
ANGELA: We're gonna make sure she's breathing properly.
The next stage will be moving her
to where the procedure will actually be done.
MAN: Alright, everybody on this side, ready to pull.
WOMAN: Ready. WOMAN: Ready.
MAN: One, two, three.
WOMAN: Wait. Yep.
ANGELA: Moving a giraffe is not easy.
MAN: Let the pulley do most of it.
ANGELA: We put her on a stretcher board
and use the block and tackle,
which kind of helps us pull, using rope,
and it's a full team effort to get her in position.
MAN: Clear. MAN: Hold.
Now we go back towards that wall.
One, two, three.
WOMAN: I think that's it.
MAN: We're good.
MAN: Heart rate's still nice and slow.
MAN: Neck board, be ready for this.
It's gonna move you guys.
Ready on the neck board?
One, two, three.
NARRATOR: Finally, Lily's problem hoof
can be examined by Dr. Betsy.
DR. BETSY: And you can see that these claws are splaying apart.
They should be more parallel to one another.
Okay, we're ready to take a radiograph.
The idea of this one will be to get that slightly oblique view.
Are you ready, then?
MAN: Yeah.
DR. BETSY: We're gonna have to have people move.
MAN: Alright.
NARRATOR: The results of this X-ray
determine Lily's immediate future.
If her toe is broken, it means weeks of recuperation
and being cut from the next breeding cycle.
DR. BETSY: Oh, come on, Lily, please don't have a broken toe.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Down by the Tree of Life
lives a honking flock of pure pinkness.
KRISTIN: I'm coming to check on our lesser flamingos.
These guys are from Africa.
Hi, guys!
Good morning!
How you doing?
Hi, everybody!
NARRATOR: It's egg-laying season
for the lesser flamingos,
and the potential parents are busy.
But it hasn't always been this way.
KRISTIN: We've had absolutely no luck breeding these birds.
We have had one chick in 20 years.
JAMIE: We always have a plan,
but in nature,
our plan doesn't always fit in with reality,
so sometimes that we can have
what we feel is a fantastic season,
lots of rain, lots of nest building,
but no eggs.
NARRATOR: It's a bad time for no breeding.
JAMIE: All species of flamingos
are under some type of environmental pressure.
Out of all the species, lessers are probably the one
that are the most threatened at this time.
They're feeling a lot of pressure in the world
in regards to habitat loss and habitat destruction.
NARRATOR: To encourage more romance,
the team looks for ways to improve the habitat itself.
JAMIE: The team decided
they wanted to try something different
with the nesting material.
(crack)
(cheering)
TOMMY: It was an email that I received,
um, from Animal Kingdom,
and it was a big surprise.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
asked if they could borrow some baseball clay
for their flamingos.
KRISTIN: It's a special combination of clay and sand
that really works well with this Florida climate,
with the rain and the humidity.
It's really malleable when it's wet,
but it hardens really strongly when it's dry,
and the birds just really took to it.
NARRATOR: Containing more clay than Florida soil,
the infield mix passed the flamingo nest test.
An egg appeared,
and then they were on a roll.
JAMIE: I don't know what's in this clay,
but we're gonna call it magic clay,
'cause we're already at eggs five and six.
We were really excited.
We thought we had our plan together
and the flamingos were on the same page.
NARRATOR: But only one egg proved fertile,
and for the parents of that egg,
disaster struck.
KRISTIN: The father suffered from a leg injury,
so we had to take him up to our hospital.
Their process is the pair lays the egg
and then one incubates while the other one eats,
and then they switch.
But the mom couldn't raise the egg by herself.
NARRATOR: Flamingos are serially monogamous,
so with the biological parents down,
the team looks for another solution
that can be found in nature.
JAMIE: In the wild,
it's not uncommon for same-sex pairs to bond.
They build these strong relationships
that can last for years.
KRISTIN: We decided that our best option
was actually to give the egg
to our really great pair of male birds.
NARRATOR: Same-sex pair Blush and Bashful
swoop in to the rescue.
KRISTIN: These two boys have been together for a long time.
They've never shown any interest in any of the females
that have come over to Discovery Island.
We don't want to give the egg to the other pairs,
because that would stop them
from possibly producing their own.
NARRATOR: These potential dads
quickly make a connection with their new responsibility.
KRISTIN: So Blush and Bashful got the egg,
and the whole time they were talking to the egg,
which is very important.
It connects them to the chick.
So, they were making that connection
and building that bond.
NARRATOR: The boys tuck the only fertile egg
safely under their caring wings.
The future of the flock now rests on them.
KRISTIN: We're hoping that instinct will kick in
and they'll know exactly what to do.
♪ ♪
KELLY: Hi, buddy!
Oh, what a good fishy!
So smart!
KELLY: Bruce is a paroon shark catfish,
also known as a pangasia.
They are a critically endangered species from Southeast Asia.
He's lived here almost 20 years,
and in that time he has shown us
that a catfish can learn just as much as any other animal,
if not more.
JAMES: In today's training session,
we're gonna do some hand feeding,
we're gonna have him target to a buoy.
KELLY: Bruce is about 4.5 feet long
and about 120 pounds.
Oh, such a good fish! Good boy.
That deserves a big one.
♪ ♪
Who's that? Are you looking?
What do you think?
You want to see if he'll go through his square?
JAMES: Yeah. Swimming through the square
was an initial training tool
that we used to teach him to actually swim into a net,
so if we do need to net him,
like for a medical procedure or something like that,
he would be a little more comfortable with it.
KELLY: Good job!
Oh, so smart!
JAMES: I've been working with him since 2006.
Bruce is definitely one of my favorite animals
here in the park.
KELLY: Oh, what a good fish!
JAMES: Every time I'm able to train with him,
my day just gets better.
KELLY: Seems like he had a really great session.
(gurgling)
Just gonna throw it out there, I think he just farted.
JAMES: I've never seen that before.
KELLY: I haven't either!
♪ ♪
WOMAN: I think we're ready to go.
NARRATOR: Backstage,
the painted dogs wait for their routine check-up.
All six brothers enter.
The team begins to isolate the first two to be examined.
KATY: Trying to get these six dogs to separate
is difficult.
They're kind of just one big furry mass.
And then also, once they are separated,
the vets have to come in
and they have to get darts into these dogs
that are bouncing around and nervous,
so it's a lot.
NARRATOR: Level-headed Alfred and family goofball Bruce
are first up.
JESSICA: The last time we did procedures on all the dogs,
Bruce made some not very smart decisions
and actually injured himself,
so that's why he's going first,
so he can be mellow and cool
and still have some meds on board
while he's separated from everyone else.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: Dart's in, left rear.
WOMAN: Whenever you need me to do anything...
DR. NATI: Jen, once you feel comfortable,
we can lift him onto the bench.
Look at those beautiful teeth.
WOMAN: Do you want to see his dental history?
DR. RYAN: Got fractured enamel and some exposed dentin.
He doesn't have an exposed pulp canal,
so all that needs to be done with this at this point
is just to clean it up and seal it.
DR. NATI: Feel his lymph nodes here.
KATY: This is our time to get our hands on the dog,
to feel for any kind of lumps, bumps.
We also are able to do radiographs.
They also get dentals done, bloodwork,
so they get it all done.
DR. NATI: Bruce is doing really well.
We're actually done with his exam.
He had a couple of dental things.
Otherwise, he's in really good shape.
And Bruce is a bit of a worrier,
so we're giving him Alfred to wake up with.
Bruce is ready for you, bud!
(vocalizing)
MEGAN: They're calling each other.
They want to be with one another.
(vocalizing)
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Next come pack boss Oswald
and lowest-ranking brother, Hugo.
DR. NATI: We're gonna get him intubated.
BRANDON: Today we've chose to put Hugo and Oswald together.
Oswald has proven in the past to be very caring.
If any of the dogs give Hugo a hard time when he's waking up,
Oswald will be sure to have his back.
DR. NATI: So, this is Hugo.
NARRATOR: The pack underdog has a long-standing condition.
DR. NATI: Hugo has a type of cancer called mast cell disease,
and he develops skin tumors over time,
and that's not something that we can cure,
but it is something that we can treat
to keep him as comfortable as possible.
NARRATOR: The team regularly checks
that Hugo's cancer hasn't spread to his internal organs.
DR. NATI: This is his gallbladder, right? And liver.
DR. TERESA: Yeah, his liver looks really good.
I would hope, based on Hugo's previous biopsies,
that we're not gonna have a problem.
Um, but we'll just make sure.
DR. NATI: We've not found any sign that the cancer has spread,
and I'm so glad for that.
NARRATOR: The team's attention turns to top dog Oswald.
DR. NATI: I found a skin mass on him.
♪ ♪
I'm not liking the look of this skin mass.
I'm really concerned about these skin lesions in Oswald.
They look very similar to what we saw in Hugo
when he first developed disease.
DR. BETSY: This is medial, this is lateral,
so you can label it "right front."
NARRATOR: As Lily the giraffe dreams on,
the vet team analyzes X-rays to see if her toe bone is broken.
DR. BETSY: Alright, the images are up.
Let's see what we're dealing with.
Mmm, let's see.
That would be her lateral claw.
We're not seeing a fracture in that P3 bone,
and that was my biggest concern.
So I'm very happy with this.
It's really good news
in terms of what we're gonna be doing today.
We're still gonna radiograph and evaluate
all the rest of her feet,
but this was the one we were most concerned about,
so we're gonna go ahead with the hoof trim next.
NARRATOR: Lily's hoof needs corrective trimming
to deal with the overgrowth.
Dr. Betsy calls in a specialist.
STEVE: What ends up happening with these guys
is that they'll wear the front half of the foot off.
When this gets so overgrown or compressed,
it actually reduces the circulation
on the back half of the foot.
DR. BETSY: Steve Foxworth has done a lot of training and work
with institutions all over the country,
specializing in exotic animal hooves.
STEVE: In the past,
I watched people try to do things for these animals
to try to help them,
with a lack of knowledge or understanding
of what they were doing.
And in turn, I've seen a lot of animals suffer
or... (clears throat) have a lot of issues.
You know, I don't know...
I get passionate about this.
I mean, this is very important.
(whirring)
Disney are extremely proactive in recognizing
how to better serve and care for their animals.
In Lily's case,
there's a little bit more strain on some of the ligaments
on one side versus the other,
which starts a small arthritic change
that can get really big if you don't catch it.
(whirring)
She's a lot better.
Yeah, she's gonna feel great.
(whirring)
NARRATOR: It's Lily's lucky day.
No broken bones, a pedicure, and now...
DONNA: We're doing some acupuncture
while we have her immobilized.
She has some weakness in her hind end.
We think it was associated with her pregnancy.
I'm just gonna do some generalized points here.
NARRATOR: Lily enjoys her acupuncture session,
while a motorized massager
eases away the stresses and strains of the day.
DR. BETSY: As you can see,
lots of things going on, being coordinated all at once,
but she's doing great under anesthesia.
We're almost done, we're on the last foot,
so we'll be waking her up soon.
♪ ♪
RORY: Waking them up
is just as complicated as the entire procedure.
MAN: Catheters are pulled.
RORY: Catheters are out.
MAN: Alright, you guys.
DR. BETSY: So, it is really important
that our staff stays safe,
and when we're waking her up at the end of the procedure,
we'll be in the stall with her, helping to support her head.
So, once we give the reversal drug
and she starts to get control of her head,
we'll back away.
MAN: Alright, we need to roll.
Alright, let's leave.
DR. JEN: Alright, we're gonna be giving the reversals!
Reversal's going in, naltrexone.
Reversal, atipamezole.
All reversals are in.
MAN: Come on, Lily.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: Heart rate's stable.
♪ ♪
She should start getting her wits about her soon.
♪ ♪
DR. JEN: Neck tone, legs moving.
MAN: Yeah, she's licking and chewing.
She's gonna go from zero to 60.
MAN: Watch the legs, they might kick out.
RORY: So, we're all behind her.
We're not in front of her legs,
'cause if she actually starts to kick out and she hits me,
I'm going to the hospital.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: Just don't get whacked in the head.
♪ ♪
ANGELA: The biggest worry for us
is just making sure she gets through the procedure
and stands up on her own.
♪ ♪
WOMAN: Slow, slow, slow.
Easy, easy, easy, easy. You did it.
WOMAN: Oh, she's up.
RORY: Get your back foot. There you go.
WOMAN: Stay, stay, stay. WOMAN: That was beautiful.
WOMAN: Good girl.
DR. RYAN: Thought I was gonna cry a little bit.
That went so well!
WOMAN: That was so beautiful, Ryan!
Now you can breathe.
(Ryan sighs)
RORY: We all think she's gonna be fine.
The procedure went really well.
We were able to get a really great hoof trim on her.
I think she's got a long future here.
♪ ♪
(screech)
DR. TERESA: Did he get a gold star for his dental?
DR. NATI: He did.
BRANDON: So far, the check-ups are going really well,
but Oswald has kind of thrown us a curveball.
There seems to be a lump. We're hoping it's not cancer.
NARRATOR: The team already treats Oswald's brother Hugo
for cancer.
They're hoping it doesn't run in the family.
DR. TERESA: It's looking a little questionable,
so we will see what that biopsy comes back as,
but unfortunately there's a genetic component to cancer.
We'll hope for Oswald that this is just something benign.
NARRATOR: They await Oswald's test results.
(whimpering)
WOMAN: Okay. Watch that tube.
Nice job.
NARRATOR: Luke and Riddler take their turn.
WOMAN: Everything else looks good.
WOMAN: Good, well, thank you. WOMAN: Yeah.
NARRATOR: Both in excellent health.
BRANDON: All six of our dogs have had their vet checks,
and it's time to put 'em all back together.
This is a critical time.
WOMAN: Okay, reversals are going in.
BRANDON: We're gonna be keeping a close eye on them,
making sure that they're getting along.
WOMAN: We're out.
BRANDON: And they come back together as family unit
and fall back into place where they were.
(dogs whimpering)
NARRATOR: As the drugs wear off,
all the dogs are vulnerable...
...and pack hierarchy is at its most fragile.
(chattering)
(yipping)
WOMAN: You actually see right there,
um, Alfred's kind of going after Luke,
and Bruce is actually getting in between them,
which is a guarding behavior.
So, actually Bruce is doing a really good job
at being a good boy.
WOMAN: Can you say it again? WOMAN: He was a good boy.
WOMAN: Yay!
NARRATOR: The pack rejoices in their reunion.
Then Oswald's test results come in.
KATY: So, Oswald does have the same type of cancer as Hugo,
unfortunately.
How often are we going to have to pull Oswald from the pack
to remove any tumors?
NARRATOR: An extended absence
could threaten his position as top dog.
KATY: Every time we do that,
someone might try to challenge Oswald,
so that's a scary thought.
NARRATOR: It's been three weeks
since Oswald's cancer diagnosis.
KATY: Oswald has begun treatments for his cancer,
and we are keeping an eye on the pack
to make sure that his rank within the pack
is not threatened.
So far, the pack is still accepting Oswald as top dog,
which is great, because he is a great pack leader.
NARRATOR: But in the veterinary treatment room...
WOMAN: Pulse feels good, it's been pretty steady.
NARRATOR: ...Hugo rushes in as an emergency.
DR. NATI: What I'm gonna do is start out with abdominal X-rays,
and that will be the most informative first step for us.
NARRATOR: Aside from his managed cancer diagnosis,
omega dog Hugo
got the all-clear at his health check.
But today, he's acting oddly.
BRANDON: We know that Hugo has a past
of having mast cell tumors.
This behavior is very different.
He's getting up, and when he's walking,
he's kind of arching his legs out to the back, behind him,
and then when he does lay down,
he just looks very uncomfortable.
He's rolling on his back and arching and twisting,
which really alarms me.
DR. NATI: Okay, everyone clear who can.
NARRATOR: X-rays give clear images of Hugo's abdomen.
DR. NATI: You see this whitish area?
So that suggests that there is something there.
He could have an obstruction there.
Worst-case scenario, he could have a mass.
NARRATOR: A mass could mean Hugo's cancer
has spread to his internal organs.
If it has, it's aggressive.
He was clear at the health check,
just three weeks ago.
DR. NATI: So, this came on rather quickly for Hugo,
and his signs were really dramatic.
We're gonna get a blood sample on him,
and Jen is gonna start running some tests right away,
in the lab.
When's the last time he ate? Remind me.
WOMAN: Uh, yesterday afternoon.
DR. NATI: Yeah, his stomach should feel nice and empty,
because the last time he ate was yesterday,
but instead it's very distended
and almost feels like it's full of air,
which tells me it's not functioning properly.
We're gonna move into doing an ultrasound
to get more information.
Both of his kidneys are normal in appearance,
and he doesn't have any free fluid in his abdomen.
What I'm looking at now are his small intestines.
♪ ♪
I don't see any sign of a mass.
That is a really big relief.
We're seeing some very thickened areas of intestine
that are a sign of inflammation or infection.
Everything's pointing to
some type of infectious gastroenteritis for him.
That is why his belly hurts.
So, he does need treatment right away,
but what we've found is really the best-case scenario.
We've got some long-acting injectables for him.
NARRATOR: It's antibiotics,
before a move to the barn for recovery.
DR. NATI: Last-minute cuddles.
Okay.
Hopefully we'll get Hugo feeling better
with all these meds.
I am so glad that we took a look at him today,
'cause he's very sick.
Bye, Hugo. Feel better.
(indistinct conversation)
BRANDON: Getting him back in with the pack,
hopefully he'll incorporate back in just fine,
and we're able to give him medication
and get him back on a better track.
♪ ♪
(chirping)
KRISTIN: Sandy, look at you!
Oh, my gosh.
You're so cute.
I can't stand it.
NARRATOR: At the Tree of Life,
a tiny miracle has hatched.
KRISTIN: You're on one leg like a big flamingo.
You don't even need your dads anymore.
NARRATOR: Meet Sandy,
named for the magical infield mix.
First-time parents, Blush and Bashful,
look after her like champs.
KRISTIN: When she hatched,
they were just the perfect parents.
They were feeding her within the first few hours.
Dads have been all over Sandy since day one,
following her everywhere, doing everything for her.
NARRATOR: Little Sandy has the best dads ever.
KRISTIN: You have accomplishments in your career
that just stick with you for your whole life,
and for me, this is absolutely one of them.
I just can't believe that Sandy's here,
and she's thriving and she looks so great,
and she's just everything we'd hoped for.
♪ ♪
DR. NATI: Okay, little buddy.
NARRATOR: Painted dog Hugo
has been recovering from gastroenteritis
and separated from his brothers.
BRANDON: There's no guarantee
that when you take one animal out,
they're gonna accept 'em back into the packs.
It depends a lot on where they are in the pecking order.
Are they at the bottom? Are they at the top?
Both extremes seem to have more of an issue.
NARRATOR: So, bottom-of-the-pack Hugo
must put his best paw forward.
BRANDON: So, today we're gonna bring out a carcass
for the pack to feed on,
and the act of actually eating off of a common food source,
like a carcass,
we get a litmus test on how, uh, he is doing,
both mentally, physically.
By giving a big chunk of meat
that they're allowed to take and pull apart
and work on together to get to the best parts,
um, that shows is he participating in this?
We don't do this with any of the other species here at Disney,
but we know how important it is for them.
♪ ♪
Here they come.
(chattering)
We're hoping to see Oswald
accept Hugo back in with the group today,
as they do their carcass feed.
As a leader in the pack, I hope that he takes that lead on it
and he helps show to everybody else,
"Hey, Hugo's great, let's let him back in.
Let's make sure that we're a nice family again."
♪ ♪
Down here is Hugo, he's just looking around.
He's still got a fair bit of meat to eat.
♪ ♪
And I see Hugo on the far side.
He's got his back to the rock wall over there.
But it looks like all six are eating.
This is actually perfect.
I am very happy with this.
This is a good sign that they're all eating together,
especially Hugo being able to eat with the rest of the group.
There is no bickering between them,
there's no, "Hey, that's my piece,"
so this was a great sign for us...
and for Hugo.
As a leader in the pack, Oswald does a great job
of making sure that everybody is taken care of.
All for one, one for all.
And Hugo is included.
Look at him up there chewing.
(laughing)
I love him.
♪ ♪
This is great.
This makes my heart feel good.
They have reincorporated him back into the pack
after the procedure perfectly,
so, very happy.
How can you not fall in love with them, right?
♪ ♪
ANGELA: Heading out on savanna,
gonna take a look at Lily, post her procedure.
We just want to make sure that her mobility is back to normal
and she's moving exactly as she should be.
Oh, I have spotted her,
so we're gonna head on over
to one of our browse feeders
and see if we can get her moving in our direction.
So, I'm gonna do willow and some banana leaves,
make a little variety pack for her.
Oh, I think she's heading this way.
♪ ♪
Lily is over there walking across the road from us.
It looks like she might be heading our way.
She was very tender on that right front foot.
That's initially what led us to believe
something might be wrong.
But now, post-procedure, she looks great.
She's completely back to normal,
she's with the group, she's not stationary.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Definitely not stationary,
a healthy giraffe gallops
at a ground-eating 35 miles per hour.
And now that her foot's fixed,
Lily runs like a giraffe Olympian,
right back into the breeding program.
ANGELA: Lily has come such a long way,
and now she's doing great.
We just want to take the best care of them
that we absolutely can.
♪ ♪
Captioned by Side Door Media Services