Examentrainers

Animal Hospital

Whether it’s a much-loved, sick family pet or the victim of a cruel owner, Animal Hospital vet
Bairbre O’Malley wants to save them all.

Millions of viewers know Bairbre		intelligent. Trouble is, their owners love
O’Malley as the vet with the gentle touch in		them so much they [id:27090] them. I think
the TV series Animal Hospital. Dressed in a		someone ought to set up a diet club specially
green surgical gown, her blonde hair pushed		for rats.”
under a headband, she repairs the torn flesh		Love for an animal can be just as strong
and broken bones which are the result of		as love for another human being. And when
man’s cruelty towards the creatures that		a pet dies, the grieving process is similarly
share our planet.		intense. “For older people especially, it’s a
What they don’t see, as Bairbre works		terrible loss. Their pet is often the only
with her needles and scalpels, is her		living thing they have. When the animal
frustration and [id:27087]. She keeps them		goes, they’re devastated, yet they are also
hidden beneath the smile, which has made		amazingly unselfish about it - they’ll have
her one of the best-loved figures in a		their pet put down rather than let the animal
television documentary series. But it’s there		[id:27091].”
all right.		Bairbre herself knows what it’s like to
“Of course you get affected,” says		lose a pet. “I’ve lost two dogs I adored, both
Bairbre, 35. “You wouldn’t be human if you		killed by cars. The first was my childhood
didn’t. Much of the cruelty isn’t actual		joy and it was killed outside my front door. I
assault on an animal, but [id:27088]. Some		was 13 and I remember I cried for days.”
people just don’t give a damn. I’ve known		Bairbre’s work is often [id:27092], with the
cases where a person has moved out of a		operations lasting anything up to three
flat, locked the door behind them and left		hours. “I remember a dog that got impaled
their dog to starve to death.”		on some railings on Hampstead Heath. The
In the four years Bairbre’s been at the		firebrigade had cut him free and he was
RSPCA¹ Harmsworth hospital in London,		brought in here with the railings sticking
there’s little she hasn’t seen. The biggest		right through him. The dog made a full
surprises often come when she opens an		recovery - but the amazing thing was, he
animal’s stomach because it has an eating		had a doggy girlfriend who stayed with him
disorder. “Some dogs are [id:27089],” she		all the way through. She wouldn’t leave his
smiles, “In my time I’ve found socks, tights,		side.”
walnuts, doorknobs - you name it.”		Now that she’s a TV star, she gets
Thankfully though, for every bad owner		fanmail by the sackful. There are four-
there are scores of caring ones. “You can’t		legged fans too. “Someone sent a photo of a
fail to be moved by people’s kindness. The		cat sitting in front of the TV watching me. It
pets that flood our lives with love come		was flattering until I realised that also on
in all shapes and sizes.		screen was a parrot. I know cats
There are lots of rats being kept as		and their instincts. What it was really
pets these days,” says Bairbre. “Don’t		doing, was looking at the parrot and thinking
knock it - rats make great pets. They are		‘[id:27093]’.”
very friendly and
		‘Woman’s Own’

¹ RSPCA = dierenbescherming