At Leahurst's equine hospital, surgeon Debbie Archer is coming to the end of her shift when an emergency is rushed in. Millie, a family's pet horse, is suffering from the potentially life-threatening condition of colic. Farm practice vet Lorien Waterer also has a difficult case on her hands, dealing with two very over-excitable alpacas who are suffering from a mysterious case of flaky skin.
Vet Niamh Lewis is looking after one of the latest admissions, a heavily pregnant horse called Destiny. The weight of Destiny's pregnancy is causing her abdominal muscles to tear. This means that she is likely to struggle during labour, as her torn muscles mean she will not have enough strength to push properly. With Destiny's due date approaching, Niamh checks on her patient. Destiny has started producing milk, which means foaling is imminent.
Vet Alex and nurse Shelley are preparing for a visit from one of their favourite patients - an obese bassett hound called Charlie, who has been on a strict weight loss programme for around four months. In the equine hospital, surgeon Neil is greeting his first patient of the day - a horse called Monte who is in for surgery on seriously infected sinuses.
Lorien is taking a team of students to meet an unusual patient who lives in a local back garden. Rusty is a large and very friendly kunekune pig whose toenails need trimming. Equine surgeon Neil is helping Chester Zoo's vet with one of their rarest creatures, an onager named Sophie who is off her food. After sedating her, Neil inserts an endoscope inside her mouth and immediately sees the problem - her teeth are digging into her tongue.
At Leahurst, vet Tim Nuttall has an unusual emergency arrive - a dog called Roxy who is scratching herself to death. Farm practice vet Jo Oultram and her students are rushing to an emergency calving. A cow is struggling to give birth and Jo needs to attach ropes to the calf and pull it out. At Chester Zoo, vet Steve Unwin has brought in a specialist dentist to help him treat a chimp called Can-Can, who needs to have a couple of rotten teeth extracted.
Farm practice vet Helen is faced with a huge patient with an even bigger problem - a bull who is suffering from a massively infected abscess on his rear end. Billy the Yorkshire terrier is attending the radiotherapy clinic at the small animal hospital. Farm vet Jo gets up close and personal with a herd of yaks. The yaks need their feet trimming, but getting them to stand still for long enough is more of a challenge than anyone had bargained for.
In this special Christmas edition we see how some of the animals have fared following their treatment and after they have returned home to their grateful owners. The show has seen everything from calving emergencies and life-saving surgery on horses to overweight dogs and irritable, spitting alpacas.