Donald tries out his new anesthesia gun on a pack of wolves and on an orangutan who has miscarried but refuses to give up the corpse of her baby.
Donald Turner arrives home in Rochdale fresh from graduating as a fully qualified Veterinary Surgeon, and takes up a position with grumpy older vet Maurice Webb. He is horrified to learn that the Great Northern Zoo is a part of the practice, especially when he is called out on Maurice's day off to treat a chimpanzee who has had a thumb bitten off. The vet is needed so that they can say they 'Called In The Experts'.
Donald and Maurice are called to the zoo when a female elephant is in extreme pain in her jaw, and is getting more and more debilitated and dangerous. Donald and Maurice discover that the elephant has severe arthritis and there just aren't the drugs to deal with it, and are forced to euthanase her. Donald is left in a black mood as he doesn't consider that he can help any of the animals at the zoo, with his limited knowledge.