Inspector Lyndsey Taylor is called to a case of a desperate dog left home alone at Christmas and has to try to secure a warrant for police to enter the property in time. In the busy lead-up to Christmas, Alan joins vet Michael Lazarus at Putney Animal Hospital, where he meets a woman whose dog needs an ultrasound scan to get to the bottom of a stubborn tummy problem.

In this special episode we join the RSPCA volunteers, staff and vets at animal shelters across the country as they care for the 3000 dogs in their care over the Christmas period. For the first time on The Dog Rescuers we get an insight into the RSPCA national call centre at Christmas, responding to around 11,000 calls from the concerned public over between Christmas and New Year. One such call that comes in live to the National Call Centre is tasked out to Inspector Emily Collins, who races to rescue unloved Pomeranian Freddie, left abandoned in disgusting conditions.

Alan Davies presents another seasonal special edition of the animal welfare series. This time, staff at Harmsworth Animal Hospital treat a three-year-old English bull terrier with a worrying lump, and a Yorkshire terrier with a badly broken leg. At South Godstone Animal Centre, displaced puppy Obi needs a new home before Christmas. RSCPA Inspector Anthony Joynes rescues a spaniel that has been abandoned in a freezing house, but things do not look so good for Pudding, an elderly shih-tzu that needs some special attention in order to survive past Christmas.

Alan Davies finds out about dogs that are proving hard to rehome for the RSPCA in the run-up to the festive season. They include a six-year-old pooch that is going blind and is struggling with kennel life, a playful 12-year-old Staffie cross whose long-term health conditions are putting off potential owners and a large, underweight dog who needs months of rehabilitation after being used for badger baiting or hunting. Meanwhile, RSPCA inspector Kris finds and rescues two abandoned schnauzers while out on the road.

A seasonal special edition of the animal welfare series, as Alan Davies experiences what it is like for the care assistants of the RSPCA who look after sick and injured animals. In Northumberland, hound Hardy is in need of urgent care after falling into a frozen river, and on the Wirral, Anthony Joynes picks up Molly, a shih tzu with a coat so matted it is a risk to the poor dog's life.