Labrador with hole in her heart saved by £12,000 procedure

• Video report by ITV News Correspondent Damon Green

A puppy has become the first dog to ever undergo double bypass surgery after being born with a rare heart defect.

Lottie the black Labrador was born with a 'gaping hole' in her heart and was given a drastically short life expectancy.

The complex £12,000 heart procedure had never been done on a canine before.

But the pooch pulled through, thanks to a team of skilled surgeons at the Royal Veterinary College in London and is expected to live a long and happy life.

"The decision to put her on the operating table was awful but we knew that we had an awful lot to lose," said owner Pauline Daley.

"We went into this to save her life, so we get very emotional about it and only dog owners will understand that," husband Paul added.