A pair of rescue dogs have been given breast lifts costing ￡1,200 to help them secure new owners.

Chocolate labradors Morgan and Emma had sagging skin that left their mammary glands nearly brushing the ground due to years of overbreeding, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Shelter co-ordinator Teresa Bartholomew from Wallace Kennels in Stondon Massey, Essex, said: "It is very unusual.

"You don't get many people having cosmetic surgery on dogs and we could be one of the first. But if we hadn't had it done, we would not have been able to rehome them."

She added: "Everybody wants a labrador but when people saw the 'undercarriage' as we called it, they would ask if they could see one of the other dogs.

"It didn't look very nice and people just could not see past that - you could see it in their faces. It was definitely worth it because it meant the dogs were rehomed and there was a happy ending."