A two-year-old bulldog had major facelift surgery - and now looks like a different dog.

Tuna needed the operation because her breed’s genetics can cause distressing breathing difficulties. 

Tuna was rescued by the RSPCA in September as part of an animal welfare investigation and was taken in by vet nurse Katherine Maling, who works at Blackberry Farm Animal Centre in Buckinghamshire.

The young dog had many health problems due to being bred to have an extremely flat face and had to sleep with her head propped on a pillow to help her breathe while she was sleeping.

Determined to give her a good quality of life, Katherine booked for Tuna to have major surgery to help relieve some of her discomfort.

Katherine said: “Tuna had facial-fold resection surgery - which is like a facelift - to remove some of the excess skin from around her face and muzzle.

“The ‘rope’ - or the roll of excess skin - around her nose was causing her a lot of issues, like sore skin and hot spots that often led to infections. 

''The weight of it also pulled her eyelids down, which made her eyes weep. The ‘rope’ was causing her lots of issues.

“Facial fold surgery is a big operation but it was worth it for Tuna as it’s given her a new lease of life."

Before Tuna had the surgery, she used to snore loudly when asleep - something which Katherine said owners will think of as “normal” for their dog.

“People have fallen into the trap by thinking the loud snoring is normal, and that it’s cute,” she said. 

“After Tuna had her surgery and was no longer snoring, I realised that it was never normal to begin with.

“When Tuna was really struggling to breathe, she had to lift her head up to the ceiling just so she could open her airways. It was distressing for her.”

As well as having facial fold surgery, Tuna had soft palate surgery, to shorten her palate and open up her nostrils - which, along with the facial fold surgery, helped her to breathe better.

Overall, Tuna’s surgeries cost around £2,500, all of which was covered by pet insurance. 

Katherine said: “I made sure I got pet insurance which covered this type of surgery, because I knew from the start that she was going to need surgery. 

''It has meant that the insurance is expensive - it’s currently £127 a month and Tuna isn’t even three - but I can’t afford not to have it because of her breathing issues.”

Thanks to her surgeries, Tuna is now a happy, active dog who does plenty of exercise - including obedience training.

“If she hadn't had the surgery, then she would never have been able to do the training as it is very active,” said Katherine.

“Owners need to think before they buy a brachy dog because they might not think about how much it will cost to have one."