A Suffolk dog who was struggling to see due to a painful eye condition has had his life transformed by a "remarkable procedure".

Teddy, an eight-year-old Miniature Schnauzer, underwent an operation to re-route saliva to his eyes whenever he thinks about food.

The procedure happened at Dick White Referrals (DWR) in Cambridgeshire.

Teddy's owner Tracey Bonser, from Stowmarket, said: "There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Teddy arrived back home after treatment".

"It was wonderful. Teddy was back to his usual, mischievous self and it was such a relief.

"It had been so painful for him to try and open his eyes, and he was always rubbing his eyes against the sofa and on walks he’d be bumping into walls and slipping off kerbs because he couldn’t see properly.

"His quality of life was awful and we were really concerned because he was really going downhill but our local vets referred us to Dick White Referrals and they were absolutely phenomenal."

Georgina Fricker, DWR’s consultant in ophthalmology, performed the operation.

She said: "Teddy was suffering from ‘dry eye’ in both eyes, a condition that leads to a reduction in tear production, making the animal’s eyes inflamed and uncomfortable.

"He initially had eye ointments and drops to reduce his immune response, as well as tear replacers, but he stopped responding to all medication and was holding his eyes shut more than he had them open.

"We decided the best solution was to relocate the parotid salivary ducts from his mouth up to his eyes and it worked very well.

“Teddy bounced back brilliantly from surgery and now whenever he smells, thinks of, or eats food, saliva appears in both his eyes."

Tracey added: "Teddy is happily playing again with our other miniature schnauzer Yogi and his eyes are so much better.

“After being so dry, his eyes are now streaming when you wave some food for him or are preparing his meals."