A couple have been left stunned after they found out their golden retriever puppy needed a sex change in order to stay healthy.

Emma Priest was in "total disbelief" when she was told her dog, Penny, which she had bought as a female in fact had both male and female organs.

The 36-year-old from Stratford-upon-Avon brought Penny home last September and intended for her to be a therapy dog for her two disabled children.

However, Mrs Priest's husband Matt soon noticed something was "not quite right".

Just days later, a vet discovered the "female" puppy which they had bought had a fully functioning testicle, and was actually born intersex, traditionally called "hermaphrodite".

This means she has one testicle and one ovary, as well as half a womb and a single fallopian tube.

Externally, her reproductive organs sit midway up her abdomen rather than between her back legs.

Mrs Priest told the Daily Mail she was astonished to hear of her dog's condition, which she claims only affects one in every 100,000 dogs.

The condition is thought to affect only one in 100,000 dogs

She said: "We were in total shock because even now the vets are not really able to confirm what sex she is.

"You take it to the vet thinking you've brought a girl and to be told that they couldn't give us an answer as to whether she was a boy or a girl was just total disbelief, really."

The mother-of-two has set up a GoFundMe page in order to raise the £1,000 needed for an urgently needed operation.

Vets believe Penny's undescended testicle is wrapped around her lymph nodes, putting her at risk of cancer.

Penny is at an increased risk of cancer because her undescended testicle is wrapped around her lymph nodes

Mrs Priest is focusing on getting her beloved canine happy and healthy, adding: "The only way that this is going to happen is for her to have this huge surgery, because they've said it could be catastrophic if we leave her any longer.

"The vets are quite confident that, because the external part is female, although it's in the wrong place, then she will lead a female life once her insides have been taken out.

"But they still don't know, which I guess these days is cool to be non-binary.

"But from a medical point of view, we just want her to be healthy and to be able to lead the most healthy life she can."

Because vets class the condition as a "birth defect", pet insurance does not cover any of the surgeries meaning Mrs Priest has had to pay "thousands of pounds" over the past year.

She is now hoping the invasive spay surgery, which is scheduled for October 16, will pass without any problems so that Penny's "horrible year" can come to an end.

However, vets have warned they may have to "rip open" the beloved pet if they are unable to remove the testicle through keyhole surgery.

Mrs Priest added: "We're dreading it. We really are dreading her having to go, but from a health point of view, she has to have this done.

"She's so incredibly special and she's our world. We absolutely adore her."