A VET who helped the Prime Minister choose the perfect puppy to live with him in Downing Street has been made an OBE.

Dedicated campaigner Marc Abraham, known as Marc the Vet, has received the award for services to Animal welfare.

Marc, who lives in Kemp Town, Brighton, received the news in a letter from the cabinet office more than a month ago.

He said: "It was surprising, overwhelming, and I am just absolutely delighted to be given it for services to animals, which as a vet it all I ever wanted to do was to help animals.

"I have done the whole spectrum of different types of vetting, not just in Brighton, but all around the world. I think that Brighton is inspirational and a special place.

"The city is encouraging to stuff that is outside the box like campaigning, and with the sea and the South Downs on our doorstep, it has so much open space it helps relieve the stress of campaigning.

"I don't think I would have been able to achieve what I have if I did not live here."

Marc, 48, campaigned to end the third-party trading of puppies and kittens, which means that people who want to adopt or buy a pet must deal directly with the rescue centre or breeder.

After ten years of campaigning and more than 300 visits to Westminster, the Government passed Lucy's Law, named after a rescue Cavalier Spaniel, who suffered ill-treatment after years of intense breeding.

He said: "Lucy's law was set up to make all breeders accountable, so anyone going to get a dog must see the dog interacting with its mother unless it is at a rescue centre."

As a result of his campaigning, Marc was asked by Boris Johnson to help him and his now-wife Carrie Symonds, find a rescue puppy.

Marc found the couple the perfect puppy- a rescue, Jack Russell cross called Dilyn.

But Marc considers his most significant achievement to be his campaigning.

He has dedicated his honour to his father, Tony and his grandmother, who died during the campaign for Lucy's Law.

He said: "They were alive at the start of the campaigning, and sadly, we lost them along the way. Dad taught me about campaigning, my grandma was a holocaust survivor, and she always told me to never give up.

"Little Lucy was who we named the campaign after in her honours, which really personalised it and helped push it over the line."

Having graduated from Edinburgh University in 1995 with a degree in Vet Medicine and Surgery, Marc worked as a vet for 26 years.

After completing his degree, he has volunteered for multiple animal welfare projects, including vaccinating dogs in the Mumbai Slums, rescuing dancing bears in Ukraine.

Marc has also spent time saving cats and dogs in Thailand, neutering pets in the Amazon Jungle.

He has worked with pit bulls in a US prison, operated on street dogs in Udaipur, India, and performed dental work on a rescued moonbear - also known as an Asian black bear - in Chengdu, China.