Stolen Bully XL found 100 miles from Manchester home tied to lampost near Birmingham Airport

The distressed dog was spotted around 11:30pm in a dark alley near Birmingham Business Park in Solihull. Credit: BPM Media

A malnourished dog found tied to a lamppost in a dark alley near Birmingham Airport has been saved by a family on their dog walk - before discovering the Bully XL had been stolen a year ago from over 100 miles away.

The American Bulldog breed was found on Monday 7 August after it was stolen from its owners in Manchester last year.

The distressed dog was spotted around 11:30pm in a dark alley near Birmingham Business Park in Solihull.

It's believed the dog could have been fending for itself.

Shane Burnham, from Sheldon Dog Services Ltd, was contacted by the family after they spotted the distressed dog.

Shane said the scared pup was "barking and lunging out of fear" when he arrived at the scene to rescue it.

He said: "Although he was very vocal and acting hard as he spotted us walking through the alley, we quickly realised he was just scared and needed some calm reassurance."

The dog was taken to a local vet, where it was confirmed it had been microchipped and that it was stolen from its owners in Manchester around a year ago.

Father-of-two Shane said the pet's family believed "they’d never see him again".

The dog was taken to a local vet, where it was confirmed it had been microchipped. Credit: BPM Media

A post on the Sheldon Dog Services Facebook page amassed more than 1100 shares and reached some 50,000 people.

The post read: "Just been called to a tied-up dog at the business park in Chelmsley [Wood] on the way to the airport. [He was] tied to a lamppost in the walkthrough.

"They were rightly apprehensive about approaching or dealing with the poor handsome dog. We agreed to attend and assess if it would be safe to take them to the vet.

"He’s now just chilling on the back seat taking treats. Wish we could take him home with us as he genuinely seems like a big softie.

"Fingers crossed he’s been dumped by someone that’s stolen him as that way there may be someone out there looking for him. Please share just in case someone is missing this handsome lad."

Shortly after the initial Facebook post, Shane praised the family. He said John Spence, Sarah Campbell and her two sons Eli and Kaine could have saved the dog from something "much worse".

"Without them waiting around and staying out till almost 3am the dog may have been in a much worse situation now," he added. "Thank you."