XL bully locked in cage found dead in canal

The RSPCA said it could not rule out the possibility the dog was thrown into the canal alive and left to drown

An XL bully dog has been found dead inside a cage floating in a canal in Birmingham, prompting an RSPCA investigation.

Officers for the charity were called on Friday to a canal on Crawford Street in Saltley, Birmingham, where they found the body of an XL Bully who was between one and two years old.

Animal rescue officer Paul Nijar went to the scene and pulled the crate out of the water.

Inspector Laura Brewerton said: "We currently don’t know the circumstances around this dog's death but it's incredibly concerning that he was found shut inside this crate floating in the water."

She said inspectors had to to consider the "horrific" possibility that the dog might have been thrown into the canal alive and left to drown.

The dog, an unneutered, brown adult male, was scanned by Mr Nijar at the scene and was microchipped as "puppy 8".

Mr Nijar said: "When we made enquiries with the contact details on the microchip at an address in West Bromwich they said they'd had a litter of puppies which they'd sold on and they'd not kept contact details.

"They had no further information about the person who bought the puppy and were understandably shocked at what had happened."

Ms Brewerton urged anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area on Friday, or the days before, to contact the RSPCA.