An adorable puppy who was dumped in a bin bag on the A50 with his tail hacked off could be set to have his story told in a BBC documentary.

Chris Withington rescued little Cosmin when he pulled over to make a phone call in a layby in Shardlow and saw something moving in a black bag.

Having made the headlines for his dramatic discovery, Uttoxeter salon boss Chris has seen his pooch shoot to fame.

The 31-year-old is regularly stopped in the street when passers-by recognise Cosmin, who now has a Facebook fan page with 1,000 followers.

And Britain could get the chance to fall in love with the pup just as Uttoxeter has amid plans for a documentary exploring his story.

Cosmin months enjoying England's World Cup campaign

Chris, who runs Spires, in Market Place, said: "We're in talks with the BBC right now, who want to come round to film and do a piece on Cosmin.

"He was on BBC Radio Derby just after I found him and the film-makers said they thought of him straight away when coming up with ideas for the show.

"It's just amazing how many people know who he is. I was in Tesco the other day and got stopped so many times by strangers saying 'oh look - it's that dog who was in the paper'.

"We even had one guy who was in his car and stopped in the street, wound down his window and yelled hello to Cosmin."

When Chris found Cosmin, he had been left for dead with his paws tied together.

Cosmin shortly after being rescued

He said Cosmin was still suffering after the ordeal he suffered at his previous owners' hands.

And he had "a huge scare" this morning, July 16, when Cosmin had to be tracked down after escaping from his back garden.

Chris, who lives with wife Kerry, 25, and five-month-old son Max, said: "When no-one came forward to claim Cosmin, that meant we could keep him and we were absolutely delighted.

"He's improving so much every day, especially with being house-trained - he doesn't have any accidents in the house anymore.

"But he's still timid and cowers when you're standing over him, as if he's scared you'll hit him.

Time Line

Cosmin's story so far

  1. May 17, 2018

    Cosmin was found dumped on the A50 in Shardlow by salon owner Chris Withington. He had pulled over to make a phone call when he saw something moving inside a black bag left by the roadside.

    The 31-year-old was "heartbroken" to find the petrified puppy, whose paws had been tied together and tail hacked off.

  2. Cosmin taken home

    Chris rescued Cosmin from the bin bags and took him home, after having him checked over at the vet.

  3. Scrubbing up

    Pictured is Cosmin being bathed in his new home after the ordeal

  4. Paws under the table

    Cosmin getting settled in

  5. A loving home

    Chris and Cosmin have developed quite a bond

  6. June 28, 2018

    Enjoying England's World Cup clash against Belgium

  7. Worn out

    After the excitement of the football, Cosmin enjoys a hard-earned nap!

  8. July 16, 2018

    Chris had "a huge scare" when Cosmin had to be tracked down after escaping from his back garden. Thankfully, he was found safe and well later that day.

  9. Dream team

    Cosmin and Chris are inseparable.

  10. July 19, 2018

    The news is announced that Cosmin will star in his own documentary telling his story so far.

"When he got out earlier today - through a hole that's no wider than the circumference of a mug - we just feared he may fall into the wrong hands again.

"We were frantically running all over town looking for him and I put a post out on Facebook.

"Luckily someone found him in town and posted his picture, so we had him back in one piece."

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