John Bishop mourns death of beloved pet dog aged 15

John Bishop has paid tribute to his beloved "friend" Bilko, his family pet dog who has died aged 15.

The 54-year-old comedian and new Doctor Who cast member said he spent the last day of the English bull terrier's life watching football with him on the sofa and sitting in his garden, admitting he will "miss him massively."

Bishop shared a picture on Instagram of himself cradling Bilko in his arms, captioned: "God I loved him ... thank you all from all the family for your kind messages. We will all miss him."

Sharing videos and photos of his beloved pet on his Instagram stories he revealed: "His last afternoon was spent sitting on the couch watching the football then I carried him into the garden and we just sat together. He was some friend."

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The former footballer - who has three son with wife Melanie - revealed the family had adopted Bilko as a rescue dog when he was just one-year-old.

He tweeted: "We were lucky enough to have Bilko with us for almost 14 years . A beautiful soul and I will miss him massively. He saw our children grow from boys to men and was ready to give us all love. Take a chance on a rescue dog and you could be lucky enough to find a best friend too."

Bishop had previously revealed that Bilko's legs had started to fail him old age, and that he had lost his hearing.

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In a video previously share don social media he said: "This is my best mate Bilko.

"He is 15 years old and has had a great life since we got him from a dogs home but it breaks my heart to see his legs failing on his walks.

"But when he sleeps he still runs in his dreams . Sometimes we should all dream like dogs."

Bishop has another English bull terrier called Tigger and a small dog named Alfie which he describes as of "indeterminate breed".

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The stand-up comedian has previously announced he is going on tour in September this year.

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