Gerard Butler adopts a stray dog that 'stole his heart'

Gerard Butler has adopted a new dog, after falling in love with the stray while filming in Bulgaria.

The 48-year-old shared a picture of himself and the new addition to his family on Instagram on Wednesday (22Nov17), with the pair cuddling up on a sofa in the snap.

In the caption, the 300 actor detailed how he'd come across the pooch, writing: "Thankful for a new wee doggie in my life... She was a stray while I was filming up a mountain in Bulgaria. Stole my heart."

Gerard has yet to reveal a name for his new pet, or what breed she is.

It's not the first time the Scottish star has taken in an animal. He previously had a pug called Lolita, although he hasn't been pictured with the canine since 2015.

Speaking previously about his relationship with Lolita, Gerard told U.S. chat show host Seth Meyers he hadn't taken into account how funny it would look when he, a 6ft 2in actor, took his tiny dog out for a walk.

"She's a little pug and she's beautiful," Gerard gushed during a 2014 interview. "It's weird because I never thought about (how small she was) when I got it, and I fell in love with it and basically adopted it.

"But then suddenly when I saw the first paparazzi photos...and she barely comes up to my ankle and it's like, 'What are we doing together?'"

Gerard has never made a secret of his love of dogs, and shared a picture of himself cosying up to another pooch on his Instagram page back in July, captioning it "Snuggle time".