Actor Mickey Rourke has credited his five dogs for getting him through the dark periods of his life.
The 57-year-old actor had a high-flying acting career during the 80s but then turned down lead roles and ended up losing credibility when he made a number of bad movie choices.
He said: “My dogs really helped me get through the dark times. I lost everything at the same time – my wife, my career, my house, my credibility – and all I had left was the dogs plus just two or three people who stuck with me.
“I was living under the mat – being known and then being known for being out of work, for having fallen from grace.
“You go and buy a pack of smokes and people say: ‘Hey, didn’t you used to be that actor?’ So it was a very shameful place, and the dogs [he has had eight chihuahuas] were my friends.
“A lot of people you meet out there turn their backs on you once you’re down, but the dogs don’t. The one dog I loved, Loki, died last year, and she is deeply missed but with me in spirit.”
