Dogs saved Mickey Rourke during bad times

London: Dog is considered man`s best friend and for American actor Mickey Rourke the saying turned out to be true as his dogs helped him sail through the tough times in life. The 57-year-old actor, who thought his career was over before starring in the Oscar-nominated `The Wrestler`, says the only people he could rely on were his beloved pooches, Live magazine reported.

"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," Rourke said. The actor was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar at this year`s Academy Awards for his role in `The Wrestler`, which relaunched his career in Hollywood. "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 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," Rourke said. The actor, who had gained a `sex-symbol` status in the mid-1980s thanks to her critically acclaimed roles in movies like `9½ Weeks`, `Barfly`, `Year of the Dragon` and `Angel Heart`, before leaving the industry for professional boxing in 1991. Bureau Report