One of the reasons I love the quirky and eccentric Mickey Rourke is because he is a total dog lover, like me.

But sadly, one of Rourke’s longtime companions, a Chihuahua named Loki passed away Monday. She was reported to be 17-years-old. He called Loki the “love of my life” last September.

During his recent Golden Globe’s acceptance speech, the actor thanked his faithful pets saying, “I’d like to thank all my dogs, the ones who are here and the ones who aren’t here anymore. Sometimes, when a man is alone, that’s all you got is your dog. And they’ve meant the world to me.”

Awwwhhh! I just think that is the sweetest thing ever.

Rourke spoke with Barbara Walters recently and explained his love of animals. He said, “I sort of self-destructed and everything came out about 14 years ago or so…the wife had left, the career was over, the money was not an ounce. The dogs were there when no one else was there.”

[E!]

[Photograph: Max Butterworth, Bret Thompsett © PacificCoastNews.com]