Dexter the dog is a huge star on TikTok and Instagram and is loved in Ouray, Colorado today. But in 2016, he was hit by a truck, which meant he had to learn to walk on his hind legs.
The 11-year-old Brittany spaniel is hugely popular due to his ability to walk on his hind legs. “Everyone in town knows him,” Dexter’s owner, Kentee Pasek, said. “In fact, they know him now more than they know us.”
The dog boasts nearly 344K followers on Instagram and over 1.3M followers on TikTok as of today. Both accounts are run by Pasek.
Dexter’s journey to fame is a heartbreaking one.
In 2016, at just a year old, he escaped from his Ouray home while sniffing for nearby deer and darted out into the road, only to be struck by a truck that severed both his front legs.
“We didn’t think he’d make it,” said Pasek, who had already said goodbye to two dogs in just two years before Dexter’s accident. “I couldn’t put him down without giving him a chance,” she added. “I just couldn’t.”
Dexter’s veterinarian believed in his ability to survive after the accident, so only one of the pup’s front legs was amputated, and the other had pins surgically inserted to stabilize it.
After more surgeries and rehabilitation work, Dexter started learning how to walk on his hind legs comfortably. Soon, he was walking on his back legs all the time.
@dexterdogouray run to hugs #funnydogvideo #humor #funnydogsoftiktok #dexterdogouray
One day, when Dexter was out for a walk with Pasek’s mother, a passerby recorded Dexter’s unique strut and posted the video to TikTok. The clip went viral, and Dexter became an internet star. He has been featured in numerous media outlets and appeared in a clip on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“His attitude has always been ‘Hey, everything’s great!’ and I’m like, if you think everything’s great, we’re going to be able to pull out of this as a world,” Pasek said of Dexter.
