OURAY — If you need a story that'll having you smiling, laughing, and probably crying all in the span of a minute or so, you should probably focus in on Dexter the dog; a Colorado canine who is navigating life's challenges on his back two legs.
It's an uncommon enough sight, that back in 2020 a video of the dexterous dog went viral; folks from all over taking notice of his peculiar walking style. Overtime his audience, across multiple platforms, surpassed 100-thousand; everyone looking forward to seeing this happy pup living his best life on his hind legs.
Dexter is a seven-year-old Brittany Spaniel who lives with Kentee Pasek and her family out in Ouray, and his story starts back in 2016 when Dexter escaped the yard and ended up running into traffic.
What followed was a tragic accident involving a van that resulted in the loss of one front leg and the crippling of the other.
"So Dexter's front legs ended up getting caught under the wheel," recalled Kentee.
Kentee and her husband arrived in time to rush Dexter to the hospital to get the treatment he needed; following the accident, the road to recovery was long, filled with surgeries, and struggles.
"It took a year to get the cone of shame off, it took another bit to get the energy and tenacity up for him. So this hasn't been an overnight process, it's been a lifestyle change."
However, it's been a lifestyle change that pushed Dexter to adapt in the most interesting way, the capable canine teaching itself to walk upright on his hind legs.
It was a change that was shocking (and eventually delightful) to Kentee and her family, who had already purchased a wheelchair for Dexter.
"Yeah, so we had the custom-made wheelchair for maybe about two months, strengthening that front leg, which is so good for but now we don't use a wheelchair, he just walks upright."
As Dexter continued to recover, and grow more comfortable on his back legs, people began to take notice. Eventually, in 2020 like we mentioned above, one spectator caught the dog on video, shared it with the world, and turned one family's dog into a national sensation.
"As much as Dexter is becoming this well-known dog, celebrity dog, influencer dog, I think we have to remember that he's our family dog," commented Kentee.
And he's a family dog that really lights up his people's world.
"You've got to understand that this dog will greet every single person that walks down the stairs in the morning with a stand up, walk towards them hug; and that look, the look you see on his face is of pure joy."
Returning to this pup's rise to fame, it's a phenomenon that Kentee attributes to its timing.
"I just don't think that this would've gone so hard so fast if all of us hadn't been trying to adjust to a new normal, and Dexter proves that anything is possible."
Kentee, like many people during 2020 had been furloughed and took the time to dive into being a social media manager, a hobby that she has since turned into a full job, for her smiling companion, sharing his story with anyone and everyone.
"My hope is to not only give Dexter his best life, but to be able to help others find their best life regardless of what that looks like."
If you would like to follow this fascinating dog's story and see more of his smiling face on a regular basis, you can head on over to his INSTAGRAM.
