Mickey Rourke has followed in the footsteps of Pink and Miley Cyrus, adding a large new tattoo to his collection over the weekend in memory of his late dog, Jaws, who passed away last year. The 62-year-old actor and occasional boxer was reportedly heartbroken after losing his beloved pet, a white Chihuahua, and had the dog’s nickname tattooed across his left forearm at a tattoo shop in New York City, on the evening of January 4. The tribute tattoo to poor little Jaws, which took a whopping two hours to complete and cost Rourke $400 plus a generous tip, features the Spanish phrase “Guapo Siempre,” which translates to “handsome forever,” inked in a bold black scrolling font.
A self-professed animal lover, Mickey Rourke was obviously very fond of Jaws, and during a November 2014 trip to Moscow to promote his boxing match against Elliot Seymour, the actor sported a head shot of Jaws on a lanyard around his neck. According to Rourke, his fascination with dogs began after he received one from his second wife Carré Otis, and the actor often credits his dogs as contributing to the career resurgence he experienced after suffering through a series of flops in the 1990s. Rourke’s late Chihuahua, Jaws, even appeared on screen with him in the 2003 film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and during an acceptance speech at the 2009 Golden Globes, the actor thanked his dogs (alive and deceased), saying, “…because sometimes when a man’s alone, that’s all you got is your dog. And they’ve meant the world to me.”
Micky Rourke may be the latest celebrity to go under the needle in honor of a lost pet, but he certainly isn’t the first. Just last July, Miley Cyrus got a tattoo on her left side in honor of her late dog, Floyd, who was killed by a coyote a few months prior. Miley Cyrus’ tattoo features a portrait of the deceased Alaskan Kee Kai and a word bubble that reads “With a little help from my fwends,” which is the title of the 14th studio album by The Flaming Lips, whose frontman, Wayne Coyne, is Miley’s best friend. Pop star Pink also sports several tattoos dedicated to her deceased dogs, including a “Sir Corky Moore” tattoo on the outside of her left forearm, and a portrait of a bulldog and a Bible verse on the inside of the same arm, dedicated to her late bulldog, Elvis.
