Los Angeles  - Oscar contender Mickey Rourke forgot about the impending awards show after one of his beloved chihuahuas, Loki, died at the age of 18, E! Online reported.

Loki was the leader of Rourke's pack of miniature dogs, and his death Monday came days after Rourke, 56, credited Loki and his other dogs with saving his life by providing companionship when he considered suicide during a protracted lull in his career.

"I sort of self-destructed, and everything came out about 14 years ago or so," Rourke, 56, told US interviewer Barbara Walters ahead of the Oscars Sunday night. "... The wife had left, the career was over, the money was not an ounce. The dogs were there when no one else was there."

Rourke is nominated for best actor for his role as a washed-up fighter in the movie The Wrestler, and excerpts from the interview in which Rourke described suicidal thoughts when he was down and out as an actor were released by People magazine.

"I think I hadn't left the house for four or five months, and I was sitting in the closet, sleeping in the closet for some reason, and I was in a bad place, and I just remember I was thinking, 'Oh, man, if I do this...'" he told Walters.

"And then I looked at my dog, Lowjack, and he made a sound, like a little almost human sound. I don't have kids, the dogs became everything to me. The dog was looking at me going, 'Who's going to take care of me?' (dpa)