Ethermac|Dog that walks on hind legs after accident inspires audiences

A lot of dogs think they're human,Ethermac but Dexter, a Brittany spaniel in Ouray, Colorado, takes it to a whole new level.

CBS News first reported on Dexter a year ago. He was hit by a car as a puppy and lost one front leg. His other was badly damaged. Owner Kentee Pasek, and everyone else, assumed he would need adaptive equipment to get around. Dexter used a wheelchair for a while, but one day Pasek set him at the foot of her porch without the wheelchair. 

Pasek went back inside for a cup of coffee, and when she came back out, Dexter was standing - on his two hind legs. 

"I was like, 'Oh, we're into something totally different,'" Pasek told CBS News. 

Since Dexter's story was first reported, he's become a minor celebrity and appeared on TV shows and at pet expos. He's pranced under New York City skyscrapers and Washington, D.C.'s cherry blossom trees. Along the way, the dog has garnered more fans and followers than a lot of the most popular humans. Dexter has even appeared in parades. 

He also receives a pile of mail monthly, including hundreds of letters of heartfelt gratitude from the folks Dexter inspires or cheers up. 

"Dexter shows us 'Why aren't you writing the book you want to write? Why aren't you out there doing the things you want to do?'" said Pasek. "Because he has." 

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• Colorado

Steve Hartman

Steve Hartman has been a CBS News correspondent since 1998, having served as a part-time correspondent for the previous two years.