Chopper the Biker Dog wasn’t always a celebrity. Born in 2009 in Santa Clarita, CA and originally named “Dexter,” the Boston Terrier pup met Mark Shaffer when Mark was mourning the passing of his Boston Terrier, “Bandit.” 

We all know what it’s like to have a “heart dog,” and “Dexter” had big shoes to fill. 

 “Bandit” had taken to Shaffer’s noisy Harley Davidson bike the way other puppies take to chewing on furniture. Together, they did therapy dog work and participated in charity events. Sadly, “Bandit” died of brain cancer in 2008 and left behind an owner so grief stricken, the owner wasn’t sure he could carry on. And then Shaffer found “Dexter,” whom he renamed “Chopper.”

To Shaffer’s credit, he recalls thinking, “I had to accept the fact that if I got another dog, it might not do the things that Bandit did, and I wasn’t going to give him back if he couldn’t do those things.” As it happens,  none of it was a problem for “Chopper.”

A month after he came to his new home, “Chopper” was riding on Mark’s full size Harley Davidson in a custom made saddlebag. “Chopper” took to riding the Harley naturally, and made his first pubic appearance at the 2009 Toys for Tots motorcycle ride. Shortly after, “Chopper” appeared at the annual “Shop with a Cop” event where police organizations come together to take over 250 less fortunate kids children shopping for Christmas gifts.  When he turned a year old, “Chopper” passed his therapy-dog test, and he has been following in “Bandit’s” charitable footsteps ever since. “Chopper” has been involved with the Wounded Warrior Project, various children’s hospitals, participated in events for the Armed Forces, YMCA and “The Nice Guys” organization in the San Diego area. 

You can see a 2014 interview with the then five year old “Chopper” and Mark when they appeared at the 2014 Comic-Con: