Schoep, the dog who was featured in a viral Internet photo going for a swim with its owner, died at the age of 20, it was reported.
The dog and his owner, John Unger, were photographed last year in the waters of Lake Superior in Minnesota.
“I breathe but I can’t catch my breath … Schoep passed yesterday, more information in the days ahead,” reads a message on the dog and Unger’s Facebook page.
The dog swam in the lake on a regular basis to deal with its arthritis, according to TwinCities.com. After the photo was published, people from all over the world wanted to give money to help pay for the dog’s treatment.
The Facebook’s status was “liked” more than 38,000 times as of Friday. “My heart goes out to you in your time of sadness,” reads a comment from one person.