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Published September 02, 2012, 12:00 AM

Photo Gallery: John Unger and his dog Schoep


John Unger, gives his best buddy Schoep, a 19-year-old German shepherd mix, a big hug. Unger lives in Bayfield and works as a caretaker at a fruit farm. The photo of him and Schoep swimming in Lake Superior went viral and caused an Internet sensation. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com

  • John Unger, gives his best buddy Schoep, a 19-year-old German shepherd mix, a big hug. Unger lives in Bayfield and works as a caretaker at a fruit farm. The photo of him and Schoep swimming in Lake Superior went viral and caused an Internet sensation. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • 19-year-old Schoep, a German shepherd mix, has lost most of his sight - he sees only moving shadows - but still can sniff with the best of them. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • Schoep tentatively eats food from a special elevated food bowl sent as a gift by someone touched by the Facebook photo of John Ungar and the dog. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • John Unger of Bayfield talks about how the photo of him and his 19-year-old dog Schoep in Lake Superior has turned his life upside down and resulted in donations of money for Schoep's long-term treatment. Both are laying on a Tempurpedic bed for Schoep donated by an individual touched by the photo. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • John Unger carries Schoep down the steps of his house and into the yard Thursday. While Schoep can has much more stamina than he used to thanks to additional vet care funded by donations, he can't walk down stairs because of an arthritic leg. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • Jim Unger talks with Schoep during their walk in Unger's yard. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • John Unger, who is a caretaker at a fruit-farm in Bayfield, serves as a scratching post for Hoffman, the donkey at left. Meanwhile, Schoep gets his itches taken care of by rubbing against Abbie's leg. Unger also takes care of the animals at the farm. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • John Unger of Bayfield takes his 19-year-old dog Schoep for a walk down along the town's pier Thursday afternoon. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • Teresa Polaski of Bayfield stops her car on the street while pulling into a parking lot in Bayfield to check in on how Schoep's doing. John Unger holds the dog up so she can give him a scratch under the chin. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • Mark Sawyer and Don Boyers, both of Duluth (left) and Rick Heine of Cloquet, recognized John Unger and Schoep and stopped to talk and pet the dog while Unger was walking along Rittenhouse Avenue in Bayfield in 2012. (Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com)
  • Since his photo appeared online and went viral, John Unger (center) and his dog Schoep, are often met by strangers who know his story. Here he stops to talk with a small group that assembled on the sidewalk on Rittenhouse Avenue in Bayfield, including Stacy Weber (left) of Madison and her dog Jack. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • Terry Murphy of Apostle Islands Realty steps outside her office to see how Schoep's doing as John Unger and the dog take a walk along one of Bayfield's main streets Thursday afternoon. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • After a walk around town, John Unger stops to give Schoep a drink from a hose set up at a municipal fountain in Bayfield. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com
  • John Unger takes Schoep for a walk around his rural home in Bayfield Thursday afternoon. Photo by Bob King / rking@duluthnews.com