The man pictured lulling his arthritic dog to sleep in Lake Superior has revealed that his dog Schoep saved him from the brink of suicide. continue below...
John Unger, 49, adopted the dog with his ex-fiancée 19 years ago, but after the relationship ended, Mr Unger fought a desperate despair.
The companionship of his trusty rescue dog gave Mr Unger the courage to go on, saying : 'I don’t think I’d be here if I didn’t have Schoep with me. I just want to do whatever I can for this dog.'
The water soothes the animal's pain, Mr Unger said, allowing him to sleep. Mr Unger's good friend Hannah Stonehouse Hudson, who is a professional photographer, captured the heartbreaking moment between the man and his aging rescue dog in Wisconsin when Mr Unger thought his best friend was at the end of his life.
But thanks to the generosity of strangers, the MailOnline can reveal that thousands of dollars have been donated to Schoep's medical care, allowing the pair more time together than they ever imagined.
‘Schoep falls asleep every night when he is carried into the lake. The buoyancy of the water soothes his arthritic bones. Lake Superior is very warm right now, so the temp of the water is perfect,' the photographer explained.
The story behind the special relationship behind this man, who works as a caretaker on a farm
outside of Bayfield, and his dog is just as touching as the moment on the Lake.
Mr Unger, 49, adopted Schoep, who is named after a famous brand of Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy and it was love at first sight.
He and his ex-fiancée had been searching for a rescue dog for a year, going to dozens of humane societies.
'We wanted every single dog,' Mr Unger said to the MailOnline. 'We just hadn't found the right one.
His then-fiancée they spotted the pup at the Ozaukee Animal Shelter 19 years ago.
'We fell in love with her immediately,' Mr Unger told the MailOnline. Schoep was in a cage with another dog, possibly his mother, crouched in the back quietly staring at the corner with his back to Mr Unger.
'I knew - that's him,' Mr Unger said.
Source Dailymail.
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