Best friends for life: Heart-melting picture of man easing the pain of his dying arthritic dog 19-years after saving him as a puppy

The lengths that one Wisconsin man will go for his dog has left viewers in awe, saying his dedication to his four-legged pal shows the true meaning of friendship. 

A photo originally posted on Facebook showing John Unger soothing his 19-year-old dog to sleep in a lake has spread their story far past the water's edge. 

Mr Unger's good friend Hannah stonehouse Hudson, who is a professional photographer, captured the moment between the man and his aging rescue dog. 

True love: John Unger, 49, lulls his 19-year-old dog Schroep to sleep because it helps ease the dog's arthritis

Mr Unger adopted Schoep, who is named after a famous brand of Wisconsin ice cream, when he was just a puppy, and now that the dog has developed arthritis, he has trouble getting to sleep. 

‘Shep 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 wrote on the Facebook post. 

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.