Fans are mourning the internet’s favorite therapy dog, Norbert.
Norbert’s mom, Julie Steines, posted on Instagram sharing that the beloved pup passed away “peacefully” on Sunday night.
“It is with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that Saint Norbert Liv Freyermuth Steines passed away peacefully wrapped in the warmth of my arms last night,” she shared on Norbert’s account Monday.
In previous posts, she shared that Norbert was “unexpectedly hospitalized” earlier in the week for high kidney markers.
“My family is heartbroken. It was the honor of a lifetime to be entrusted to oversee his time here on earth,” Steines added.
Steines adopted the “unique mixed-breed adopted dog” in 2009 when he was four months old, and by the time he was one, she had trained him herself to be a certified therapy dog.
For 13 years, the furry friend worked to make people smile, including patients at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where he was declared the tiniest therapy dog out of the more than 100 in the Amerman Family Foundation Dog Therapy Program.
But Norbert’s audience reached beyond his in-person visits. His social media presence gave him an international fanbase, with 820,000 followers on Instagram and appearances on shows such as Today and Good Morning America.
The four-legged pal was also featured in multiple children’s books and on the covers of multiple magazines, including Animal Wellness Magazine, Groomer to Groomer and FIDO Friendly.
Steines and Norbert also created a “huggable” plush version of the therapy dog, and the pair donated over 4,500 of the toys to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and other charitable causes that donated to children in need, according to his website.
“Adopting him forever changed my life for the better in unimaginable ways,” Steines wrote in her tribute. “At only 3 pounds, he showed us all the importance of making others smile. He lived his belief that you don’t have to be big to make a BIG difference in the world.”
“I know two things for sure: Norbert made this world a better place, and his spirit will live on through our smiles in his community, the Norberthood.”
