WINNIPEG -- Rusty, the therapy dog that graced the halls of St. Boniface Hospital has passed away.

In a Facebook post on Rusty's page, it said he had inoperable mouth cancer and it had suddenly spread to his front leg and lungs on Tuesday.

The post said Rusty passed a day after his birthday.

Rusty was well known for not only cheering people up while at the hospital but for always wearing a pair of glasses.

People have taken to sharing their sadness and stories about Rusty online saying he helped so many and he always brightened people's days when they arrived at the hospital.

'Turned out to be pretty special'

Rusty's owner, George Ames, said it was tough to see Rusty go but he knew the cancer was too much for him.

"He had no hope, the vet was very clear on that," said Ames. "But looking him in the eye and watching the vet put him to sleep, that’s tough."

Ames said he and his wife adopted Rusty 15 years ago and considered themselves very lucky that they got to keep him until his 17th birthday.

"He turned out to be pretty special."

Ames noted Rusty was a very calm dog and that’s where pet therapy started.

"I think it probably all started visiting a friend's father in a nursing home, and then that graduated to a couple of other nursing homes and then we started the hospital visits in a few different places and ended up doing over 10 years at St. Boniface Hospital."

When asked about where the iconic glasses came from, Ames said it just kind of happened -- a friend of his brought some to the hospital one day and said Rusty would look good with them, and once they put them on he didn't mind keeping them on.

Ames said he appreciates everyone who has reached out and shared their stories about Rusty and he considers himself lucky that he owned a dog that brought so much joy to people who were struggling finding happiness in the hospital.

Rusty logged more than 2,000 hours of pet therapy duties until he retired last November.

The Facebook post said Rusty wants to leave a legacy to inspire more people and their dogs to get involved in pet therapy volunteering and he wants people to always smile at others.