Photo Credit: Melissa Hovanes

Sadly, this is not an April Fool's Day joke. Well-known Athens dog Cheeseburger has passed away at around the age of 15.

Covenant Presbyterian Church on Barnett Shoals Road, where owner Johnny Veasey attends and Cheeseburger is buried, will hold a service for the dog at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Cheeseburger and Veasey were featured in the Aug. 29, 2012 issue of Flagpole.

FP: And you’ve had Cheeseburger 11 years?

JV: Over 11 years. He was about as big as this [paper coffee] cup when I got him. He’s been with me ever since. Oh, he’s been to jail in like four or five different states. And if you go to jail, you better have somebody to get your dog because they will euthanize your dog after about three to 10 days.

FP: It seems like you know a lot of people around here.

JV: I know people, and they know me and Cheeseburger. People say that Cheeseburger’s the most famous dog in Athens after the bulldog.

Grady Newswatch also did a story on Johnny and Cheeseburger in 2013.