GARWOOD — For every holiday, change of season, big game and community event, Dyno the Junkyard Dog at Pegasus Auto Recycling in Garwood was always camera-ready.

"He looked forward to his photo shoots. He knew that it was photo shoot day, every time," Susan Paré, daughter of Pegasus owner L.T. Jones, said Monday afternoon. "He was the most smiley dog I've ever known."

Those canine smiles brought joy to the world every week when Pegasus ads, featuring Dyno, ran in the classified section of The Press.

"There are some nursing homes in town that said he was the highlight of their week," Jones said. "One girl called and said even the blind people want to know what Dyno's doing."

Beginning early in 2013, Paré created a series of Dyno ads and the reception was great. Artists would come by with drawings of him and people would venture to Pegasus to see the famous canine. Just last year, more than 40 people showed up to his birthday party.

"It was sort of a phenomenon that took off," she said. "We were amazed at the community support."

The much-loved tundra wolf-malamute hybrid has completed his earthly duties. Dyno, 12 1/2, died June 13. The family wasn’t prepared to announce Dyno’s passing until now.

"He was running around the yard like he always does and then he came in and looked at me all crooked, went and laid down and that was it," Jones said. "I think he had a stroke."

After Dyno had trouble walking and a loss of appetite, the family knew it was time to take the old dog in and send him on his way to that great junkyard in the sky.

"He couldn't walk anymore and he stopped eating," Paré said. "We suspected he had a tumor inside of his spine. The bottom line was he couldn't get up."

Dyno was much more than a pretty face and poster canine. He was Jones' best pal.

"When we first got him, he was 6 pounds," Jones said. "A little fluff ball."

Jones' canine companion grew to a 100-pound fluff ball everyone knew. They went everywhere together.

"He was with me 24 hours a day," Jones said.

Dyno was also the official mascot and greeter at Pegasus, welcoming all who stopped by.

"He loved everybody. Little babies, he'd lick them on their faces; they'd think that was cool," Jones said. "He definitely was a character. He thought it was his job to let people pet him, that he was doing them a favor when they got to pet him. I'm definitely going to miss him."

Paré said Dyno loved the limelight, stealing the show when he led the Christmas parade in downtown Coeur d'Alene.

"He thought it was his parade," she said. "He was in the very front. He had this trot that he was doing and all the people were yelling 'Dyno!' and he just worked it like a diva. Every parade was Dyno's parade. He thought they were all for him."

Although no one can replace Dyno, two junkyard dog "interns" — Irish wolfhound Brenna and Dyno's biological nephew, Caymus — will be appearing in the ads and greeting Pegasus customers in the same friendly tradition as their predecessor.

"They're not as professional as Dyno, so they have some mighty big paws to fill," Paré said.

And never-before-seen photos of the great white Junkyard Dog will be published with the ads from time to time, she said.

"Dyno lived to make people happy," Paré said. "You could see the joy that he had in his eyes when he made others happy. He just sort of rose to the spotlight.

"It was fun and a privilege to be Dyno's sister and public relations person."