Most surprised was the dog’s owner, Winona resident Diane Kennedy.

Kennedy takes her now-famous yellow Lab, Tilly, with her to the post office every day, usually followed by a trip to the bank, where Tilly gets a treat. They take the trip all seasons, warm and cold.

“She loves the cold, loves the snow,” she said. “She’s very disappointed if she doesn’t go with me.”

Kennedy left Tilly outside Monday while she completed her errands as usual, and never saw the man holding her dog. When she came outside, she found him standing next to Tilly and petting her.

“She’s really friendly,” she said. “People come up and pet her a lot.”

Since Kennedy does not have a Facebook page, she only found out about the photo later, when her daughter stumbled across the picture on social media.

As for the comments, Kennedy’s family has instructed her not to read them.

Temperatures Monday were well below average, but Tilly wasn’t in any real danger, said Suzie Ehll at Winona’s Pet Medical Center, in part because dogs have a much higher tolerance to cold than humans do.

“Twenty minutes really isn’t that much for a dog,” she said.