VIDEO — Boy with Cleft Lip Adopts Dog with Same Condition: ‘This Is My Puppy’

A two-year-old born with a cleft lip and a puppy with the same birth defect became the best of friends Thursday in Jackson, Michigan.

Bentley Boyers’ dad, Brandon, went to the Jackson County Animal Shelter looking to adopt chickens, but a very special black and white puppy caught his eye instead, according to KOLO.

“He Facetimed me. He goes, ‘I think this one has a cleft lip,’ and I said, ‘Get her! We need her!'” Bentley’s mom, Ashley, recalled.

Once they introduced their son to the dog, the rest was history.

“To see him have something in common with a puppy means a lot, because he can grow up and understand that him and his puppy both have something that they can share in common,” Ashley said.

The shelter posted photos of Bentley hugging his adopted pup on Thursday and said it was hard for their staff to put into words how much the moment meant to them:

When her son was born, Ashley said it was tough during mealtimes at first due to his condition.

“We had to sit him up and feed him and hold his lip together in order for him to eat, so it was a process,” she noted.

However, Bentley has since had two surgeries and his mom said she believes the puppy will help him know that having a cleft lip did not make him different from anyone else.

“She might look a little different than a normal dog would, but it’s not slowing her down at all,” Animal Services Director Lydia Sattler commented.

Facebook users expressed their joy at seeing the boy and his dog together.

“True support dog,” one person wrote, adding, “They will support each other.”

“This is what Love looks like. The sweetest kind of love,” another commented.

Bentley will undergo a bone grafting surgery when he is older, but now, his best friend will be by his side along with his parents.

“This is my puppy,” the two-year-old said Thursday while holding her close.