What started out as a simple Facebook request for photos of dogs for a 16-year-old cancer patient in the US has since turned the pet-loving boy into an internet celebrity.
Anthony Lyons' love for the therapy dogs that greet him during his treatments for leukemia led a family acquaintance to put up a Facebook page the week before Christmas to re-create the experience online.
Hi this is our dog Elsa all the way from Cuba, New Mexico....she is playing with her Santa Claus toy hope you enjoy Image
"Photo Doggies for Anthony" has resulted in thousands of pictures of pooches online and even some gifts and offers offline.
Businesses have approached Anthony's mother, Kristen Lyons, about capitalising on the attention.
But the single mother from Arizona says nobody will benefit from the page other than feeling happy at seeing the more than 500,000 photos.
Zeus, the Akita & Chewy, the shih-tzu from Indiana
Anthony says the photos are reassuring, and he is trying to look at all of them.
Anthony was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in July. He has been undergoing chemotherapy at Phoenix Children's Hospital but has a good prognosis, his mother said.
Anthony said the photos that people have posted have helped him feel better. Pet owners have also shared pictures of cats and pot-belly pigs.
Hi Anthony! This is Lambeau! He's a lab beagle mix who's always trying to make new friends! He always knows when someone is a little down and needs a snuggle! I hope he brightens your day like he always does to mine!
The teenager said he can easily pass half a day just scrolling through the pictures. Sometimes he'll even choose picture-gazing over playing Xbox. He has been trying to go through the more than 500,000 images and is apologetic that he can't "like" and comment on all of them.
"If I see your dog, it's appreciated," he said. "I'm still trying to go through all of them. You have to realise, there's so many people posting."
Anthony wants the page to keep going so that it can help other people in similar situations.
"If it's just somebody else having a bad day, go through the page," he said. "You can see all these dogs and these hilarious pictures."
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