MANILA, Philippines – Nine-week-old French bulldog puppy Lentil is melting the hearts of thousands of netizens who have endeared themselves to his story of survival.

Though his vulnerable cuteness can partly account for Lentil Mania, the main reason is that Lentil was born with a cleft palate and deformed nose and lip.

The only surviving puppy among a litter born on February 2, Lentil was taken in by the French Bulldog Rescue Network (FBRN) in Virginia, USA. He was then adopted by Lindsay Condefer, founder of the non-profit Street Tails Animal Rescue.

Viral pup

The 34-year-old foster mother with 12 years of experience in adopting rescued animals lovingly documents Lentil’s fight to stay alive through a blog and a Facebook page.

The “My name is Lentil” Facebook page has garnered 51,598 likes as of writing.

His touching story has been featured in numerous publications including Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and NY Daily News. It has been translated into German, Italian, and even Romanian, according to the FBRN website.

“I have received more support than I can ever in my mind imagine possible. I don’t know how it happened,” Condefer told Today.com.

She constantly receives letters and email from people all over the world rooting for Lentil.

Lentil’s fragile condition makes him increasingly vulnerable to inflammation of lungs and nasal passages which can make breathing difficult, according to Dr. John Lewis, an assistant professor of dentistry and oral surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Veterinary Medicine.

Watch a video of 6-week-old Lentil here:

Puppy love

The task of taking care of Lentil falls on Condefer who devotedly feeds him through a tube 3 hours a day.

Condefer’s March 16 entry in her blog for Lentil reads: “If I do the math, I have now tube fed this baby about 396 times! It’s (sic) been a ton of work, and a massive amount of stress…but I wouldn’t trade it for the world — any of it.”

Condefer knows that Lentil’s popularity has a higher purpose. She said in her March 16 entry that she received emails from mothers whose children have cleft palates. Many of them said they follow Lentil’s story and see the tiny puppy as a source of inspiration.

The foster mother’s latest blog entry when this article was written reported that Lentil is doing well.

When he turned 7 weeks old, he weighed 3 pounds and 5.4 ounces, a long way from his original weight of 5.78 ounces.

Lentil is scheduled for a consultation with Dr John Lewis on April 29.

On that day, thousands of prayers will be said for a tiny puppy who has inspired so many people. – Rappler.com