Heartwarming Tale: Dog’s Unbreakable Bond with Boy Overcoming Cleft Challenge

There’s nothing more precious than the love between a boy and his first pet dog. But one pair of new friends has something extra special in common—and miraculously found each other when they needed it most.

Read more: Incredible Bond: Abused Dog Finds Solace and Comfort in Heartwarming Friendship with a Baby

Bentley Boyers is a 2-year-old from Jackson, Michigan, who was born with a cleft lip—a birth defect involving a split opening in the top lip. While he’s undergone surgeries to fix his lip, his parents say it hasn’t been easy.

“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,” his mother Ashley told WILX.

But last week, something amazing happened: Bentley’s dad Brandon went to a shelter intending to adopt chickens, but instead spotted a two-month-old rescue dog… who happened to also have a cleft palate.

Stunned, he called his wife, and they both agreed they had to have the dog for Bentley.

It’s clear that Bentley is thrilled to have his new puppy. Photos show him happily petting and kissing the dog after meeting her for the first time.

It’s an unlikely miracle: the shelter says they don’t see many dogs with cleft lips, so it’s just a lucky turn of events that they happened to be there at the right time.

They know that Bentley having a dog with a matching birth defect will be great for him. He still has to undergo bone-grafting surgery to fix his lip, but he’ll at least have a dog who understands what he’s going through.

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

Likewise, the puppy will have a caring owner who will love her no matter what she looks like.

“Her disability is not holding her back, and as she grows, they’ll be able to see more if there’s any change that has to do with that. But she’s doing well,” Animal Services Director Lydia Sattler told WILX.

Read more: Laugh out loud: With the cutest animal snaps and cutest ‘sandwiches’ taking the Internet by storm

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

“They instantly loved each other,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “We wish you many years of joy as this special pair grows up together!”