Dog photos make teen Web icon

Leukemia patient achieves Internet stardom after request for images to raise his spirits

What started out as a simple Facebook request for photos of dogs for a 16-year-old leukemia patient 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 event page the week before Christmas to re-create the experience online. The request, "Photo Doggies for Anthony", resulted in thousands of pooch pictures and cheered up Anthony, but it has also evoked gifts and gestures in the real world.