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The internet went crazy for this photo of the 'ebola puppy'. Only problem? It's fake

Will the real ebola puppy please stand up?

YESTERDAY, THE INTERNET found itself totally overwhelmed by cuteness when The Daily Mail included the following two images in a report on Bentley, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel belonging to a Dallas nurse diagnosed with ebola.

As you can see, they are painfully adorable.

ebolapuppy © Pinterest / Nina Pham © Pinterest / Nina Pham / Nina Pham

dog2 © Pinterest / Nina Pham © Pinterest / Nina Pham / Nina Pham

The images were credited to a Pinterest account belonging to Nina Pham, the Dallas nurse at the centre of this story, and subsequently shared widely on Twitter and used by other news outlets including The New York Post.

This prompted an outpouring of love for the ‘ebola puppy’.

Only problem? It’s not the real ebola puppy.

According to The Daily Dot, a reverse image search revealed that the photos are not of Bentley. They’re not even of the same dog. (One of the images reportedly appeared on Reddit last week.) They just happen to be the same breed as the real-life Bentley.

Both The Daily Mail and New York Post have since removed the images in question from their stories, but have yet to comment on why they were included in the first place.

For the record, here is the real Bentley.

Bentley was removed from his owner’s apartment from Monday and is currently being kept in quarantine.

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Author
Amy O'Connor
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