A dad who was not too keen on getting his kids another puppy after they lost a dog to cancer challenged his kids: Get 1 million likes, you'll get a puppy. They did it in only seven hours.

1 Million 'Likes' in 7 Hours for Two Girls and a Puppy (Image: Facebook)

The father-of-five had set up a Facebook page for the kids for his challenge. "We're two sisters who want a puppy!" The account succinctly says on its "About" page. The two girls are two-fifths of the children in an adorable and clever photo posted by the kids. The phenomenon was chronicled on this blog by Chris Breikks.

"Yesterday afternoon an east coast American family had a conversation about getting a family dog and in the end, a father challenged two daughters (out of 5 kids!), that if they could get 1 million likes on Facebook, that they would get a puppy. In 7 hours, they reached their goal," writes Breikks.

"For those that are curious if we make it our new puppy will be a rescue either from a local shelter or a local rescue organization," the 'Two Girls' Facebook page states, answering queries by posters about the kind of dog they will get.

The dad has been evidently amused by the turn of events. Hours before his kids' Facebook page had accomplished its mission, the dad posted:

"This page started as a random idea during a conversation with the girls this afternoon. I honestly didn't think it would explode like this, but it's been fun to watch. The girls are asleep right now (it's late on the east coast of the US), but will no doubt be thrilled to see what happened on the page overnight. With so many folks visiting, this may be a futile appeal: but these are real kids and they will want to read your comments and see who posted on the wall overnight. Please keep the language civil."

The kids were amazed by how a plea can go viral on the internet. They have also unwittingly demonstrated how an appeal can go viral in less than 12 hours: Be adorable, be cute and make a clear call to action.

"In our original post we had a link for donations, but that was partly because mom and dad didn't think anyone other than close friends and family would actually see this page! We removed that link when we saw how many people were coming to this page. We don't want to ask strangers for money, only likes. Thanks for your likes!"

"Good Morning America" reported a story on the overnight internet sensation Wednesday.

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