Dogs come in all shapes and sizes, but it's safe to say there aren't many smaller than Minnie Mae.

The month-old Truro, N.S. canine weighs less than 200 grams and fits in the palm of her owner's hand.

"(Minnie) seemed to be the runt of the litter but we didn't realize how small she was going to be," says Dana Calder, Minnie's owner.

Minnie weighed 90 grams when she was born. Her mom is a toy poodle named Princess and her dad is Coady, a golden Pomeranian.

Unable to nurse from her mother, Calder tried feeding formula to the little dog using a tube and a syringe.

A national dog food company heard about Minnie and agreed to provide a new bottle formula for small newborn pups.

"She's been thriving on it. They call every second day to check on her," Calder tells CTV News. "They've put her on their Facebook page and even made a button for her that says ‘Support Minnie Mae'."

Minnie was significantly smaller than the other puppies in her litter.

Calder has been told from day one that Minnie might not survive, but she says the pup is a real fighter and continues to see weight gain on a daily basis.

"She's a living being. If this was our child, if they said our child was sick, we wouldn't just give up on her. She deserves a chance just like everybody else."

Minnie Mae's next vet appointment is in two weeks , for needles and to check on an eye infection.

Given that her weight has doubled over the last two weeks, Calder is hoping the prognosis will be positive.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh