This astronaut has the best official portrait we've ever seen

Astronaut Leland Melvin won the internet this week – and increased NASA’s “Awwww!” factor — when this photo surfaced of him and his two dogs, Jake and Scout. Melvin admitted on Twitter that he snuck the dogs into the photo shoot for his “real” official NASA portrait (see below). A look at his Twitter feed shows he obviously loves his dogs, as they dominate the images he shares.

Melvin appeared on the National Geographic Show “Dog Whisperer” and according to a blurb about the show Jake and Scout wandered into Leland’s yard one day. They were on the show to help with Jake, who is very protective of Leland and won’t let anyone approach him.

The Tweet that started it all:

And here’s Melvin’s real official photo that is used on his NASA bio:

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