We Love Astronaut Leland Melvin's Official NASA Portrait

By Nancy Atkinson - February 3, 2015 at 2:29 PM UTC | Space Exploration

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:

This is an official portrait for astronaut Leland Melvin. Also, his handle is . I'm in awe. — Adam Aton (@AdamAton)

And here's Melvin's real official photo that is used on his

NASA bio:

[caption id="attachment_118731" align="aligncenter" width="512"]

Astronaut Leland D. Melvin, mission specialist for the STS-129 space shuttle mission. Credit: NASA.[/caption]