A nine-year-old is having a viral moment thanks to his hilarious school picture. Jake Arsenault made the unusual choice to wear a hot dog costume on picture day, and the result was LOL-worthy.
On Thursday, Jake’s dad, Craig Arsenault, posted a photo of Jake’s Biddeford Intermediate School ID card on Facebook. It has since been shared more than 30,000 times.
“My wife and I dared our son to wear a hotdog costume for school pictures. The school let him do it, and I couldn’t be happier,” he wrote.
Craig told HuffPost how his son’s amazing school photo came to be.
“Jake was wondering what he should wear for school pictures, and we had this costume laying around from two years ago when he wore it for Halloween. My wife Kari just blurted out that he should wear it,” he recalled. “Jake didn’t want to at first, so I told him I’d give him 10 bucks to do it, as it would be hysterical.”
Though the picture day outfit was ultimately Jake’s call, Craig and Kari wrote a permission slip for the school “just in case” he wanted to wear the hot dog costume. When the day arrived, the fourth grader opted to take up his parents on their dare.
“I’m not too surprised he went through with it, as Jake is a fun-loving, outgoing kid, and is usually the funnier out of the three of our kids,” said Craig.
When the dad saw his son’s school ID photo, he burst out laughing and decided to share it on the “professional account” he uses as a U.S. Army recruiter.
“In between posts about the military or Army stuff, I do the odd personal post just so that people know I’m a real person, you know?” he explained, adding that he figured the photo might get a handful of laughing reactions at most.
Needless to say, the viral response has been overwhelming for Craig, but in a good way. “I’m incredulous as to how far and fast this has gone. Never in a million years did I think this would ever happen,” he said.
Although the reactions have mostly been positive, he said has gotten a bit of negative feedback as well.
“There is a small minority getting all worked up about ‘all his info’ being online ― to which I can only say that ‘stranger danger’ as people perceive it does not exist, and to stop living in fear,” said Craig.
Ultimately, the dad is grateful his son’s school picture could make people around the world smile and laugh.
“The news doesn’t always have to be huge, life-changing issues,” he said. “I hope people can stop and appreciate the small things that bring them joy.”