Yup, This 9-Year-Old Boy Took His School Pictures Dressed as a Hot Dog, Mustard and All

While most kids wear their favorite shirt on school picture day, 9-year-old Jake Arsenault from Scarborough, ME, decided to go all out and dress up in a realistic hot dog cosume! That is, after his parents dared him to do it. "It was actually my wife's idea," Craig Arsenault, Jake's father, told POPSUGAR via email. "He was walking around his room wondering what to wear for school pictures. My wife Kari just blurted out, 'You should wear the hot dog costume!'" Jake — a fourth grader at Biddeford Intermediate School — was hesitant at first, but Craig quickly sweetened the deal by betting his son $10 if he went through with it.

"We had the hotdog costume laying around from two years ago, when he wore it last," Craig added. "He actually is not a fan of hot dogs." After writing a permission slip to reassure Jake's teachers that they supported his decision to go to school dressed as a hot dog (mustard, relish, and all), Craig and Kari were thrilled to hear that everything had gone according to plan — the photo is even on Jake's official school ID card now!

"He said they let him do it, and kids were talking about it in the hallway, which was very exciting to Jake," Craig said. "From what we've gathered the teachers thought it was hilarious." Craig shared the photo to his professional Facebook page, where it quickly went viral. "I'm absolutely incredulous how far this has gone — literally all over the world! All this over a stupid picture, and I think it's hysterical."

As for the impact the hilarious costume has had on Jake? "Our kids have their tech time rationed . . . As such, Jake doesn't fully grasp what going viral is, but he does know [the photo has] been shared all over. I'm cataloging every link and article I can find to show him when he's older. But I think, more than anything, it will serve as inspiration to do something equally as stupid." Sounds like we'll have to keep our eyes open for even more hilarious pre-Halloween costumes from Jake in the future!