Every year, I send out more than 50 holiday cards to family and close friends. Every year it’s usually a blend of cards decked with snowmen and cartoon/cutesy reindeer, signed just simply with my name. Every. Single. Year.

Just like every year I get dozens of cards from the same family members and friends, most of them holiday photo cards of their families, their children and even their pets.

This year, the light bulb went off in my head, and I set out to create a card that embodied everything a pit bull is, which is perfect for spreading a little holiday cheer. This photo was the end result

As much as it pained me to put a cork in my excitement, I kept mum on exactly what I was doing. After stuffing his photo into the dozens upon dozens of envelopes and shipping them out all over the world, I sat back and waited.

I was inundated with calls, texts and Facebook messages once people started receiving the less than enthusiastic dog named Dunkin in their mailboxes. They loved him, he was a hit, and I was ecstatic.

Looking at that photo can cheer anyone up. Looking at that photo is the exact reason why I love and adore the breed so much (only breed I will ever have in my house as my own). They’re goofy and fun loving. Dunkin loves his little winter coat, regardless of the fact that it is just a *smidge* girly. He is loyal and he is dedicated. I only needed to tell him to sit, and wait, while I snapped off some photos of him that day. He is patient, which is why he sat there for fifteen minutes, waiting for me to take a photo I was happy with – when he’d rather be playing with his tennis balls or digging holes in my gardens. His face says it all. He knows it’s ridiculous, he’s old and he has things he’d rather be doing more, but he loves me, so he’s going to sit there, looking ridiculous (although his payment was a special treat and some good butt scratches).

This photo, and all of the hundreds other like it that I can guarantee other pittie owners like I have taken, work to change the face that the media puts on these dogs.