Matt Gray

Pictured above is Astronaut Leland D. Melvin's official NASA portrait. When NASA astronaut Leland Melvin was assigned to a space shuttle mission in 2008, he was told he could bring his family for the official photo shoot wearing the famous orange "pumpkin suit." They didn't specify two-legged or four-legged family members, and even though dogs were not typically allowed on the NASA base, Melvin considered his dogs part of his family. So, Melvin brought his rescue dogs, Jake and Scout, along with a neighbor who could hold them and keep them quiet in the back of his van. "I got to the guard shack, flashed my badge, and I gunned the van and drove to the photo lab," Melvin said. He then climbed the back stairs, where the photographer was waiting. Melvin went into the photo lab with 100 MilkBones to keep the dogs busy while he changed into his suit and came out. "They (the dogs) ran toward me, and I told the photographer to hold his finger on the shutter, and that's how the photo was born." After the photo shoot, Melvin had to change, and the MilkBones had disappeared. "The dogs started barking, and a security guard came in and asked if there were dogs in there," Melvin said. "We said, 'No, that's the doggy screensaver!'" After he changed, he was able to quiet the dogs and leave the area.