”Working like a dog” has never looked so adorable as it does with this Shiba Inu.

Although they don’t cause such widespread swooning as professional athletes or pop stars, deliverymen have a certain cachet among women in Japan. The idea of dashing deliverymen is appealing enough that there was even a competition for partciularly handsome ones in Tokyo.

In some ways, it’s really not such an odd profession to idolize. Sure, transporting boxes and furniture all day may not be the most glamorous or lucrative job, but it’s honest work that both requires and develops a muscular body. It’s also part of the service sector, which Japan has incredibly high standards for, with the resulting combination potentially creating an aura of calm, dependable strength, exactly like the one that surrounds this “truck” driver photographed by Japanese Twitter user @pianOton.

Technically, that’s a van, not a truck, as @pianOton described it. But more importantly, that’s a Shiba Inu chilling in the driver’s seat (which is on the right side of domestic vehicles in Japan), with a paw hanging out the rolled-down window. With his eyes on the road ahead, his steady gaze suggests that he’s a veteran employee, used to the daily grind and working tirelessly and without complaint, even as he looks forward to punching out at the end of his shift and heading home for some kibble, and maybe even treating himself to a nice bone come next payday.

Contrary to appearances, though, this dog’s owner probably hasn’t succeeded where Domino’s Pizza failed by training an animal to perform deliveries, as @pianOton explains that when she snapped the photo, the car was parked. Still, there’s no human driver visible, so we’d like to go on believing that the Shiba in the photo is a graduate of the same driving school as this kitty.

Source: Hamusoku, Twitter/@pianOton