The Internet's latest controversy: Is this a dog or a bear?

NASHVILLE, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A worker at a Tennessee pet business set off a fierce online debate with a picture of a "bear" brought in for doggie day care.

The picture posted to Reddit was captioned, "Somebody brought this bear into doggie day care," and the photo sparked a fierce debate -- in the grand tradition of pointless Internet debates -- about whether the animal was a young bear or a cleverly disguised dog.

The debate went on for dozens of comments before being settled by the original poster.

Ryan Horn, a worker at the Dog Spot in Nashville, unmasked himself as the picture's original author and revealed the animal is in fact a dog -- a Pomeranian mix.

The Reddit poster admitted he knew the dog's identity when he started the debate.

"I mean, they said it was a Pomeranian mix. But I prefer to believe it's a bear," he wrote.