Thousands of people were duped into sharing a photo of a dog on Facebook after they believed it had been hurt.

According to the Dec. 23 post, the dog had been "badly burned and disfigured trying to save his family from a house fire."

Despite more than 100,000 shares and 50,000 likes, some Facebook users realized the “burn” was simply a piece of ham on the dog’s face. Other users called the dog “brave” and a Christmas miracle.

When the hoax was revealed, users began calling the man who posted the photo, Stephen Roseman, “heartless.” Some also claimed Roseman was abusing the dog by placing the food on its head.

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“It’s sad someone would put ham on this dog’s face!” Facebook user Suanne Kimball Berger said. “There are so many dogs that would get burns saving their family. And for someone to make any kinda joke about a dog being burnt just pissed me off!”

Despite the comments criticizing him, Roseman replied in jest.

“So far, fifty two thousand prayers for ham dog, god bless him,” Roseman wrote.

Sources: BGR, The Huffington Post, Stephen Roseman/Facebook / Photo credit: Stephen Roseman/Facebook