Teen in Viral Laser Cat Yearbook Photo Has Died

Update: Draven Rodriguez died on Thursday from suicide, according to reports. "He wasn't trying to stir things up with it," dad Jonathan Stewart said of the famous photo to The Times Union. "He honestly just wanted a silly photo because he had a great sense of humor."

Original story: In Sept. 2014, a 17-year-old student in Schenectady, NY, named Draven Rodriguez wanted to use this photo as his high school yearbook senior portrait. It's him plus his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth, plus laser beams plus a close-up of Mr. Bigglesworth's face. Basically, it was perfection — until it managed to get even better.

Schenectady student petitions to have this photo in the yearbook http://t.co/C1naGEl3yF What do you think? pic.twitter.com/Wuv84wVVZi

— CBS 6 Albany - WRGB (@CBS6Albany) September 10, 2014

After Rodriguez's original photo gained national attention and he started an online petition that received more than 7,000 signatures, the school responded, saying it could go in the yearbook, but not as his official portrait.

And now we see that the Schenectady High School principal, Diane Wilkinson, actually joined in on the photo with her own dog. Both animals are rescue pets, so the picture made it onto the principal's page in the yearbook with a message promoting animal adoption.

New cat-tastic photo may be better than the original http://t.co/yqTMrfw1NK What do you think? pic.twitter.com/QHrUjVNKpS

— CBS 6 Albany - WRGB (@CBS6Albany) September 29, 2014

We can't decide what's better: this or the dog with its own yearbook photo. Let's call it a tie.