Happy New Year from Masahiro Tanaka and his adorable puppy

An American prophet once observed that it's been, "A long December and there's reason to believe, maybe this year will be better than the last."

... and that's especially true when you wake up on Jan. 1 to find a picture of Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka and his adorable puppy wishing you a happy 2015.

あけおめー！！ By ハル pic.twitter.com/1fzcWKJc01

- 田中将大/MASAHIRO TANAKA (@t_masahiro18) January 1, 2015

Tanaka's message translates to "akeome," a Japanese New Year's greeting. (And the cute puppy certainly enhances the message.)