The Hulk, a massive, 173-pound giant pit bull has gone viral, as has his breeders at Dark Dynasty K9s.

Meet The Hulk

The Hulk gained massive attention after Dark Dynasty K9s released a video showing his impressive weigh-in at 173 pounds. “I breed my dogs for size. I have been strategically breeding my dogs for years to keep the best working traits alive,” said Dark Dynasty K9s owner Marlon Grennan.

Breeding pit bulls is a controversial practice, and The Hulk’s sudden celebrity has put Dark Dynasty K9s at the receiving end of a lot of negative words, according to Grennan. In an effort to defend his practice, Grennan took to Facebook and wrote a lengthy essay about himself and his business.

Grennan, 28, expressed his deep love of dogs and defended himself against accusations that he was running a puppy mill. “Also please note, we are not any form of puppy mill. We have maybe 3-4 litters each year with dogs sold to the best of the best homes all over the world to carefully screened buyers. These dogs are our family and they are MUCH more than money,” Grennan wrote.

Grennan’s dogs do appear to be a big part of his family, as many videos on Dark Dynasty’s official page feature his wife, Lisa, and their 3-year-old son Jordan.

Grennan also claimed he didn’t set out to breed Hulk to become the biggest pit bull in the world, rather he wanted to breed the ideal guard dog: “My intentions when breeding my dogs was to create the perfect guardian, a man-stopping protection dog. Gentle when he’s supposed to be and fierce when he is asked…Nanny’s by day guard dogs by night.”

Grennan’s Dark Dynasty K9s also offers training for their pit bulls, which Grennan promised ensures safety.