A Central Florida high school teacher could lose her job after pictures of her students wearing a protective dog collar showed up on Facebook.

The science teacher referred to the collar as the "Cone of Shame" and used it as punishment.

The teacher told administrations she gave students the option of wearing the cone or sitting at the tardy table when they came late for class.

She says it was inspired by the Disney cartoon movie "Up," and was only meant as a joke.

School officials learned about the incident when students posted pictures on Facebook last month.

One student who wore the cone tells Tampa TV affiliate WFLA it was just a fun distraction and wasn't meant to embarrass anyone.

The teacher is appealing the decision to fire her and has hired an attorney.