‘The Muttcracker’: Ballerinas pose with shelter pets in magical holiday photo series

ST. LOUIS - A photography project involving ballet dancers and shelter animals has helped the pets find forever homes.

It’s been dubbed “The Muttcracker” and was started in 2018 by Dancers & Dogs, a pair of photographers who capture dancers having fun with animals. Dancers & Dogs teamed up with the St. Louis Ballet and Stray Rescue of St. Louis to help rescues find homes.

Last year, all of the dogs featured in the photo series were adopted, according to Stray Rescue.

The photo series features the dancers in costumes from the Nutcracker – yes, even the Rat King – alongside adorable dogs and cats.

Each day on Facebook, Dancers & Dogs releases an image of a dancer with a dog or cat and provides a little more information on the adoptable pet. Stray Rescue then shares the post.

To learn how you can adopt a pet, go to strayrescue.org.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.