Mike Ruiz got famous for his gorgeously slick celebrity portraits of people like Vanessa Williams, Anne Hathaway, Justin Theroux, Kim Kardashian and Joe Manganiello, but it’s the portraits of rescue pooches he’s shot since 2013 that are Ruiz’s true passion project. Ruiz, who’s also known for his well-muscled physique, started his Mutts and Muscles calendar, pairing shredded hunks with dogs that have been rescued to raise awareness of the nearly 3 million animals the are euthanized each year in the US shelter system. We talked to Ruiz about his Mutts and Muscles 2025 calendar, which is available at https://louieslegacy.org/calendar/ and benefits Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue.
How did Mutts and Muscles first come about? It’s fabulous that you’re combining two things you love!
After adopting a sweet pit bull type dog named Oliver in 2012, I quickly discovered the dire situation that shelter animals faced, so I felt compelled to use my skills as a photographer and my connections to the world of fitness. I came up with the idea to create a calendar featuring beautiful, chiseled men accompanied by sweet rescue pups. The calendar was meant as a palatable way to deliver a message of compassion for animals who have been abused, neglected and discarded. That first year we raised over $80k for Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue and the calendar has been going strong for 11 years now.
Ed & Abby.
Can you give us some statistics about the number of beautiful dogs who need rescuing?
That is a very complicated question that would require pages of statistics. Let’s just say that almost 3 million animals are euthanized each year in shelters in this country thanks to the catastrophic failure of the legal system and the normalization of the indiscriminate euthanizing of sentient beings.
That’s horrifying. Tell us about your first dog. Your first pit bull.
My first boy was my soul dog for sure. He was a gentle and loving 80 lb black pit bull type dog. My connection with him became so profound that it was literally the catalyst for a major life pivot. He passed in 2018, so to honor his exceptional life, I rescued another sweet angel named Julia. These two creatures have never spoken a single word yet their impact in my life has launched a movement that has gone on to save thousands of dogs over the years.
What’s so special about pit bulls?
Pit bull type dogs (the correct descriptive since there is no such breed as a pit bull, only a multitude of combinations of breeds) are inherently gentle and loving. They have the propensity to require human touch and as a result they are extremely affectionate. That characteristic makes people bond with them in ways that are less common with other types of dog breeds.
Sam & Bonnie.
Do people reach out about adopting the dogs in the calendar?
All of the dogs are alumni of the rescue that the calendar benefits so they are all in loving homes already. The calendar really serves as a way of raising awareness for animal rescue and for raising funds so that the rescue can provide services such as medical care, spay and neutering and training for dogs that they pull from shelters. 100% of the money from sales of the calendar goes directly to these services. Everyone who works on the calendar donates their time and talent out of compassion for animals in dire need.
Which charity are you working with?
The calendar has benefitted many rescues over the years and this year it’s benefitting Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue. The calendar is available at www.louieslegacy.org/calendar
In addition to the calendar, what have you been up to?
Aside from co-owning and creative directing a magazine called Photobook Magazine, creative directing 3 editions of L’Officiel Fashion Book Magazine and flying all over for non-stop photoshoots, I started an initiative a few months ago called “SHELTER PAWTRAITS by MIKE RUIZ.” I go into shelters with some of my famous friends to photograph and make videos of us with dogs on death row, so that we can network them on social media in the hopes of getting them seen and saved. It’s been very successful thus far. One of the most gratifying things that I have ever done. People always ask me “Who would you like to photograph next?” and I always say, “SHELTER DOGS!”
Mike Ruiz’s Mutts and Muscles (2025 Calendar)
