A dog wears “The Flash” costume for a carnival pet parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, January 31, 2016. People dressed their pets up for the annual block parade held near Copacabana beach. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)

Brazilian navy soldiers watch a woman as they patrol the area at the Copacabana Beach before carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil February 14, 2017. (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

Fireworks light the sky over Copacabana beach during New Year's Eve celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, January 1, 2016. (Photo by Mauro Pimentel/AP Photo)

People participate in the Cordao do Boitata carnival celebration in the Centro City neighborhood on February 16, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Bruna Prado/Getty Images)

A Beija-Flor samba school member performs during the second night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 25, 2020. (Photo by Sergio Moraes/Reuters)

A woman attends a boxing class at Princess Women's Boxing Club in Shanghai December 3, 2014. Women have boxed as long as the sport has existed but for years they were relegated out of national and international competitions in many countries around the world. Female boxers entered the ring in an exhibition match at the 1904 Olympic Games, but it was more than a century later when they were given the green light to make their Olympic debut in London in 2012. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)

It's often said that pets and their owners can start to look alike, but these adorable photographs take the old mantra to a new extreme. They are the work of Svetlana Valyiskaya (27), from St Petersburg, who snaps pets in everyday poses in her spare time from her job as a commercial photographer. The vibrant costumes and scenes, which Svetlana designs herself, have made the photos a hit in her native Russia – and it's not hard to see why. She said: “I really love animals, they are loyal, faithful and true and always interesting to work with – plus they never criticise the photographs afterwards”. (Photo by Svetlana Valyiskaya/Mercury)

When you look at the picture of a furry pig that resembles a sheep from a distance, you may think that this may be the result of the work of some crazy scientist that tinkered with the pig’s genome. However, in this case, this is not true. Mangalica is a natural breed of pigs, which were bred in Europe for their lard. This breed of pigs is very unique, since the only other breed of pigs which had a long coat was Loncolnshire Curly Coat, which is now extinct. In the past, these pigs were quite popular, since they were able to produce a lot of lard. However, when the demand for pig lard dwindled, the population of these pigs rapidly decreased, making it a “rare breed”.