Monty, a white mongrel with black ears and a thoughtful expression, sat next to her owner at a Windhoek shopping centre and enjoyed pats from small children, as their mothers shrieked in surprise.

The mums were paging through a calendar showing Monty posing with women, well, showing the full monty themselves, in the nude, discretely covered at strategic areas by dogs, cats and even a rabbit.

Desperate to raise funds for the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 12 mostly middle-aged Namibian pet lovers bared it all with furry models from an animal shelter - though most of these animals were since lucky enough to be adopted.

The outcome was a tasteful collection of professional black and white photos in a 2010 calendar with the motto: Dare to go bare because we care.

"We were extremely nervous at the first shooting session, but sipping some good wine helped, and photographer Tony Figueira was very understanding," said Tatjana Rapp, an SPCA committee member in the Namibian capital.