Every year, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide. Those little poor beings often lived deprived of love, care, and nurturing, many of them never having experienced the joy of life. They come to shelters with their stories unknown, suffering from fear, anxiety, and sheer loneliness. In the most profound sense, adopting such an animal is giving them a second chance in life that we are all worthy of.
So in order to make a tribute to all those life-changing adoption stories, we selected some of the most powerful before and after adoption pics of dogs shared on the r/BeforeNAfterAdoption subreddit. “This is a place to share the amazing difference a loving family can make on an abandoned or mistreated animal,” says the group’s description, but the pictures speak louder than thousands of words.
The change in these rescued doggos is stark, and in case you ask, yes, someone’s chopping a giant onion over here. Psst! More heart-melting pets before and after being adopted by their forever family can be found in our previous posts here, here, and here.
#1 She’s The Sweetest Creature I’ve Ever Met. I Don’t Always Know What To Say About Her Transformation Other Than “Look.” The First Picture Is A Month Before The Second, The Last Is Her 2 Year Gotcha-Versary
Image source: justwantedquiet
#2 My Girlfriend And I Adopted Buck In August Of 2019, He’s Changed Our Lives More Than We Did His And Has Been The Best Choice We’ve Made. Love This Guy To Death!
Image source: swn96
#3 We Took Home This Sick Pup That Had Cirrhosis Of The Liver And Wasn’t Expected To Live More Than Three Months. Today Marks One Year Since We Brought Him Home And Now He’s Healthier Than Ever
Image source: randomgurl1234
#4 Joker Dog Was A Bait Dog For I Don’t Know How Long. It Amazes Me From The Moment I Met Him All He Needed Was Love To Heal
Image source: forestfae333
#5 Maya’s One Year After Adoption. From Severely Underweight To One Happy Pupperoni
Image source: FloppyWallaby
#6 Our Sweet Toby Was Found In A Ditch And Couldn’t Use His Back Legs. Now He’s King Of The Road In Two Wheels
Image source: wacha23
#7 I’ve Posted Luna’s Glow-Up Here A Few Years Ago, But Today We Are Celebrating Her Six Year Gotcha Day Anniversary And I Just Love Her So Much And Want To Share Her Again
Image source: mugglequeen
#8 How It Started vs. Hows It Going
Image source: mmsharpshooter3
#9 The Evolution Of Our Foster Pup’s Ears. From Day One With Us, After Being Found As A Stray, To Now
Image source: MyPalJosie
#10 Magnum Was Rescued By A Local Shelter Where I Live. Thank You To All Of You Who Work Tirelessly To Save These Angels’ Lives
Image source: Ogamiya
#11 Mighty Marmalade At Intake vs. Almost A Year In Her Furever Home
Image source: papalaponape
#12 My Local Shelter Posted A Post-Adoption Update Of This Pup – Check Out That Glow Up! (Not My Dog)
Image source: animallover42069
#13 Mr. Rogers. Blind, Emaciated, Famished, And So Weak He Couldn’t Walk. His Literal Bones Were Jutting Out Through His Skin. Like White Bone. I Brought Him Home From The Shelter For The Night But Decided He Needed To Go Stay At The Veterinarian After I Saw His Condition
Image source: gkstacey
#14 Millie, When She Was Rescued In Mississippi And Now. The Best Doggo
Image source: incub8r
#15 My Foster Dog The Day We Rescued Her From An Animal Cruelty Case And 3 Weeks Later
Image source: caitiesfosterfam
#16 First Photo Is One Year Ago When We Got Him From The Shelter – Insecure And Nervous. Many Hikes And Plays Later – He’s The King Of Our Home. Dude’s First Adoptiversary!
Image source: Sibel_Rac
#17 I Adopted This Baby From The Dominican Republic 1 Month Ago- My Mom Didn’t Believe Me That It Was The Same Dog. I Named Him Remi And He Suffered From Mange And Malnutrition, Not Anymore!
Image source: Knottygirl420
#18 Olly Was Rescued By A Group In South Korea That Rescues Dogs Held By Restaurants (To Be Eaten) And From Other Bad Situations. He Was Unlikely To Be Adopted There Because His Bald Spot & He’s A Dark, Mixed Breed. They Sent Him To A Rescue In Our City. Adopted Him Over 2 Years Ago
Image source: reddit.com
#19 The Day We Met And Present Day. 11 Years Later
Image source: minerva0309
#20 I Was Told Y’all Would Love This Survivors Big Beautiful Smile! In Order To Really Appreciate It You Need To See What He Looked Like The Day He Was Rescued. Best Smile Ever
Image source: reddit.com
#21 Meet Bebe: Rescued After Being Thrown Out Of A Moving Car And 5 Years Later Is My Music Buddy
Image source: _adrinthesky_
#22 Found In Plastic Bag And Now She Found Away To Our Home And Heart
Image source: opalthekitty
#23 He Was Scared Of Crates, Brooms, Gloves, And Walking Anywhere New Or Loud. Now He’s A Happy Adventure Dog Who Loves Every Person And Animal He Meets
Image source: tiny_titanic
#24 Went From Crouching In Fear From Anyone Raising There Voice To Shamelessly Begging For Treats In Less Than A Year
Image source: 009774425
#25 My Sweet Girl, When She Won Me In Nov ’19 Versus Apr ’20
Image source: nothinbutsomethinnew
#26 Found My Girl On My Way To Work One Day, A Rural Dirt Road In The Middle Of Nowhere. It’s Obvious Someone Has Hit Her In The Past So I Think She Was Abandoned There. She Is Now Our Sweet Nipsy And Lives With Us On Our Farm
Image source: Spirited_Charge6191
#27 Happy Girl Gingko With Us For 9 Months!
Image source: deoxyribonucleo3p
#28 From Dumped In The Road, To Home Sweet Home! This Is Birch Baby!
Image source: bl00j
#29 2017-2020. Help Them Flourish And Enjoy The View When They Bloom. It Will Always Be Worth It
Image source: dogrescueteam
#30 We Got Her At 2.5 As A Foster When She Was Used As A Bait Dog, Eating Zip Ties, And Had A Crushed Hip Joint. Now She Has Had One Best Friend (Who Passed Last Year) And Now Is The Best Friend Of Our Newest Rescue Lindsie!
Image source: ChronicallyBrookelyn
#31 Our Rescue Dog Holly! The Day We Got Her vs. 8 Years Later
Image source: not_very_hopeful
#32 This Is Hana. We Rescued Her From A Shelter Two Years And A Half Ago. On The Left Is How The Shelter’s Volunteers Found Her, Wandering In The Woods. On The Right Is How She Looks Now. Best Decision Of My Life
Image source: reddit.com
#33 Adoption Update! When We Brought Her Home, 1 Day Later, 1 Week Later
Image source: Pixiedursty
#34 Oliver Was Underweight, Had Mange, A Distended Belly And We Were Told He Might Fail To Thrive. He’s 8 Months Old Today And Hasn’t Stop Growing!
Image source: reddit.com
#35 Piggie In The Shelter & Piggie On His Couch After Adoption
Image source: pupdrea
#36 Ivy Grimm Went From A Sickly Street Dog To A Spoiled And Healthy 9 Month Old
Image source: thecrowfly
#37 Brought Chino Home As A Foster To Get Through Leg Amputation And He Ended Up Never Leaving. Happy 1 Year Since You Got Your Leg Chopped Off And Found Your Forever Family!
Image source: kellyfacee
#38 My First Foster Failure Lala. First Pic Is How She Was Found Chained Under A Back Yard Table For 6 Months, Her Owners Wanted To Euthanize Because Of Her Mange. Next Pic Is Her At The Rescue, And Finally, 6 Years Later Of A Life Filled With Love!
Image source: samituret
#39 My Little Old Man, Buck. Started Fostering December 12, Adopted Christmas Eve! One Look Into His Eyes Melted My Heart. Adopting Him Was By Far The Best Part Of My 2020
Image source: aleksiann
#40 Three Months Later
Image source: HamsterCoordinator
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