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A dog in a shelter has three possible fates: finding a forever home, ending its days in the shelter, or being put down. In 2024, a whopping 334,000 dogs were euthanized all across the U.S. And while adoption rates are around two million, the number of non-live outcomes is still huge.

What better way to convince people to adopt and not shop than to show them some before-and-after photos of adopted doggos? That’s exactly what we’re doing here! We’ve gathered the newest selection of wholesome transformation pics to prove to you that giving an abandoned dog a new home is one of the best feelings in the whole world!

More info: Reddit

#1 This Is Samuel 🙂 He Was Rescued When He Was Just Two Weeks Old, With His Eye And Skull Exposed (No One Knows Exactly What Happened)

I adopted him shortly after. But now he is a loved and happy dog, with a bionic eye that sees everything.

Image credits: Roseandroses4

#2 Ruth! Given Six Months To Live When I Adopted Her… We’re Now At 2.5yrs Together 🙂

Image credits: awalfrand

#3 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#4 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#5 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#6 Rescued From The Streets About 3 Months Ago. He’s Now Peacefully Snoring In Bed Next To Me. I Love Him So Much

Image credits: chantal-goyave

#7 From Neglect To Hope: Nala Could Barely Walk When I Rescued Her— Look At Her Now

Image credits: HappyPawsnTalesRo

#8 Waffles Is Sweeter Than Syrup!

Image credits: oliveGOT

#9 From Abandon At A Cemetery To Thriving! Meet Anubis!

Image credits: __blue98

#10 Penny, The Day She Was Found And Now Ten Years Later

Image credits: Critical_Pop_9714

#11 Happy 1st Gotcha Year Antonia! 🐶

Image credits: thehowsph

#12 Tabsi’s Second Chance

Image credits: remember_who_u_are

#13 Peanut — The Rescue Dog That Rescued Me

I grew up with dogs my entire childhood and finally adopted my first dog as an adult. I have three amazing rescue cats, but I was looking for a furry companion that I could take with me and train to become my service animal. That’s when I found Peanut at my local shelter — a sweet, 1-year-old “chiweenie” who came from an ab**ive household. He is everything I could ever hope for in a dog and so much more. As an autistic adult with severe depression and anxiety, Peanut has done wonders for me.

When I first brought him home in September, he was fearful of everyone and everything. He would cower and hide or bark at anyone who approached him. Fast forward to today, and he is super outgoing, friendly, and follows me everywhere! Through training and socialization, I’ve gotten him to stop barking at strangers while out and about, and I bring him with me nearly everywhere I go. He also ADORES my three cats and loves sleeping on the couch with them.

I’m so happy and grateful to have found and adopted Peanut. He motivates me to go outside more and helps me with my anxiety. I’m not afraid to go shopping anymore because having him with me helps me keep my focus on HIM and not the large, scary crowds around me.

If you’re considering adopting, do it! Shelter dogs are the absolute sweetest and they all deserve a loving home. If you have the time and patience, I promise you it is very rewarding and worth it. Just remember that it takes TIME for dogs (and cats!) to ease in to their new surroundings and to trust their new owner — especially if they came from abusive previous owners. Don’t give up on them!

Image credits: paulstanleystattoo

#14 From Cypriot Streets And An Abandoned Box, To Scottish Highlands

Image credits: Alone_Jacket_484

#15 Shiva Is So Proud Of The Amount Of Hair We Brushed Off Today! 💕 She’s Been With Us For More Than A Year Now!

Image credits: LaurenZNe

#16 7 Months After Adoption He Was On His Way Back To The Shelter

To get photos with Santa 🎅 in 2023. He loves car rides 🥰

Image credits: Ok_Opposite_1802

#17 We Found Joey At 5 Weeks Old, Scrounging For Food At A Gas Station, Barely Surviving. Now He’s 9 Months Old And Living His Best Life!

Image credits: Vast_Plant_1681

#18 We Found Luna On The Street After A Crazy Storm In Indonesia And Flew Her Back Home With Us!

Image credits: ShakaBrah36

#19 Dolly, She Lived Sadly In The Rain Until I Rescued Her

Image credits: Darkmx10

#20 Trigger – Hit By A Car And Left For Dead On The Road With A Broken Leg. 3 Weeks In The Vet And Now Has A Forever Home With 4 Other Dogs

Image credits: WhatsATrouserSnake

#21 Phoebe Was Thrown Out After Using Her To Sell Her Puppies. Now She Gets To Be The Baby

Image credits: lil_gingerale

#22 George, 7 Months Old

Image credits: Spare-Guest-8420

#23 My Tripod Foster Boy, Moose, Before And After I Rescued Him

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#24 Von, Before And After Adoption. Adopted April 2020 And Now Protector Of The Couch And Yard And Total Couch Tater

Image credits: lizzylou365

#25 I Pulled Bella From The Euthanasia List 112 Days Ago To Foster. Today, I Dropped Her Off With Her Forever Family. ❤️

Image credits: mugglequeen

#26 Sweet Willa

Image credits: Ok-Location-6472

#27 From Chained To The Side Of A House To Outdoorsy Oregon Girl!

Her owner went to jail and she was left chained to the side of the house. The first picture was her first night with us. So skinny but has always been a huge cuddle bug. Now she enjoys gorgeous hikes and long naps.

Image credits: Kennybrightup

#28 Checkers 6 Months Later Update (1.5 Years Total) Compared To His Original Shelter Picture And Bio

Image credits: Ok-Cook-7542

#29 When She Was First Rescued, In Greece, And Now With Us

Image credits: AlexandraLeo

#30 This Dude Wandered Up To A Farm. They Let Him Sleep In A Stall, But Obviously It Wasn’t Ideal For Him…

Image credits: gkpetrescue

#31 Terrified And Starved Almost To Death In Macedonia, And Here With Us

Image credits: AlexandraLeo

#32 Adopted Senior Mini Poodle From Overcrowded Shelter

Image credits: fromthebay510

#33 Acorn In TX 14 Minutes Away From Euthanasia, Acorn In Ky On Her First Gotcha Day

Image credits: Alarmed-Battle7300

#34 Third Home In A Week, Day I Got My Boy At 3 Months Old vs. 3 Months Later 💕

His first owner claimed he was “destructive when left alone” (he was a 3 month old puppy) and that he was cat aggressive. The last picture is him and the cats that he apparently hates so much ✨

Image credits: HauntingPalpitation8

#35 Lily Finally Has The Life She Deserves

Image credits: nedaco

#36 Nothing I Love More Than My Fosters’ Transformations

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#37 Nothing I Love More Than My Fosters’ Transformations

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#38 You Could Visibly Watch Him Relax As We Drove Away From The Shelter

Image credits: Usual-Candidate-8391

#39 Dirty Mop Ran Out In Front Of My Car Yesterday

Image credits: Ok-Location-6472

#40 From Sick And Homeless To Living The Good Life!

Image credits: Extension_End_6270

#41 Shiva’s First Year Of Life Was Spent Chained And Starved, But Now She’s Healthy And Loved! She Is Also The Best Roadtrip Partner Ever

Image credits: LaurenZNe

#42 Our Sweet Girl Paisley The Day We Found Her vs. One Month Later

Image credits: i_love_small_ducks

#43 Charlotte Before & After

Image credits: gkpetrescue

#44 Spike – Coming Up On 3 Years Later

Image credits: TheRagingBull84

#45 From The Pound To The Penthouse

Image credits: thedrunknerd

#46 My Lovely Girl On Her Way To Us In April This Year, vs. Now!

Image credits: YaGotGot

#47 My Big Girl – Rescued After 5 Months In A Shelter

Image credits: silentrage420

#48 Adopted A Sickly Senior To Try To Give Her Joy In Her Remaining Months. Then I Cleaned Her Up. I Remain Stunned.😍🥰😍

Image credits: DandelionValley-TG

#49 Murphy

Image credits: Jaded_Marsupial_

#50 My Sweet Baby

Image credits: Kimocolis

#51 Jerry Tomato ~1 Year After Adoption

Image credits: bruxbuddies

#52 2 Years To The Day Of Love And Care

Image credits: Aggressive_Bad_5393

#53 16-Year-Old Foster Fail

Image credits: HisMomm

#54 Almost Her 1 Year Adopt-Iversary!

Image credits: Peachy_keen1001

#55 Lots Of Love (And Some Food Of Course) Can Heal 🤍

Image credits: dogluvr_1

#56 12 Years Old Now

Image credits: PurplePajamas01

#57 From The Streets. No One Came To Claim. To Adopted By Us. 3 Months Now. 😌 How We Got Him vs. How It’s Going 😉

Image credits: ToeComprehensive5813

#58 Baby Girl Was So Scared

Image credits: Every_Class7242

#59 When We Found Her vs. Now

Image credits: WeekZestyclose5879

#60 6+ Months At The Shelter

Image credits: TechnicianPossible66

#61 3 Months With Rufus

Image credits: robertsmiths

#62 Got Daisy From A Sweet Couple Who Rescued A Litter Of Puppies From An Abandoned Building. From Scared With Red Inflamed Skin To A Silly Happy Gal 🙂

Image credits: Downtown_Staff4228

#63 Luna Was Found Found Pregnant Walking Down The Highway. She Gave Birth In Our Apartment To Six Healthy Puppies. Here She Is A Year Later

Image credits: tujobi

#64 Spike – 2.5 Years Later

Image credits: TheRagingBull84

#65 Clover

I was driving from North Florida to South Florida a while back. At one point, I saw a dog in the median of the highway. But there were two police officers standing with her. I am an animal rescuer and I’m pretty good at handling animals so I thought maybe I should stop and offer my assistance… But we were still in what I would consider the south and all I could picture was the police officers rudely brushing me off. I battled with myself for a few minutes and then decided to turn around. When I got back to where the dog was, I could not believe my eyes. The police had left her there, in the median… Bleeding from her nose. She had obviously fallen out of the back of a pick up truck, probably an unloved hunting dog.. and they just left her in the median of a busy highway. I ran and grabbed her and looked up the closest veterinary clinic, which was named Shamrock veterinary clinic, lucky for her! I saw the police officers just down the road hanging and chatting on the side of the road. Disgusting.

She was stable enough to come home with me, so that’s what we did… After she started feeling better, she started exploring the house, and we realized quickly she had never been in a house before. The TV was amazing and her reflection and windows and doors was startling! my former college professor saw her post on Facebook and wanted to adopt her… She had since moved out of the area so her friend’s private plane ended up being her rescue express!

And yes, I snapped pictures as I was running up to her. I’m a RESCUER and I know how important photos are for fundraising and I didn’t know how much veterinary care she would need! I could barely breathe as I was running up to her her I was so astonished at the turn of events.