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Funny Animals Interesting Freaky Pop Culture

50 Absolutely Wholesome Rescue Pet Pics That Will Make You Smile

by Damjan

More and more people are deciding on adoption rather than buying, and it is wonderful. By adopting, you are not only saving a life but scoring one big point for humankind.

And the way we are doing so far - we definitely need some pluses on that scoreboard. Every adoption restores faith in humanity and sends a powerful message that every life is precious and needs to be preserved.

We all start out by wanting a cute, fluffy pet and don’t think about the consequences of our actions. But when we bring those poor animals to their new homes and see the look in their eyes, we realize that we have made a difference.

Now, this doesn’t mean you should spend days in self-admiration and thinking how great you are because, you know, you do have a pet to take care of.

And, while speaking about pets: Here are 50 of the most adorable, wholesome, heartwarming photos of adopted pets.

We are happy to say that there are thousands more on the internet. We had the difficult task of selecting just 50 of them but enjoyed every minute. So say hello to these happy pets and their new loving families.

1. "I’m So Glad We Adopted Them Together"

1. growup_andblowaway

2. "This Is Henry, The Newest Member Of Our Family"

2. DisasterScoutMaster

3. "My Newly Adopted Boy Angus Looking Quite Dapper!"

3. TotoroTortoise

4. "Adopted My Boy And My Cat Finally Accepted Him. Can You Tell That He’s Happy?"

4. SewerWolf666

5. "Doctor Doom Enjoying Her First Nap In Her Forever Home After Her Stint At The Shelter"

5. Pliosaurs

6. "Adopted A Kitten Today! Her Name Is Loki, She Is Super Scared, But Too Cute"

6. Wauwaiiiiiii

7. "Just Got Her, Need Help Finding A Name. I Like Mushroom, But My Mom Doesn't"

7. KattMann00

Some estimates say that around 6.3 million pets enter U.S. animal shelters every year. About 810,000 are returned to their owners, 4.1 million get adopted, and, sadly, 920,000 are euthanized.

Animal rescuers are facing tough times as well. Earlier this month, National Geographic ran an article called "Why animal shelters are facing a new crisis."

Among other things, it said that "many shelters helping dogs, cats, rabbits, and other pets in need have been hurt by staffing shortages—resulting in reduced operations."

Sarah Bhimani, Animal Humane Society's internal communications and content producer says: "Staffing shortages have been a challenge for us as well, but we're still able to provide care and services for animals and our community; our staffing challenges have placed additional stress on our existing teams."

8. "We Adopted This Lil Guy Yesterday & He Gives Me The Warmest Fuzzies. Home At Last!"

8. freezings

9. "Adopted My First Void This Week, Isn’t She A Beaut?"

9. brass_butt0ns

10. "Just Adopted This Big Baby, My Very First Standard Issue Cat. He Even Came Pre-Derpped!"

10. ferretherapy

11. "We Adopted Nala!"

11. Lestessa

12. "Found This Little Girl On The Street And We Are Adopting Her. Her Hair Is All Matted And She Has Some Skin Issues And I Look Forward To Posting Her Transformation Pictures. Does She Look Like A Jenny Or Millie?"

12. blakey1414

13. "Meet Pearl, We Just Adopted Her"

13. ixinho

14. "Our 2 Newly Adopted Kittens"

14. djaylange

15. "Today We Adopted This Gorgeous Little Hedgehog"

15. the_real_fhqwhgads

16. "Poe & Kylo First Day Of Kylo’s Adoption vs. One Week After Adoption"

16. peanutbuttervraptor

17. "My Feral Baby I Adopted From My Backyard"

17. SnooaLipa

18. "Meet Aspen. Just Adopted Her And She’s An Absolute Sweetheart"

18. AlanaAraya

19. "Friend Asked If I Could Adopt A Stray, But My Dog Ended Up Doing The Adopting"

19. Wambo_Jambo

20. "Went To Adopt One Cat, Came Out With Bonded Sisters"

20. Lifeofsage

21. "Just Adopted. Her Name Is Minette"

21. infinitelymany

22. "This Is Beowulf. Turns Out Beowulf Is Actually A Girl And Now Needs A New Name. Any Ideas?"

22. wcollins260

23. "Are Blind, 9 Year Old, Recently Adopted Boys Cute? I Sure Think So"

23. WhoIsTheyAnyway

24. "Just Adopted A 13 Week Old Kitten, And His Big Brother (3 Year Old Golden) Is Taking His New Role Very Seriously"

24. SteRaeSal

25. "This Is Hank. He A Stray I’m Caring For. He Slept Where My Husky Used To Sleep And Gave Me The Same Look My Husky Had, And I Think He’s Gonna Be Mine Now"

25. orange_picture

26. "How To Adopt A Hooman"

26. druule10

27. "My New Cat’s Reaction To Her Forever Home"

27. we-are-the-foxes

28. "I Still Can't Believe I Was Lucky Enough To Be The One To Adopt Her"

28. DonSmo

29. "In A Span Of Two Days We Adopted This Baby And Got Engaged"

29. 42069Nicebro

30. "Look At This Perfect Little Bean I Just Adopted"

30. laney_belle

31. "Katara - Purebred Mutt, Rescued And Adopted In Montreal. Of Course, We’re The Lucky Ones"

31. Saint_Bond

32. "My Cousin Just Adopted This Little Pup. Meet Lulu!"

32. dibbiluncan

33. "Adopted A Pupper, She Mlems When She’s Asleep"

33. svrstati0b

34. "Adopted Her On Sunday From A Hectic Household. This Is Us After An Hour In Her Forever Home"

34. Leilavdm

35. "Adopted Him Today, He Loves Cuddling"

35. justBreathing__

36. "My Teenager Lost Her Beloved 13-Year Old Ginger Rescue Kitty Last Year To Cancer. We Recently Adopted A 3-Year Old Creamsicle. I Think They’re Both Gonna Be Just Fine"

36. AlaskaGirlinGeorgia

37. "Left Was From 5 Days Ago Before I Adopted Him. Right Was Earlier Today. I Am So Lucky I Adopted Him, He’s The Sweetest Most Caring Cat And I’m Thankful To Have Him"

37. audreybrookee

38. "Myself (Middle) My Brother (Left) And My Best Friend (Right) With Our Puppy Siblings We Just Adopted"

38. snmnc123

39. "This Old Boy Thinks We Adopted The New Kitten Just For Him"

39. hiimaunicorn

40. "This Is The Fourth Stray Kitten I Find Near My House. They Keep Coming And I Keep Adopting Them. Am I Cursed?"

40. microdipodops

41. "Recently Adopted These Two Dingleberries. They’re Not Related But Get Along Quite Well"

41. yuribotcake

42. "Just Adopted Her And I Think She’s Fitting Right In"

42. platypuspenile

43. "Adopted These Two, Meeting Them On Thursday For The First Time"

43. nattarbox

44. "I Just Adopted This Senior Lady! She's The First Cat I've Ever Had And She's Also The Sweetest One I've Ever Known. Senior Cat Appreciation!"

44. Soup_God_

45. "Just Adopted These Two Sweet Brothers. Our 2.5 Year Old Son Chose The Names... Meet T-Rex And Cardboard"

45. patallcats

46. "Illegaly Smol Cat That Adopted Us Yesterday"

46. chrumocka

47. "When We First Adopted Our Dog A Few Weeks Ago vs. Today. He A Thick Boy Now!"

47. CommercialImmediate3

48. "Drove Five Hours To Adopt This Sweet Girl, Mocha. She Was Saved From Being Thrown Out Of A Moving Car. She Is The Most Gentle And Affectionate Little Girl And Will Be So Loved!"

48. somebodyimpressme

49. "Adopted This Little Guy The Other Day, He’s A Complete Sweetheart"

49. Lucybeatrice

50. "Originally Was Going To Adopt 2 Of These Guys. Turns Out Three Times The Charm. We Got All The Siblings Together! They’re Super Close And We Didn’t Want To Leave The Sister Out"

50. NoLongerARedditor

To adapt to the new situation, Bhimani said they've "had to decrease the number of veterinary appointments and surrender appointments we can offer the community each day, and we've had to decrease the number of animals we're transporting from partners in other parts of the country to our shelters in Minnesota.

We're prioritizing the needs of local animals first. Right now, the current wait time for non-emergency surrender appointments may be as long as eight weeks."

We do hope that the situation will improve. But, we can also do more than just hope - we can help. The more animals we adopt, the less there are for shelters to handle. So, what are you waiting for?

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