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 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations
Image credits: caitiesfosterfam
#2 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations
Image credits: caitiesfosterfam
#3 Nothing I Love More Than My Foster’s Transformations
Image credits: caitiesfosterfam
#4 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
#5 Ruth! Given Six Months To Live When I Adopted Her... We're Now At 2.5yrs Together :)
Image credits: awalfrand
#6 Waffles Is Sweeter Than Syrup!
Image credits: oliveGOT
#7 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
#8 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
#9 From Cypriot Streets And An Abandoned Box, To Scottish Highlands
Image credits: Alone_Jacket_484
#10 From Abandon At A Cemetery To Thriving! Meet Anubis!
Image credits: __blue98
#11 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
#12 From Neglect To Hope: Nala Could Barely Walk When I Rescued Her— Look At Her Now
Image credits: HappyPawsnTalesRo
#13 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
#14 Zuko The Day He Was Rescued By The Shelter vs. Two Years After Being Adopted. ♥🔥
Image credits: eat_sleep_rescue
#15 George, 7 Months Old
Image credits: Spare-Guest-8420
#16 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
#17 When She Was First Rescued, In Greece, And Now With Us
Image credits: AlexandraLeo
#18 You Could Visibly Watch Him Relax As We Drove Away From The Shelter
Image credits: Usual-Candidate-8391
#19 Dolly, She Lived Sadly In The Rain Until I Rescued Her
Image credits: Darkmx10
#20 Charlotte Before & After
Image credits: gkpetrescue
#21 Sweet Willa
Image credits: Ok-Location-6472
#22 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
#23 Penny, The Day She Was Found And Now Ten Years Later
Image credits: Critical_Pop_9714
#24 Happy 1st Gotcha Year Antonia! 🐶
Image credits: thehowsph
#25 We Found Luna On The Street After A Crazy Storm In Indonesia And Flew Her Back Home With Us!
Image credits: ShakaBrah36
#26 From Sick And Homeless To Living The Good Life!
Image credits: Extension_End_6270
#27 Phoebe Was Thrown Out After Using Her To Sell Her Puppies. Now She Gets To Be The Baby
Image credits: lil_gingerale
#28 Tabsi’s Second Chance
Image credits: remember_who_u_are
#29 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
#30 I Pulled Bella From The Euthanasia List 112 Days Ago To Foster. Today, I Dropped Her Off With Her Forever Family. ❤️
Image credits: mugglequeen
#31 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
#32 12 Years Old Now
Image credits: PurplePajamas01
#33 Nothing I Love More Than My Fosters’ Transformations
Image credits: caitiesfosterfam
#34 Jerry Tomato ~1 Year After Adoption
Image credits: bruxbuddies
#35 Terrified And Starved Almost To Death In Macedonia, And Here With Us
Image credits: AlexandraLeo
#36 Before And After Adoption, My Beautiful Boy Who Passed Away This Year 💔
Image credits: Mossmutt
#37 My Tripod Foster Boy, Moose, Before And After I Rescued Him
Image credits: caitiesfosterfam
#38 Lots Of Love (And Some Food Of Course) Can Heal 🤍
Image credits: dogluvr_1
#39 Mochi 8 Months After Being Rescued 🐶🤍
Image credits: Few_Funny_7670
#40 Dirty Mop Ran Out In Front Of My Car Yesterday
Image credits: Ok-Location-6472
#41 Von, Before And After Adoption. Adopted April 2020 And Now Protector Of The Couch And Yard And Total Couch Tater
Image credits: lizzylou365
#42 Murphy
Image credits: Jaded_Marsupial_
#43 2 Years To The Day Of Love And Care
Image credits: Aggressive_Bad_5393
#44 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
#45 Adopted Senior Mini Poodle From Overcrowded Shelter
Image credits: fromthebay510
#46 Baby Girl Was So Scared
Image credits: Every_Class7242
#47 When We Found Her vs. Now
Image credits: WeekZestyclose5879
#48 Our Petey Before And After
Image credits: wholivesinthewoods
#49 My Sweet Baby
Image credits: Kimocolis
#50 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
