74 Newly Adopted Pets Whose Cozy Winter Beginnings May Melt Your Frozen Heart (January Edition)

esterday I rescued a kitten, and I’m still emotionally shaken by how it happened.

I saw a 12-year-old boy holding a tiny kitten in his hands. She was small, fragile, and clearly terrified. Then I realized what he was about to do he was trying to put her on the trash. Not near it. Not beside it. On the trash, like she was something disposable.

My heart dropped.

I immediately stopped him and told him he couldn’t do that, that she was a baby and wouldn’t survive. What started as a desperate attempt to save her quickly turned into a fight. Words were exchanged, voices were raised, and for a moment I felt completely overwhelmed. But I refused to walk away. I couldn’t leave her there. I wouldn’t.

So I took the kitten.

She was shaking in my hands, so light and quiet that it broke me. In that moment, I felt the fear she couldn’t express and the trust she had no choice but to give. I brought her home, not knowing what the future held—only knowing that she was finally safe.

When I told my mom what happened, she didn’t question me or hesitate. She simply said, “She stays.” My mom adopted her instantly. I don’t think people realize how much it means to have someone who supports your compassion instead of questioning it. I really love my mom for that. She always stands by me and the work I do.

Rescue isn’t new to me. I regularly feed around 25 street cats in my area, care for injured animals, and help kittens survive when the streets fail them. I do this because every life matters, even the ones people try to throw away.

Today, that kitten is warm, safe, and loved.

And no matter how hard the fight was yesterday, I’d do it all over again.

Found him half run over and clinging on for dear life. We took him to the closest vet to get fixed up. They may have to amputate his arm if it doesn’t recover this month.

I was only trying to foster the little one until he was big enough to be neutered, but they fell so in love with each other I don’t know if I can bring myself to break them up!

Just adopted this adorable 10 week baby girl. First time Husky parent. Have German Shepherd who is 22 months. Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance!

his stray just randomly spawned near my apartment one day, and while she wasn’t friendly at first and had THE SHARPEST claws I’ve ever experienced on a cat (which you can only find out the hard way) she pretty quickly turned into a little sweetheart who was *insistent* that she be adopted.

I would come home from work and she would greet me as I got out of my car, then literally force her way into my apartment the moment I unlocked the door, all the while me telling her “You don’t live here!” …Well, turns out I was wrong and she was right. She lives here now happily, is now chipped, fixed, and vaxxed, and her name is Tiger Lily (named after another outdoor grey cat I had as a kid that got hit by a car).

She used to aggressively chase my other 2 cats, but now mostly just wants to headbutt and cuddle with them. She mostly only hissed at first and couldn’t really meow (sounding like someone trying to speak who hadn’t used their voice in 10 years) and now she has the politest little baby meow. She looked so so miserable as a stray, and now she’s my happy little couch potato. Vet said she’s probably not much more than a year or so old, which tracks because she plays with EVERYTHING.

She’s gotten a bit chonky since I took her in and I’ve since changed foods and feeding habits, but other than that it’s just been so rewarding to see her change so much for the better now that she has a home. My apartment is tiny but she never really tries to escape or go back outside, and I’m just glad she’s happy here 🥹 I tell people she must have known what she was doing when she picked my driveway to haunt!

A coworker's wife works at a veterinary office and they found little Sonny dumped in their outside dumpster. They already have 4 dogs and since we had just lost our cat, it felt right to take on this puppy and give him a good home. This is my first puppy and boy is it a lot, but we're glad he is with us.

Just adopted this sweet girl!

This is bean. When Bean was surrendered to us, she was just six weeks old — underweight, fragile and suffering from a painful fracture in her front leg. Our medical team carefully splinted Bean’s leg, wrapping it again and again over the weeks as she grew. While we're happy to report shes happy, healthy and adopted in a new home, we'll never get over this photo!

Meet Wally. Wally found her way into a wall with no way to get out and I happened to be the one to rescue her. She's a cutie already!

I found her outside of my apartment building and she immediately let me give her pets. Soon she was waiting for me to come home from work just to get attention. Once I gave her a bit of food, she officially made herself comfortable inside my place.

I got her checked for any chips and it seems she has no other family to return to. She is officially mine!

Rescued this puppy through a reputable adoption agency—they claim to not really know what breed it is. They believe that she could be up to 10 different breeds (fair). Wondering if anyone had any thoughts on breed based on markings! DNA test sending out tomorrow. PS we know she’ll be a big one, Thanks!

Adopted from a recuse. Before and after being shaved (due to condition of her fur). She’s an Aussie-doodle. Looking forward to seeing her beautiful fur.

We adopted the guy on the right (1st photo) back in September when he was 6 months old. Him and his four littermates were dumped by breeders at 12 weeks old and he was the last one left. His name is Zenith. He instantly stole our hearts and became our silly little guy.

During the holidays, we stopped by the shelter he grew up in to drop off some donations and we saw his brother was up for adoption! He had been returned by his family due to him getting c. Diff and they asked to quarantine him there. After a few weeks of meds he was ready to go home but his family said they weren’t coming back for him. They asked if they could play together and of course we said yes. Their reunion was so heart warming, they recognized each other instantly. We couldn’t leave him there so now Atlas is our second silly little guy!

Huskies really are the best and having two has been so much better than one. Zenith was perfectly content being a one dog house but now there’s an extra sparkle in his eye for sure. They love each other and talk to each other. The bitey face has begun 🤣

Zenith is slightly cross eyed and Atlas is slightly cockeyed and I somehow managed to get the perfect photo of both at the same time.