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In the US, approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter shelters every year (of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats). Some estimate that this number has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011.
To both celebrate the improvement and remind ourselves that we can still do better, we at Bored Panda are continuing our monthly series, showcasing the sweetest newly adopted pet pictures we can find.
Continue scrolling to meet the growing families, and for more feels, take a look at our earlier collections: September, August, July.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
We Adopted Luna Last Week And She Had Her First Grooming Appointment Today. I'm Not Sure We Got The Same Dog Back
RELATED:
#2
Rescued This Older Gal Recently
This is Molli. She’s 13 and this is the first time she snuggled with me like this since I got her
In 2020 and early 2021, the world saw record pet adoption rates, providing happy tales when they were needed the most. But now, in 2022, many of our shelters are swamped again.
“Shelters who haven't had to euthanize in 10 or 15 years are having to again,” said Tammy Dodson, a long-time rescue advocate who coordinates rescue transports out of Wise County, Virginia, moving dogs and cats north to rescues and adopters via the Animal Rescue Coalition.
#3
Not Only Is He Illegally Small, But This Is The First Brown Cat Our Rescue Has Ever Pulled Out Of Thousands! How Cool Is He?
#4
I Adopted The Shyest Cat At The Shelter And They Said He May Never Warm Up To Humans. We Are Doing Good
BlackestDawn 3 years ago
In many cases shy or even aggressive animals behave so due to the comparatively stressful environment of the shelter, and sometimes from past experiences and/or trauma. Once home and they get to know you and that environment most mellow out and can become really affectionate and loving. Unfortunately the reverse does exists though it's much rarer to my knowledge, and I believe in most cases it's due to the expectations of new owner.
#5
Couldn't Decide Which To Adopt, So I Kept The Family Together & Adopted All 3
It’s not that a higher percentage of pandemic adoptions are resulting in returns. For example, the return rates for dogs have remained around 10 percent.
But 10 percent of recent adoptees will result in a much higher total number than in the years prior
#6
I Heard A Kitten Crying Through An Open Window Last Night. I Think He's Glad To Be Rescued
#7
Rescued This Little Guy From The Hood Of A Car A Few Days Ago
#8
My GF Recently Adopted Old Man Sampson(18) He’s Mostly Def And His Back Legs Are Getting Worse, But He Still Loves Sniffing Around And Going For Walkies
ThatHuskyStorm 3 years ago
That’s nice that he gets to live out his glory years with love and a home to call his own.
#9
I Volunteer At A Shelter And Had Managed To Refrain From Adopting A Dog For Years, But A Month Ago This Girl Instantly Obliterated My Resolve. Her Adoption Is Finalized Tomorrow
Dogs are being surrendered to shelters and rescues in record numbers. At Big Dog Ranch in Florida, they normally take in one owner surrender a day, but they’re currently taking about seven. It's a similar story at one shelter after another.
Some of these dogs are young purebreds purchased during the pandemic whose breed eccentricities or needs were too much for a new owner, but many are being given up because their owners can no longer afford them, or their work or housing situation has changed drastically.
#10
We Adopted Flower A Few Weeks Ago After First Fostering Because We "Weren't Ready For Another Dog". She Very Much Loves My Boyfriend And Also Sits Like This
#11
This Is Jagger At The Saveafox Domestic Fox Rescue. He Just Got A Pumpkin As A Treat
Virgil Blue 3 years ago
Never seen a fox with patterns like this before. Is he changing into his winter coat? Anyway, looking good Jagger!
#12
My Smol Rescue, I'm In Love
#13
Adopted A New Kitten And My Void Instantly Accepted Him!
However, not all is bad. Clear the Shelters 2022 wrapped up with some fantastic news: the campaign found homes for more pets than ever before.
According to a release from NBCUniversal Local, Clear the Shelters — a nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign — helped more than 161,500 pets find their forever families during 2022's program, which ran from Aug. 1-31. This is the highest single-year adoption total in the initiative's eight-year history.
#14
We Adopted A Very Shy Kitten Last Sunday. This Morning He Came Up To Me And Sat On My Lap All On His Own For The First Time
#15
We Just Adopted This Goofy Big Boy Named Barnacle - 15 Weeks Old And Bigger Than Our Two Year Old Cat!
#16
Jellybean Rescued My Husband This Weekend And Now They Are Inseparable
#17
I Posted A Few Days Ago About Old Man Earl At The Shelter I Volunteer At
Well I adopted him today. He is skeletal and I think he needs a sweater. So far he enjoys squirrel watching on the open window sill
The fundraiser of Clear the Shelters 2022 also delivered big this year, with more than $540,000 in donations going to Clear the Shelters' partner animal rescues. (Amazon's 'Stream It Forward' initiative in partnership with Hill's Pet Nutrition committed $100,000 of the donation total.)
#18
Flora Was Rescued From Neglectful Owners And Due To Illness Can't Close Her Mouth Fully. Now She Has A Perma-Blep, Good Thing She Doesn't Seem To Care
#19
Recently Rescued This Little Old Lady And From The Looks Of It She Loves Car Rides
#20
Rescued This Kitten From Behind A Dumpster, Meet Mittens!
Mountainslady1 3 years ago
You're under arrest for being illegally smol. Sentence is lifetime of cuddles. Starting now.
#21
This Illegally Smol Criminal Has Been Living In My Back Yard. No One Wants To Adopt Her So I Guess She Is Now My Illegally Smol Criminal
#22
A Pile Of Rescue Voidlings
Crazy Meerkat Lady 3 years ago
Ladies and gentlemen, can I please draw your attention to the little white fluffy bird on the left that is being flipped discreetly. I repeat, on the left he is flipping us the fluffy bird.
#23
This Little Guy Just Adopted Us... Walked In To The House Right Behind Me
#24
Adopted The Goodest Boy Today
Susan Green 3 years ago
My day is complete now. Looking at all of these cute rescues has made me so happy.
#25
This Is My Grandderp, Leo. My Husband Rescued Him Right After This Picture Was Taken
#26
George Is The Name Of The Little Kitten That My Sister Adopted
When I enter the room, it waits for me hidden to play with its little claws and teeth. I have a feeling that when it grows up it will be terrible but it doesn't matter, my heart is yours
#27
My Rescue Overlord Loaf
#28
Just A Little Rescue Cat. She Is Wonderful
Sergy Yeltsen 3 years ago
Always gotta love the juxtaposition of big, tough men and little, fluffy cats.
#29
Passionfruit Wants To Thank Everyone For Supporting Our Rescue
#30
Our Little Rescue. She’s 5 Weeks Old With Development Of A 3 Week Old . She Was Also The Runt Of The Litter
#31
My Life Has Become So Much Brighter Since I Adopted Sofi
#32
I Can't Believe You Adopted Us Both! Happiness Will Rule After The Shock Wears Off
#33
He Was A Stray I Found Outside Our House, And I Fed Him. A Little While Later, He Dozed Off On My Lap. I Decided To Adopt This Tiny Fella
#34
My 4 Rescues
#35
This Is My Sweet Foster That I Ended Up Adopting
She was found starving with her siblings in a container at a week old. What color and pattern is her coat? She is now 2.5 months old and seems to me like a snowshoe/tabby to me because she has white boots and stripes
#36
This Is Piper. She Showed Up On My Aunt’s Property And Decided To Adopt Us. I Stopped By To See My Aunt And Gave This Girl Some Head Massage. She Passed Out Like That
#37
Just Adopted This Fluffy Old Lady With A Little White Mustache!
Sergy Yeltsen 3 years ago
She's beautiful. That moustache... and those whiskers! May you have many years with her.
#38
Adopted These Two Today
#39
Adoption Day For Our New Sic!
Lakota Wolf 3 years ago
For those who may not know: "SIC" is internet jargon for "Standard Issue Cat"! It means brown tabbies like the kitty in the photo. They are called generic/standard issue cats since it's the base color/markings for the wildcats that our domestic kitties descended from!
#40
Can't Tell If I Adopted A Rabbit Or A Cat
#41
New Pup Rescued - This Is Rori!
#42
I Finally Adopted My First Kitten. This Is Tofu And I Love Him So Much It Hurts
#43
Adopted A New Baby Today, Her Name Is Fran
#44
Oh Gosh I Rescued A Vampire! What Do I Do?!
#45
I Adopted A Fur-Baby 2 Weeks Ago
#46
Today We Adopted Our Second Greyhound, Lily. I Think Her And Hank Will Get Along Just Fine
Deborah Harris2 3 years ago
She'll soon be bossing him around and using him as a cushion, brindle boys have the best personalities xx
#47
Officially Adopted Our New Baby & Brought Him Home Today!! He's So Excited To Be Home & Such A Sweetheart
#48
Thought I Should Share My 4 Recently Adopted Babies
#49
Our Sic We Rescued A Month Ago. Named Her Maybelline. “Maybe She’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Maybelline.”
#50
Detained With The Evidence Still On His Face!
Our first rescue bottle baby ♡ approx 2.5 - 3 weeks old
tara 3 years ago
I am soooo jealous! I had the fortunate opportunity to raise bottle babies too! One set was only a day old. I am quite literally their mother, and always will be <3 Feeding every few hours, hot water bottles and blankets, poopy bums and bubble baths.... I would do it a million times again!
#51
My Brother Adopted This Miniature Thing And Named It Muffin
#52
Still Cute With No Teeth? She Had Them All Removed Before I Rescued Her
Frankthetank 3 years ago
The kitty has stomatitis, autoimmune disease- removing all of the teeth is curative. Cats also don't need teeth to eat kibble, most don't chew it much anyway
#54
I Adopted This Sweet Girl Yesterday
#55
Our Newly Adopted Family Member :) (Honey)
#56
Adopted Her 2 Weeks Ago And This Finally Happened
#57
Just Adopted This Fella. Any Tips On Being A Cat Dad Or Things I Will Need?
#58
Just Adopted This Gal Today
She spent most of the car ride staring up at me. She's been following me around my apartment too. She is just...perfect. Her name was Kaylee in the shelter but I've settled on Reeces
#59
This Is Spud, Our Rescue! He Really Likes To Play In Mud, But He Deserves It After What He's Gone Through
#60
We Were Prepared For Our Rescue To Take A While To Settle In. Winnie Lovingly Proved Us Wrong On Night One!
#61
Introducing Hummus, Our New Rescue Kitten
#62
Hey Everyone I Just Adopted This Sweet Baby From Our Local Animal Shelter Today. I Named Her Aspen And They Said She Is 10 Months Old
#63
Adopting This Baby, Any Name Ideas?
#64
Parents Rescued This Sweet Little Guy From The Shelter
#65
Xena Came Home With Us Today After An Impromptu Trip To The Shelter
Zack Podany 3 years ago
Don't let anyone tell you any BS about fire huskies. Eye color has nothing to do with temperament.
#66
I Adopted The Black Cat (No Sacrifices)
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
I have a void, too. His name is Jack. He was the runt of his litter, but grew into 15lbs of pure love bug. He is the sweetest and gentlest big boy in the world. Enjoy your void.
#67
My Recently Adopted Siamese Smol
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
She looks like a Seal Point Siamese. Those markings, or “points”, will continue to get even darker until she reaches full maturity.
#68
Just Adopted This Cutie! Any Name Ideas?
#69
This Little Girl We Just Rescued
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Still checking you out and tuning into you. Be good, and you just might pass muster with her. Then she will shower you with love and devotion her entire life.
#70
This Is Linus After 1 Day After Adoption. Every Sign Of Attention Will Be Repayed In A Flop To The Floor
#71
9th Cat Rescued At Work This Year- Disgusted To Find Herself Enjoying Cuddles
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Word got out that your office is a good place to go when you’re a cat who’s tired of living on the streets.
#72
Just Adopted- Any Advice?
#73
Just Adopted Her Yesterday 💚
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
I think she’s happy about it, because she’s checking out the view from her window.
#74
This Adopted Cutie Needs A Name! Any Ideas?
#75
I Adopted The Goodest 6 Year Old Boy Ever
#76
Adopted These Two 7 Year Old Sisters, Fiat And Lada
#77
Three Rescue Kitties Who Took Over The Spare Bedroom As Their Solarium. Yes, There's Three Of Them In The Picture
#78
Recently Adopted, Oreo
#79
World, Meet Simba! We Adopted Him Yesterday. He's Neutered, Dewormed, De-Flead, And Has Tested Negative For Hpv And Braincells!
#80
Adopted This Bb Girl Today. No Name Just Yet
#81
Adopted My First Dog Ever Today. I’ve Always Wanted A Labrador, This Lucky Guy Is Going To Be Spoiled Beyond Belief. Everyone Say Hello To Dirk!
#82
I Adopted A Shy Kitten Yesterday. He Just Climbed On My Lap For The First Time❣️❤️
#83
First Time Cat Owner
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
You are in for the most loving, satisfying, and enjoyable ride of your life.
#84
My Partner & Her First Ever Pet - A Fast Growing Rescue Pup!
#85
My Son Has Been Asking For A Cat For A Few Years Now. We Picked Up This Happy Little Rescue Yesterday
#86
My Rescue Cat Chickpea. Loves Being Held Like A Baby
#87
I Have Waited So Long To Get A Cat! This Is Liesl And I Adopted Her Today From The Indianapolis Animal Shelter. She Is A Year Old And She Is Perfect And I Love Her!
#88
My Mother Adopted A Rancor
#89
Major Tom Politely Requests Mew Keep A Smol Distance
I adopted this rescue kitty recently. He’s slowly letting me get closer and closer. He isn’t ready for pets and pats yet, but he’s warming to me and doesn’t hiss if I come near
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Don’t worry. Keep loving Major Tom and he will be your cuddle Buddy really soon.
#90
So Obsessed With Our New Lil Rescue. 💙
#91
Last Night I Received 2 Rescue Kittens They Are 6 Weeks Old
#92
It's Only Day 2 After Adopting Simba! Can't Get Enough Of This Guy ❤️❤️
#93
New Rescue!! Should I Name Him Peaches Or Chainsaw?
#94
My Rescue Boy Is A Sic Right?
#95
Fostering To Adopt This Cutie! He Needs A New Name…
#96
Meet My Recently Adopted Girl!
She was a breeder at a puppy mill and very sick when rescued. (now fat from steroids.) she's may be a mix with the short legs and flop ears, but has the bentley star and a gorgeous black and silver coat. After settling in she's now my shadow and the best girl ever!
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
She’s tuning into you while following you. She’ll be your bestest buddy for life.
#97
I Adopted This Little Guy (Fry) About A Week Ago. He’s An 8ish Week Old Kitten. He’s Super Friendly And I Instantly Fell In Love
#98
This Is Titus. He’s An 8 Month Old Full Aussie
#99
Say Hello To Our Gorgeous Girl, Dara, Who We Adopted Today
#100
About To Adopt This Lil Man.. Any Tips? Advice? He Will Be My First Dog!
Owen Jarvis 3 years ago
Love him, Walk him, feed him, play often, and vary his treats to keep it interesting for him. 😎
#102
Purrogi - Just Adopted This 10 Week Old Fuzz Ball
#103
Looking For A Name For My Latest Rescue Pup
Susan Atkinson 3 years ago
Look at that tongue! His name shall be Gene, after Gene Simmons from Kiss!
#104
We Adopted A Derp Last Night
#105
To Adopt A Dog
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Awkward Lady 3 years ago
Always love to see the animals getting a new life full of love and caring owners! 🐶
Awkward Lady 3 years ago
Always love to see the animals getting a new life full of love and caring owners! 🐶
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