There’s hardly any better feeling than rescuing a pet in need, bringing it to its forever home, and giving it all of your love so it can live its best life. Well, get ready to go ‘aww’ and have your heart melt because Bored Panda has collected this month’s most wholesome adopted pet photos.

The silent heroes helping people rescue adorable pets in need are animal welfare organizations and shelters. So we reached out to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to talk about pet adoption, as well as how animal shelters are rising to the challenge presented by the coronavirus pandemic. Adoptions Promotions Manager at the ASPCA, Kelly DiCicco, told Bored Panda all about the immense strain that American animal shelters are under right now.

Scroll down for the full interview, upvote your fave pics, and share photos of your own rescue pets in the comment section below. And if you’re having a particularly tough day at school or at work, then we’ve got some great news: you can overload yourself with cuteness with our earlier blessed rescue pet photos from June, May, April, March, February, and January.

Warning: Top-tier cuteness below!

#1 First Time Being Carried After Being Rescued

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#2 My Dog The Night We Adopted Him.

Image credits: Dk-79

#3 Just Adopted This Chonker. 100% Going On A Diet Today

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Unfortunately, there are a lot of unwanted animals all over the world. In the United States alone, around 6.5 million companion animals enter the country’s shelters every single year. Roughly half of these are dogs while cats make up the other half. Though this is grim news, the situation has actually gotten better: the number has dropped from 7.2 million in 2011.

We spoke to DiCicco from the ASPCA about the biggest issues that people tend to have when considering pet adoption and what can be done to alleviate any worries.

“It should be expected that you’ll experience lifestyle changes over the course of the pet’s life, such as moving, having children or getting a new job, so it’s important to consider how you will care for your pet during those changes before you add that pet to your family; many shelters offer various forms of support to answer questions you might have before you adopt, or afterward,” DiCicco explained.

#4 We Adopted This Cute Boy And For The Past Couple Weeks He Has Been Super Shy. Today For The First Time He Plopped In My Lap An Did This.

Image credits: SAMxxxFISHER

#5 I Always Thought I Adopted A Stray Cat, But From Time To Time She Just Looks Like A Little Bunny

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#6 When We Got Them The Shelter Said They *had* To Be Adopted Together. They Demonstrate Why On A Daily Basis

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“While each shelter is different, pets are generally assessed and then introduced to potential adopters based on the likelihood of compatibility. Every animal is an individual—even those within a specific species or breed—and shelter staff are experts at making matches that work. If you ultimately determine that now is not the best time to adopt, fostering can allow you to change an animal’s life for the better and is a rewarding experience for those who choose to become caregivers.”

She continued: “We always encourage adopters to keep an open mind and heart when visiting a shelter or rescue; as you may walk out with a pet you’d never considered before, like a senior animal or an animal who looks nothing like what you originally had in mind. Adopting an animal from a shelter or local rescue organization saves more than one life by freeing up space and resources for another animal in need.”

#7 Meet The Newest Member Of The Family, Dutch!

Image credits: GovSchwarzenegger

#8 Adopted A One Eyed Cat Today. Everyone Say Hi To Nick Furry

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#9 Juno, The Scottish Rescue Dog.

Image credits: JustKB24

Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has affected lots of American animal shelters. “Since it began, COVID-19 has put an immense amount of strain on animal shelters across the country. Because this is an ever-changing situation, each shelter is facing unique challenges specific to its community,” DiCicco explained to Bored Panda.

“Many shelters have reduced staffing due to social distancing requirements, which has meant reductions or limits to the number and types of services offered to the public. Additionally, shelters have felt the financial impacts of the pandemic, with reduced donations and an inability to host in-person fundraising events, which often play a key role in annual fundraising efforts,” she said.

#10 My Grandmother Adopted This 14 Year Old Angel That Howls At The Top Of Her Tiny Lungs And Wears Dresses Made From T-Shirt Sleeves

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#11 Got A New Kitten And My Daughter Thinks Its Her Baby.

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#12 This Is Digit. I Adopted Him This Morning, And He’s My New Best Friend

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The coronavirus crisis has created lots of problems. However, shelters are rising to the challenge and are using modern technology to overcome them and to help animals find their new forever homes.

“With hundreds of thousands of animals across the country currently in shelters, with rescue groups and in foster care, animal welfare organizations are implementing innovative solutions, including virtual or socially-distanced adoptions, online meet-and-greets using video chat, and minimal-contact drop-offs or pickups to help these animals find adoptive homes.”

#13 She Was Somehow The Last Of Her Litter To Be Adopted

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#14 I Adopted Her When I Was 15 And Living In California. We Loved Traveling Together, Even Living In A Campervan. Now I’m 25 And She’s 11, And We’re Still Adventuring. Now Living In Europe. People Say, “It’s Awesome That You Brought Your Dog When You Moved!”…but Not Bringing Her Was Never An Option.

Image credits: PhotographyByAdri

#15 We Adopted A Friend For Our Parrot Today And They Already Love Each Other

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Bored Panda wanted to find out how the adoption rate in 2020 compares to 2019. According to ASPCA’s very own DiCicco, there are some positive trends despite all of the difficulties.

“Adoption and foster rates vary throughout the year, depending on [various] factors, including the population of animals in an organization’s care and whether or not it’s feline breeding season when shelters see an influx of kittens.”

She continued: “The ASPCA did see an initial spike in adoptions in early March, although overall, we saw a decrease in adoptions amid the COVID-19 crisis. This is partly due to the fact that out of an abundance of caution related to the effects of COVID-19 across New York City, we have temporarily closed the ASPCA Adoption Center to the public. More recently, the ASPCA has been leaning on technology to place animals in loving homes safely using video conferencing, and our adoption process has shifted to meet the needs of pets and potential adopters in alignment with the CDC’s guidelines around social distancing.”

#16 Dad Had Always Said No Pets, Until My Sister Adopted One Behind His Back. This Was Their First Encounter.

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#17 Always Wanted A Cat Growing Up But Wasn’t Allowed. Today At 30 I Adopted This 4 Year Old Kitty Named Draco!

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#18 I Can Finally Adopt A Cat, It’s One Of The Happiest Days Of My Life. Welcome Home Apolo

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DiCicco said that the first few weeks of the stay-at-home orders across the US brought out the best in Americans. “We saw a heartwarming and heroic response from people looking to temporarily foster animals, including a nearly 70 percent increase in animals going into foster care through our NYC and Los Angeles foster programs, compared to the same period in 2019,” she said.

“As the pandemic stretches on, we continue to see growing interest from the public to temporarily foster animals in need. Those looking to foster or adopt should contact their local animal shelters to see what their specific needs are and how they can best help.”

So if you want an adorable rescue pet of your own or simply want to lend a helping hand, give your local animal shelter a ring or send them an email, dear Pandas.

#19 After Rescuing A Puppy From Across The Country, We Found Out That One Of His Brothers Also Got Adopted Near Us. We Set Up A Play Date For The Two, Here’s A Picture Of Them Together.

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#20 I Adopted The Saddest Looking Cat At The Shelter Three Years Ago.

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#21 My Rescue Cat Just Had Six Kittens On My Six Month Sober Anniversary. I Am Taking This As A Sign That I Will Be Able To Do This.

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#22 I Just Adopted This 8 Years Old Beauty In Petco

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#23 Adopted Her Her 2 Days Ago. Meet Penny!

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#24 I Adopted This Cat When He Was 18, Thinking We Would Have A Few Months To Give Him A Good Retirement. He’s Going Strong At 20.

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#25 A Friend Of Mine Who Is A Veterinarian Contacted Me Today And Told Me If I Wanted To Adopt This Little Guy. I Said Yes And As Of Today He Is My New Puppy

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#26 I Adopted My Sweet Girl From A Kill Shelter In Atlanta, Georgia. She’s Living Her Best Life In Halifax, Nova Scotia!

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#27 Johnathon Van Ness Of Queer Eye Fame, Adopted A Pup From Austin Pets Alive Today.

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#28 Today I Adopted A Stray Kitten. Meet Astrid

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#29 This Is Jethro! We Recently Rescued Him From Alabama, And He Is Very Good At Falling Asleep With His Tongue Hanging Out.

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#30 You Could Say He’s Pretty Excited To Be Adopted!

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#31 Just Adopted This Gorgeous Lady. She Rode Like This The Whole Way Home

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#32 My Cat Was In A Shelter With A 84% Kill Rate, & Was Denied Transport To A No-Kill Rescue Bc He Was “Too Ugly”. He Was So Sad And Just Wanted Love. His Story Was Posted To Fb & He Was Saved! I Adopted Him A Month Later (In 2018). He Is So Loving And Such A Sweetheart. Every Life Is Worth Saving!!

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#33 Adopted Her Last Week, She Seemed To Enjoy Her First Trip To The Dog Park

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#34 The Local Shelter Only Lets You Adopt Kittens In Pairs. I’m Starting To See Why

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#35 We Adopted A Purrito.

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#36 I Named Him Rorschach. My Kids Call Him Rori. He’s A Rescue.

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#37 Rescued This Boy After He’d Been Dumped In A Petsmart Parking Lot. He’s Been Much Happier Since Coming To His New Home With Me!

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#38 This Isn’t A Fancy Video Or Anything Really Cool, Just My Newly Adopted Ex-Racing Greyhound Rescue Max.

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#39 Drove Six Hours To Rescue This Pitsky Pup Today – Totally Worth It

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#40 Adopted This Cutie Back In January. Couldn’t Ask For A Better Quarantine Buddy!

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#41 Adopted This Lil Guy A Few Weeks Ago, He Was The Last Of His Litter Adopted Because He Was So Shy. Now He Won’t Leave Me Alone!

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#42 Just Adopted This 10 Year Old Floofy Boi Cooper

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#43 We’re Adopting My Friend’s Senior Dog Who’s Not Allowed On Their Couch. I Think He’s Going To Like Laying On Ours.

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#44 Adopted This Nugget A Day Before She Was Going To Be Put Down For Being “Too Anxious”. She Was Just Gassy From Bad Food.

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#45 I Adopted Rex 8 Months Ago, He Loves Being In The Bathroom But That’s His Throne

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#46 Adopted Tuna A Little Over 2 Weeks Ago, She’s 3 Months Old Today

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#47 Adopted Him About An Hour Ago .. And He’s Already Making Himself Right At Home.

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#48 Adopted Two Sisters Who Adore Each Other.

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#49 Just Adopted Our First Dog! 4 Months Old, And 3 Legs. Meet Ziggy 🙂

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#50 Meet My Absolutely Wonderful Dad With His Two Adopted Children Mephisto And Sophie.

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#51 My Dog Enjoying A Sunrise A Couple Weeks After I Adopted Her.

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#52 My Rescue Beau “Beauregard Humperdink” Posing In The Flowerbeds.

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#53 I Was Worried How My Cat Would React If I Adopted Another Kitten. I Think They’ll Be Ok.

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#54 I Was 2nd In Line But The Initial Adopter Backed Out So I’m Adopting Walter Tomorrow!

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#55 Had To Say Goodbye To Becker. Adopted Him At 18 Because He Needed A Final Home And He Surprised Us By Being The Most Loving Cat That Ever Lived. Never Missed An Opportunity To Get Pets And Would Always Greet You At The Door. I Don’t Think He Ever Stopped Purring. #adoptdontshop

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#56 Adopted A New Friend Yesterday. This Was His First Night At His New Home

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#57 Guys, I Want You To Meet Our Most Recent Adoption: Napoleón

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#58 Adopted This Amazing Little Guy Earlier Today

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#59 I Rescued A Pregnant Stray Cat, And She Has Already Made Herself At Home! :3

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#60 Buddy The Sable Is A Smiley Pet That Was Rescued From A Fur Farm (Sable Is A Close Relative Of Pine Marten)

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#61 New Fam! Our 2 Sons Freshly Adopted.

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#62 I Adopted Two Kittens Last Week, And I Think Mitzy Is Finally Accepting Me

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#63 Rescued This Mama Kitty And Her Babies During Quarantine

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#64 Meet Mila, Three Year Old Great Pyr My Girlfriend And I Adopted Today!

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#65 Adopted This Senior Chonk Today. Gonna Start His Weight Loss Journey! Wish Him Luck!

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#66 We Adopted Our Second Daughter Yesterday!

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#67 Perks Of Being A Veterinary Student: Neighbors Just Hand You Stray Kittens They Rescue. Reddit, Meet Alfred.

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#68 My 7 Week Barn Rescue, Ashby

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#69 Adopted This Cutie A Couple Of Months Ago!

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#70 My Mom Rescued This Wee One From A Woodpile Just Two Weeks Ago. The Mother Is Feral But She Still Comes Around, And My Mom Feeds Her Twice A Day, Too. Next Up, Cnr For The Mom Cat!

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#71 This Is Bear. We Adopted Him On Saturday. This Photo, Taken Yesterday By My 4 Year Old Nephew, Was The First Time He Was Willing To Look At The Camera.

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#72 It’s Been 1 Year Since Ravani’s Adoption!

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#73 Smol Kittens We Rescued After They Were Dumped.

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#74 The Day After We Rescued Our Puppy, Zelda. She Thought Her Big Sister, Chloe, Was Her Momma For Several Weeks.

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#75 Our New Yet To Be Named Baby. Rescued From A Potato Farm

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#76 First Time Poster. I Recently Adopted My First Shiba From A Friend Of A Friend. His Name Is Henry And I Think He’s A Pretty Happy Boi ??

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#77 Cherry. New Kitten That I Adopted

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#78 Reddit, Meet Maui. I Adopted Him Today, He’s A 3 Year Old German Sheppard And My Very First Dog:)

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#79 My Friend And I Both Adopted Kittens That Are Close In Age And Look Identical; Hers Is A Girl And Mine’s A Boy. We Facetimed With Them Once And It Was… Adorable.

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#80 This Is Out 10 Year Old Rescue George. He Gets All Of The Treats And Loving We Have To Give Him.

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#81 Meet Our New Baby Rescue Hippo

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#82 We Rescued This Little Guy Who Was Dumped At A Nearby Monastery

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#83 Just Adopted My First Kitten. His Name Is Mochi

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#84 Last Week I Decided To Adopt A Kitten… There I Learned The Kitten I Was Adopting Had Been Found In The Woods Curled Up In A Log With Her Sister And They Had Been Inseparable Ever Since… Needless To Say I Ended Up Adopting 2 Kittens… Meet Ash And Ember…

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#85 Adopted A New Bun Today! His Neglectful Owners Told Us, “ He Doesn’t Like Vegetables. Only Bananas.” Riiiiight

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#86 My Aunt’s New Rescue, Dudley, Looks Like He’s Wearing Trousers

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#87 I Was Told You All May Be Interested In Meeting My Little Prince Oakie. He’s A Super Senior! 20 And Going Strong 🙂 (Adopted At Age 18 By Me)

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#88 We Adopted Coco (Right) Hoping She’d Be Best Friends With Oliver (Left). I Think That Worked Out Wonderfully!

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#89 I Just Adopted A New Cat And Thought You Guys Might Appreciate.

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#90 This Is Mildred. I Adopted Her Yesterday And She Already Letting The Murder Mittens Go Free.

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#91 This Is Percy, My Little Quarantine Cat. When My Partner And I Adopted Him A Couple Of Months Ago, He Had A Bunch Of Bald Patches From Stress And Was Very Nervous. Now His Hair Is Growing Back, And He Enjoys Quiet Days, Napping Anywhere Except For His Cat Bed.

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#92 My Parents Adopted Hoagie When She Was 14, And They Got Her A Hat.

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#93 Just A Stray Kitten I Adopted Helping Me With Work.

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#94 This Is Pepper Our 10 Year Old Black Lab Mix We Got From The Shelter About 5 Years Ago, She Is The Best Dog!!! Adopt Don’t Shop!

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#95 After 8 Years Waiting For A House With A Garden, We Can Finally Adopt Our First Dog. Reddit, Meet Rocket The Golden Retriever !

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#96 My New Calico Kitty, Kimba. I Adopted Her From The Humane Society.

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#97 Teaching Our Adopted Hound To Swim

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#98 He Gave His Best “I Got Adopted” Mew On The Way Home

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#99 Adopted This Senior Boy Who Had Surgery To Remove Rotten Teeth From His Life As A Stray And Now He Always Looks Like An Adorable Little Vampire Derp With His Teefies Out!!

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#100 We Recently Fostered Some Kittens And I Just Got This From One Of The Adopters. We Always Knew This One Was Special

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#101 Here Is A Picture Of The 3 Kittens My Brothers And I Rescued To Put A Smile On Your Face

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#102 11/06/19, The First Picture Of Our Youngest Rescue Cat, Kan. Heard Him Wailing At Around 3 Am, Looked For An Hour For Him, Pulled Him Out Of A Local Creek 24 Hours Before This Was Taken. Absolutely The Cutest

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#103 3 Months Ago My Mum Rescued Bella From 10 Years At A Puppy Mill. She Now Spends Most Of Her Day Sleeping, But She Still Smiles After Dinner Time.

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#104 Finnegan Always Sleeps Like This! I Rescued Him 3 Months Ago. Best Decision Ever!

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#105 Argh.. I’m A Pirate! My Rescue A Few Days After We Got Her Trying Out My Leg For Size

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#106 She Is Very Small, And Has No Money, So You Can Imagine The Amount Of Stress She’s Under. Meet Binx, Our New Adoption

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#107 2 New Kittens I Adopted Today

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#108 Adopted This Good Girl 2 Days Ago, Say Hello Everyone

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#109 Adopted A Dog From The Shelter. Or Possibly A Meerkat

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#110 Celebrate My Cake Day With Me By Enjoying This Photo Of My Cat With His Adopted Son ?

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#111 First Night Home After Being Adopted And Butters Is Already Curling!

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#112 This Is Bella. Was Told She Is A Girl When I Adopted. Turns Out Bella Has Balls.

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#113 I Wanted To Adopt A Kitten But I Ended Up With Two Since They Were Remaining Littermates. I Named Them Leviticus And Astraea

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#114 Adopted This Little Guy For My Sister. First Day And Looks Like He’s Adjusting Just Fine

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#115 Biscuit Won A Contest For Cutest Kitten Hosted By A Local Rescue Group In My Town.

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#116 Our New Good Floofy Boi, Azazel. Rescued From The County Shelter Because His Previous Owners Didn’t Want To Pay For His Dental Work. We Know He’s A Mix, Maybe Pomeranian?

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#117 He Aced The Adoption Interview. Just Wanted To Sit At Our Feet And Chew On Somethin. Thanks Always To Family Dogs New Life Shelter!

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#118 My Newly Adopted Halfmoon King! You Think He’s Happy About It?

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#119 This Pretty Young Lady Was Adopted By My Friend From Me. She Named Her Chilli And I Love It. Say Hi To Chilli!

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#120 I Adopted This Weirdo Last Saturday

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#121 Meet Sesame, Adopted Today To A Forever Home

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#122 Adopted This Smol Gal

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Source: boredpanda.com