These days, more people than ever are turning to their local animal shelter when they’re ready to welcome a new family member into their home, and why wouldn’t you? Not only can you provide a home for an animal who may have come from a difficult situation like being orphaned or abandoned, but you also help the shelter so they have space and funds to keep providing important services like spaying/neutering, vaccinating, and getting more animals off the streets and introduced to willing adopters.

If you’re still not convinced, let’s look at the testimonials from the animals themselves! Here are some pictures of rescue animals who haven’t known their new families for long, but are already pretty sure they’re going to fit in just fine.

#1 My Rescue Cat Assuring My Recently Adopted Pup That She Will Be All Right And Is Now In A Home Full Of Love

Image credits: logannicole_xo

#2 The Time I Rescued A Crying Kitten Outside My Cat Cuddled Her

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#3 My Friend Just Texted “Adopted A Dog Yesterday” With This Pic

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Why do some new pet parents say that they planned to adopt one kitten, but ended up with two? It turns out that the reason why so many shelters push taking home a pair of kittens and even incentivize it with adoption deals is because two kittens really are better than one⁠—for the kittens themselves, your home, and everyone in it.

According to cat welfare educator Hannah Shaw, who specializes in kitten care and is known for her popular Youtube channel Kitten Lady, kittens that grow up with playmates are better-behaved. First of all, having two makes them less likely to get bored and turn to destructive behavior to entertain themselves, and also importantly, they learn not to play too roughly by testing boundaries with another kitten, rather than your hands.

You may think this only applies if you would be bringing your new kitten into an empty house, but even if you already have one cat, your older cat will thank you for getting two kittens who can keep each other company.

#4 Karen And Kevin. Adopt, Don’t Shop

Image credits: trickocereus

#5 We Adopted An 11-Year Old Cat From A Chicago Shelter. He And My 13-Yo Daughter Fell In Love. This Is Them After She Got Back From A Week At Camp

Image credits: tiffanymcclure

#6 Today, I Adopted Two 8 Week Old Kittens Who Are Brothers. I Originally Applied For One But When I Got The Call About Being Accepted To Adopt, I Was Asked If I Wanted To Adopt The Brothers Together Because The People Adopting His Brother Backed Out. Meet Kingston And Derby!

Image credits: lukas120

#7 Adopted This Guy A Week Ago. Was Scared Of Everything, But Decided To Trust Me. Four Days Later, And He Is A Very Good Boy With His Very First Own Squeaky Toy

Image credits: wild_northerner

#8 We Rescued A Terrified Australian Shepherd As A Friend For Our Dog. Now He Doesn’t Leave His Side.

Image credits: tiffanysonreddit

#9 On Our Way Home From Adopting Her. Like Father Like Daughter.

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#10 Our Family Applied To Adopt This Little One Today. Hoping All Goes Well

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#11 The Way Our New Puppy Looked At Me The Whole Ride To Her New Home Melted My Heart

Image credits: just-a-redditor-

#12 First Time Cat Owner. I Used To Think I Was A Dog Person, But I Think I May Have Been Wrong

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#13 Adopted This Sweet Boy Yesterday And Couldn’t Be Happier! His Name Is Moose.

Image credits: MoosePissAndEthanol

#14 My Friend Adopted This Sweet Baby And I Think You All Needed To See It

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#15 Meet Our Witchy Girl Wynne! We’re So Glad She Chose Us To Be Her Forever Home

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#16 Adopted Him Last Week From A Shelter. I Think He’s Happy About It

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#17 Rescued Him From The Streets. Vet Visit Was Great Despite Skin Issues

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#18 Just Rescued This Puppy From The Streets. That Is It First Nap After A Shower And Food

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#19 Jubilee Got Adopted!!!

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#20 We Rescued Him At Just A Couple Weeks Old And Now He Thinks I’m His Momma, He’s My Paracat

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#21 Adopted This Little Croissant Today

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#22 When I Rescued Icarus, I Was Hoping He Would Like Me, And I Hoped He Was A Cuddle Bug. I Think I Got My Wish. Pupper Is Out Cold

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#23 This Is Ruger. We Rescued Him In August. He Was Found In A Box On The Side Of The Road. No Fault Of His Own. This Poor Boy Would Have Died. I Can’t Even Think Of It Without Crying. He Is Now One Of Our Children And Will Never Go Anywhere Else.

Image credits: Blendedmom520

#24 Grandma Got A New Bestfriend. “He Chose Me.”

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#25 Welcome Mr Tiggs My Wife Adopted Him As His Previous Owner Wanted Him Gone. Mr Tiggs Has Made Himself Feel Quite At Home On My Bed

Image credits: Bellytickler-81

#26 Tell Me The Story Of How I Was Rescued Again

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#27 I Adopted A Senior Cat. He’s 11 Years Old And 19 Lbs. The Shelter Told Me He Is Skittish And It Would Be A Slow Intro. His Last Family Returned Him After 6 Months. He Is My Shadow- Woke Up At 4am To All 19 Lbs Sleeping On My Chest, Face An Inch Away From Mine. Goose Was Always Meant To Be Mine

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#28 Trapped This Feral Kitten At Work To Save It From The Exterminator. Now She Has A Great Home And I’ve Got A Great Kitten! Everybody Wins!

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#29 Rescued Two Kittens From Different Litters & Caught This Moment Just Two Days After Bringing Them Home. We Stopped Worrying If They Would Bond Or Not After That. Fozzy (Orange) & Arthur (Grey) Been Inseparable Since!

Image credits: EveryoneInTheChunnel

#30 This Is My Rescue Dog At The Vet Right After Being Freed From The Puppy Mill

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#31 I Almost Adopted Just One Of These Girls But My Daughter Asked For Both. I’m So Glad I Indulged Her

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#32 We Adopted This Gorgeous (Albeit, Grumpy) 15 Year Old Girl Today. Previous Owners Could No Longer Take Care Of Her. Here She Is Settling Into Her New Forever Home!

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#33 Meet Puppy Mango!

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#34 Our Newest Little Family Member. Meet Jack!

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#35 My Parents Adopted This Little Kitten For The New Year

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#36 From Shelter To His Forever Home. Reddit Meet Colt!

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#37 Counting Down The Hours Until I Can Officially Adopt This Little Guy And Bring Him Home. So Excited!

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#38 First Walk With Our Rescue Named “Beau”

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#39 My Girlfriend Adopted A 5 Year Old Handsome Boy

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#40 I Adopted My Boy Saban Today! He Is A Beautiful 8 Week Old Golden Retriever Today.

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#41 We Saw This Pic, And 3 Hours Later Adopted Jonah The Bunny!!

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#42 Just Got A Puppy Earlier. Everybody, Meet Ollie!

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#43 Adopted Her Yesterday,she Loves To Play!

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#44 Meet Butters. Yesterday He Was A Tough Street Kitten. Today He’s The Proud Owner Of A Queen Size Bed

Image credits: Vilnius_Nastavnik

#45 Meet My New Puppy, Mooncake!

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#46 This Is Wednesday, The Rescue Kitten With Only One Eye

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#47 Suki Was In Care For 8 Years Before I Adopted Her, And I Couldn’t Love This Little Goblin More.

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#48 After 27 Years Of Being A Cat Person, I Adopted Lou. Best Decision. My Heart Is Full

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#49 We Rescued Frank From A Local Breeder Who Was “Done” With Him And His Lack Of Teeth Means He Sucks On His Treats Til They’re Soft Enough For Him To Chew With The Few Teeth He Has Left! He Has A New Very Happy Life.

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#50 Meet Luna Lovefood Our Adopted Fur Baby. Yes, That Is A Wild Mouse On Her Head.

Image credits: fishandchipsbro

#51 Meet Ziggy!

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#52 Recently Visited A College Friend And He Adopted These Adorable Kitties, Brother And Sister. Meet Lucifer And Lillith!

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#53 Best Friends Since Yesterday

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#54 Moochie Lived Outside Where I Work For At Least 2 Years. She Was Noticeably Sick And I Couldn’t Leave Her There Any Longer

Image credits: Victoria Naujokas Panebianco

#55 Meet Potato! Woke Up And Didn’t Know I Was Going Home With A Kitten Today

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#56 Just Adopted This Beautiful Girl From A Local Rescue, She Likes To Lay In People’s Laps Despite Weighing Over 100 Lbs

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#57 We Adopted A Pair Of Kittens. Our Ginger Approves

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#58 Our New Years Eve Was Spent Getting This Cutie. 2020, Meet Baker!

Image credits: reddit.com

#59 Meet Our Newest Rescue Pup: Beatrice!

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#60 Meet Artemis. Rescued Street Cat

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#61 My Rescued Stray After A Week At Home

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#62 This Is My Rescue, Jed. Thought I Could Go To A Shelter And Just Play With A Dog And Be On My Way. He Was The First And Only Dog I Met That Day. Found In Arkansas At About 6 Months Old, Somehow Managed To Make His Way Into My Heart (And Every Other Aspect Of My Life).

Image credits: reddit.com

#63 Adopted This 5 Year Old Kitty From The Shelter. Everyone Meet My Freckle Nosed Baby, Richard!

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#64 For A Best Friend She’s Quite Goofy Lookin But 10/10 Would Adopt Again

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#65 My First Pet At 29. I Just Want To Give Her Everything She’ll Ever Want.

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#66 Jefferson On His Way To His New Home With New Mom. (Freinds Good Boi)

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#67 New Years Eve Me And My Girlfriend Rescued A Kitten That Was Hiding In An Air Conditioning Vent Outside My Work.

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#68 Happy Adoption Day Nitro!

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#69 Adopted This Girl Yesterday And Took Her To The Park Today. She Was So Happy With Everyone Giving Her Compliments!

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#70 After Months Of Living In The Streets And Being Bullied By Other Cats, I Rescued Masha. She Is Now A Happy Indoors Cat

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#71 Rescued My First Dog, And She’s Already Stolen My Heart

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#72 We Rescued Jethro A Couple Of Weeks Ago. He Seems Proud Of His New Tag.

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#73 Adopted This 11 Year Old Diabetic, Asthmatic Boy On Christmas Eve. I’d Say He Is Settling In Nicely.

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#74 Meet Millie! Adopted Her From The Shelter This Month.

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#75 Meet Calypso, Our New Rescue Cat

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#76 7 Years Ago I Was Terrified Of Dogs, Now Today I Adopted A Dog Scared Of People, This Is The Closest He’s Gotten To Me After A Week. Meet Kylo!

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#77 Meet Scooter! Abused And Neglected Left At A No Kill. We Fostered Him Then Adopted! We Are So Blessed To Have This Beautiful Man In Our Lives Now.

Image credits: reddit.com

#78 Surrendered For Adoption 5 Times Because Of Too Much Energy, I Present Kadie: Destroyer Of Basketballs

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#79 Two Weeks After Being Rescued, Pickle Has Made Himself At Home!

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#80 I Found Her At School Two Weeks Ago And My Students Decided To Name Her Típex. I Finally Adopted Her Today! 🙂

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#81 Adopted This Little Monster Yesterday. Best Decision Ever!

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#82 This Is Crumpet. We Just Adopted Him Today

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#83 My Mom Adopted This Little Girl And Her Mom. They Both Have Thumbs!

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#84 Just Adopted This Beautiful Tabby Cat. We Named Her Delilah

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#85 These 4 Kittens From A Stray Mom Have Been Socialised And Adopted All Together Today.

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#86 Adopted This Little Floof Last Week And Couldn’t Be More Happier

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#87 I Got A New Little Baby! Her Names Mochi

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#88 Yesterday I Made A Spur Of The Moment Decision And Adopted Clover. Here Is A Picture Of Her First Purr

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#89 Meet Freddie, New Rescued Family Member

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#90 I Just Brought Home A Kitten From A Rescue Shelter- I Know Nothing About Cats -But I Already Love Her- Everyone Meet Jo-Jo!!!

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#91 Our Baby Girl, Stevie Licks, The Day We Rescued Her. She’s A Great Listener When She Wants To Be…

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#92 Hey Guys, I’m Xena! I Got Adopted Today!

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#93 BF Adopted A Rescued Kitten. Banana For Scale

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#94 Adopted Draco An Hour Ago. He Was The First Cat I Looked At

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#95 Me And My Girlfriend Finally Adopted A Kitten, Meet Kit-Kat!

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#96 We Got Adopted Today!

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#97 Adopted Two Beautiful Egyptian Mau’s Today!

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#98 Meet Murphy. We Adopted Him From Spain To Come Live With Us In England. He’s 1 And Fits In With The Family, Loves Our Cat, Benny And Our Other Dog, Alan

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#99 Just Adopted This Precious Baby Today

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#100 My Cousin Adopted These Two Puppets Today!

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#101 His Name Is Arlo And He Is My New Favorite Thing In The World 🙂

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#102 Me: “We Don’t Have Room For Any More Dogs” Sister: *sends This Pic From The Shelter* Me: “Ok Maybe One More Dog” Everyone Say Hi To Gemma

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#103 Neighbors Abandoned Him When They Moved, He’s Now My Best Friend. Say Hi To Mister Meow

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#104 My Rescue Josie. She Went From Being Terrified Of New People (Hiding, Shaking, Whimpering) To Demanding Attention And Snuggles!!! She’s Come A Long Ways!

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#105 So Happy We Rescued This One

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#106 Can You Believe He Was Free At The Shelter? What An Angel Baby. Adopt Don’t Shop!

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#107 I Adopted My First Cat Ever Today. She’s About 6 Months Old And So Sweet. Meet Willow!

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#108 This Is Barry, Adopted Only 48 Hours Ago. He Was Supposed To Be Very Shy. I Think He’ll Be Fine

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#109 My Favorite Picture Of My Cat, Which I Took The Day I Adopted Him

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#110 Our New Member Of The Family, Benjamin

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#111 Adopted A Rescue Cat Today. Meet Pumpkin

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#112 We Just Rescued This Pretty Lady From The Shelter

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#113 Going On Two Weeks Of Having Her Now. She’s So Happy To Finally Have A Home.

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#114 Meet Scout. Adopted Today From A Rescue Shelter.

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#115 Adopted This Cutie From The Shelter Yesterday. World, Meet Frankie!

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#116 Adopted This Beauty From The Human Society Today

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#117 This Is Cheddar. His Adoption Papers Were Signed This Morning. He Is Now Officially King Of The Couch

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#118 New Adopted Puppy Won’t Stop Playing

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#119 Just Adopted This Bundle Of Love This Morning. My Daughter Wrapped The Blanket Around Him, So That He Could Have A Comfy Nap Time. Fenrir Is Such A Wonderful Addition To The Family!

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#120 Adopted This Handsome Good Boy Yesterday! Meet Spock!

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#121 Just Rescued This Big Baby Named Hunter

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#122 I Adopted This Girl Yesterday. It Took A Few Hours But I Think We Will Be Friends!

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#123 I Adopted A Handsome Boy Last Night. Meet Griffin!

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#124 My Sweetie, Week After Adoption

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#125 My Sister Just Adopted This Pup. Her Name Is Cookie. She’s Extremely Afraid Of Humans And Will Stare You Down With Her Cute Eyes

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#126 Adopted 2 Days Ago And Look How Happy Masha Is

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Source: boredpanda.com