About 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, roughly 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. The good news is that these numbers are a result of a steady decline—according to ASPCA estimates, there were approximately 7.2 million dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually around 2011. And while 710 thousand animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners, 3.2 million are adopted.

To help the latter figure grow even more, the subreddit r/BeforeNAfterAdoption urges people to share the amazing difference a loving family can make on an abandoned or mistreated animal. It has 360K members posting pictures that reveal the spectacular physical and mental transformations their adorable pets have gone through after leaving the shelter, and Bored Panda is ending this difficult year with some of the posts that went viral on the subreddit this December.

#1 Old Man Ed’s “I’m Getting Adopted!” Smile Is Both Handsome And Proud!

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#2 Frankie Was Born With Four Ears And An Eye Deformity But He’s Still Purrfect

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#3 Dandy Had Part Of Her Face Shot Off (Before I Adopted Her). I Love Her Two Derpy Top Teeth

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#4 The Day After My Cat Died, I Went To The Shelter And Told The Employee That I’d Adopt The Cat That Had Been There The Longest. She Said, “It’s An Older Black Cat… Are You Sure?” I Was Never So Sure Of Anything In My Life. Meet Dita Von Panzer

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#5 We Just Adopted The Most Snuggly, Beautiful, Chonk Of A Cat. Welcome Home, Bill

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#6 Four Days Since Adoption And New Kitten Charlie Is Loving His Big Brother Tipsy

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#7 Within 2 Seconds Of Meeting The Cat I Was Adopting, She Climbed Onto My Shoulders

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#8 I Adopted 12 Year Old Brutus A Few Months Ago. He Is Sluggish, Stubborn, Gassy, Hogs The Bed And Drools So Much I Have Actually Slipped On My Kitchen Floor. And I’m Head Over Heels In Love With Him

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#9 Went To The Shelter To Look At Dogs, They Didn’t Have Any There But Once This Lil Girl Saw Me She Started Pawing At Her Cage. Now I Have A New Forever Friend

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#10 These Two Were Adopted 3 Years Apart From Different Cities. A Dna Test Revealed That They Are Long Lost Siblings!

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#11 My Sister Adopted A Senior Dog – Meet Zombie

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#12 Adopted A 16 Year Old Bird Named Banana Last Week And She Finally Trusts Me Enough To Perch On My Shoulder

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#13 This Is Bonnie. She Is Happier To See The Food Aisle Than Just Recently Being Adopted

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#14 I Just Adopted Atticus This Weekend. He Was A Stray And They Told Me He’s A Very Fearful Cat. I Slowly Introduced Him To My Closet With Some Food, A Bed I Warmed Up In The Dryer, And Some Pets When He Allowed. Just This Morning He Sat In My Lap And Purred

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#15 He Was A Rescue. A Runt. Probably Blind, Deaf, Won’t Make It Very Long, They Told Me. Well, Happy 10th Birthday, Buddy

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#16 Adopted Teddy For Christmas, Safe To Say She’s Pretty Happy About It

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#17 After 3 Long Months Of Trying To Get Her Trust. This Cutie Has Finally Adopted Me!!

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#18 As A Single Dad, I Had To Put My Foot Down And Tell My Seven Year Old Daughter That There Was No Way She Was Getting A Dog For Chanukah, No Matter How Much She Asked. Anyway, Meet Waffle

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#19 This Is Bella. First Dog I Have Had In 20 Years

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#20 They We’re Meant For Each Other

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#21 Adopted Two “Undesirable Cats” At The Animal Shelter- A Very Scared Feral Kitten (Still Trying To Get A Good Face Pic) And The Fattest Cat In The Building- I Already Love Them So Much!

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#22 Adopted A Void Yesterday. Shelter Said She Didn’t Like Laps. It’s Been An Hour. Send Snacks

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#23 I Did Not Adopt This Dog. I Started Fostering Her And She Decided She Lives Here Now So I Guess She Does. Welcome To Your Forever Home Bellanova

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#24 Rescued A Couple Brothers This Weekend

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#25 Recently Adopted A Kitten, This Was A Pic Of Her First Night Home!

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#26 We Adopted A Kitten Last Month… We Now Have Nightly Ritual Of Checking The Fridge And Other Small Spaces To Make Sure He’s Not Trapped Anywhere Before We Go To Bed

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#27 My Wife And I Just Adopted This Sweet Old Dude

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#28 Society Says Black Cats Are Considered Less “Adoptable”. Society Is Wrong

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#29 Exactly A Month Ago He Was A ‘Feral’ Cat Suffering From Multiple Infections. Today He’s My Little Old Gentleman In A Christmas Bow Tie. Merry Christmas And Happy Adoption, Gizmo!

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#30 She Was Rescued From A Colony Of 30 Feral Cats In NE Ontario. She Follows Me Around For Snuggles, And Will Snuggle Me For Hours. I Think This One’s Gonna Be A Foster Fail…

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#31 Adopted These Two Little Beauties From The Animal Shelter. Say Hi To Loki And Thor

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#32 I Just Adopted The Sweetest Kitten…her Name Is Olive And We’re In Love And We’re Gonna Run Away And Be Pirates Together

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#33 Just Look At This Little Tripod I Adopted

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#34 A Week Ago This Little Fella Came To Our Doorstep, Lost, With No Mama In Sight. He Immediately Befriended Us, Everyone Meet Our New Little Vanilla Bean, Asher

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#35 Meet Josie, My Unexpected Adopted Kitty

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#36 Adopted This Guy Last Month. He’s Settled In Nicely

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#37 My GF Is A Vet Nurse And Often Brings Home Strays Handed In. She Said “It’s Only Until She’s Big Enough To Give Away”…

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#38 His Previous Owner Put Him Up For Adoption Because He Is So “Rude”. This Is Him On His Second Day With Me

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#39 We Adopted A Bonded Pair Of Kittens From A Rescue Two Days Ago. Three Months Old, Orange Girl, Gray Boy, Brother And Sister

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#40 Our Recently Adopted Old Pup Is Enjoying His New Rocket Jammies

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#41 I Guess We Have A 5th Cat Now

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#42 The Day I Adopted Lulu. She Was Slated To Be Euthanized The Following Week, But Through A Local Shelter I Was Able To Adopt Her In Time. I Love Her So Much

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#43 Just Signed Her Adoption Papers! Meet Eevee!

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#44 We Adopted A Retired Racing Greyhound That Was Too Afraid To Interact With Our Other Dog. A Few Months Later And They’re Over Here Smoochin

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#45 Just Adopted Marshmallow (Mush For Short) Today! I Think He’ll Be Very Happy Here

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#46 Jenny – My Parents’ New Rescue. Saved From A Life Of Being A Breeding Bitch. 5 Years Old, Doesn’t Know How To Play. Adopt, Dont Shop!

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#47 My Newly Adopted, 11 Year Old Daisee Enjoying… Life

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#48 I Adopted This Baby From The Dominican Republic 1 Month Ago- My Mom Didn’t Believe Me That It Was The Same Dog. I Named Him Remi And He Suffered From Mange And Malnutrition, Not Anymore!

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#49 Adopted Carl A Week Ago. He’s A Bit Odd

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#50 Found W/ No Tags, No Microchip & Adopted After Waiting Period At The Pound; He Is Now My Everything

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#51 Hello My Name Is Olive And I Am Here To Tell U All A Story. Earlier This Year, My Mama’s 5 Month Old Kitten, Milo, Suddenly Died And She Was Heartbroken. Then, I Chose Her To Adopt Me So I Could Help Her Heart Feel Better And Carry On Milo’s Legacy. As U Can See, I Am Very Good Girl. Mewmew. The End

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#52 This Is Max. I Adopted Him Yesterday. He Spent Nearly 4 Hours In My Lap This Morning Napping Off And On And Cried When I Tried To Put Him Down. So I Skipped Coffee Refills, Taking Advantage Of My Stand-Up Desk, And Bathroom Breaks. (Excuse The Robe. Mandatory Home Office Dress Code)

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#53 Learned How To Crochet Just For My Newly Adopted 8 Year Old Annie! She Is My First Cat And Couldn’t Be More Perfect

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#54 Sorry About Bad Quality But We Adopted This New Girl Yesterday And Today She Came Out Of Hiding To Play And Cuddle Me And I’m So Happy!!!

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#55 Adopted This Little Bean Today And This Is How She Fell Asleep In Her Box

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#56 Adopted Him From The Streets Today … Welcome Buddy

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#57 My Friend Asked Me If I Would Adopt A Puppy. Of Course I Said No. This Is My New Puppy

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#58 We Adopted This Majestic Baby Floof This Morning

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#59 This Is Kodi. He’s A 4-Month-Old Rescue We Adopted. Not The Brightest Bulb On The Tree. Kind Of Cute Though

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#60 After Months On The Wait List My Girlfriend And I Got Our First Cat. Meet Eggy!

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#61 Adopting This Senior Cat Next Week He Was A Stray Found On The Streets & Is Quiet, Friendly But Sad. I Can’t Wait To Give This Boy So Much Love And Give Him The Best Life Ahead

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#62 Adopted This Little Guy Today

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#63 My BF And I Adopted This Fine Gentleman Last Night, His Name Is Haku

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#64 After Job Turmoil And Quarantine Blues And A Horrible Breakup, 2020 Pulled Through And Put These Angels In A Shelter Right Before I Finally Convinced My Landlords To Let Me Adopt!!

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#65 I Just Adopted My First Dog. His Name Is Jasper

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#66 Our New Rescue Dog Patches. He Is Deaf And Would Have Been Put Down If We Didn’t Adopt Him. He Is Now The Best Part Of Our Lives! I Have Cuter Photos If People Want To See!!!

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#67 I Decided To Adopt Gus After Fostering Him Through His Heartworm Treatment. He Is Perfect

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#68 So Glad I Adopted This Little Dude

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#69 I Adopted This Beautiful Girl Today!

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#70 Adopted These 2 From 2 Different Rescues And They Don’t Leave Each Other’s Side

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#71 Adopted This Old Man A Week Ago. I Think He’s Happy To Have A Home

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#72 My Grandparents Recently Adopted This Sweet Little Thing! Any Name Suggestions For Her?

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#73 Dog’s Reaction After Being Adopted

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#74 My Wife Finally Caved On The “We Should Totally Rescue A 3rd Dog” Request

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#75 My So And I Found This Baby Abandoned. We Adopt Him (It’s A Him) And We Are Looking For Name Sugestions! If You Have Any Ideas Please Let Us Know. Also If You Need More Photos Just Ask!

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#76 “Uncontrollable Tippy-Taps Right Before Adoption

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#77 Today We Adopted Charli

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#78 Just Adopted This Little Cuteness

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#79 Adopted This Little Sweetie From The Streets Of Bangkok

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#80 When You Adopt A Cat For Emotional Support But It Ends Up Liking Your Dog Way Better

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#81 Adopted This Ol’ Girl (9 Years Old) Today From The Shelter!

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#82 Say Hi To My Newly Adopted Buddy, Didi! Have A Great Weekend Everyone!

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#83 Awww… My New Adopted Kitteh Shared His First Blep!

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#84 This Is Satan. I Adopted Him One Week Ago

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#85 Just Sharing My Cat. I Adopted Him As A Senior, And He’s The Greatest

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#86 I Adopted This Guy Yesterday From The Animal Shelter. I Think He Feeling At Home. Meet Monkey

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#87 Meet Rocky! I Adopted This Amazeball A Few Days Ago…and I Just Wanted This Community To Meet My Baby Boy

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#88 I Traveled 400 Miles To Adopt This Handsome Gentleman. His Name Is Gordon

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#89 I Adopted This Senior Cutie Today! Meet Fox Everyone

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#90 Just Adopted My New Best Bud Parker

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Source: boredpanda.com