Every year, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide. Those little poor beings often lived deprived of love, care, and nurturing, many of them never having experienced the joy of life. They come to shelters with their stories unknown, suffering from fear, anxiety, and sheer loneliness. In the most profound sense, adopting such an animal is giving them a second chance in life that we are all worthy of.

So in order to make a tribute to all those life-changing adoption stories, we selected some of the most powerful before and after adoption pics of dogs shared on the r/BeforeNAfterAdoption subreddit. “This is a place to share the amazing difference a loving family can make on an abandoned or mistreated animal,” says the group’s description, but the pictures speak louder than thousands of words.

The change in these rescued doggos is stark, and in case you ask, yes, someone’s chopping a giant onion over here. Psst! More heart-melting pets before and after being adopted by their forever family can be found in our previous posts here, here, and here.

#1 She’s The Sweetest Creature I’ve Ever Met. I Don’t Always Know What To Say About Her Transformation Other Than “Look.” The First Picture Is A Month Before The Second, The Last Is Her 2 Year Gotcha-Versary

Image credits: justwantedquiet

#2 How It Started vs. Hows It Going

Image credits: mmsharpshooter3

#3 Our Sweet Toby Was Found In A Ditch And Couldn’t Use His Back Legs. Now He’s King Of The Road In Two Wheels

Image credits: wacha23

#4 My Girlfriend And I Adopted Buck In August Of 2019, He’s Changed Our Lives More Than We Did His And Has Been The Best Choice We’ve Made. Love This Guy To Death!

Image credits: swn96

#5 2017-2020. Help Them Flourish And Enjoy The View When They Bloom. It Will Always Be Worth It

Image credits: dogrescueteam

#6 Maya’s One Year After Adoption. From Severely Underweight To One Happy Pupperoni

Image credits: FloppyWallaby

#7 First Photo Is One Year Ago When We Got Him From The Shelter – Insecure And Nervous. Many Hikes And Plays Later – He’s The King Of Our Home. Dude’s First Adoptiversary!

Image credits: Sibel_Rac

#8 Brought Chino Home As A Foster To Get Through Leg Amputation And He Ended Up Never Leaving. Happy 1 Year Since You Got Your Leg Chopped Off And Found Your Forever Family!

Image credits: kellyfacee

#9 Our Rescue Dog Holly! The Day We Got Her vs. 8 Years Later

Image credits: not_very_hopeful

#10 The Evolution Of Our Foster Pup’s Ears. From Day One With Us, After Being Found As A Stray, To Now

Image credits: MyPalJosie

#11 My Sweet Girl, When She Won Me In Nov ’19 Versus Apr ’20

Image credits: nothinbutsomethinnew

#12 My First Foster Failure Lala. First Pic Is How She Was Found Chained Under A Back Yard Table For 6 Months, Her Owners Wanted To Euthanize Because Of Her Mange. Next Pic Is Her At The Rescue, And Finally, 6 Years Later Of A Life Filled With Love!

Image credits: samituret

#13 My Little Old Man, Buck. Started Fostering December 12, Adopted Christmas Eve! One Look Into His Eyes Melted My Heart. Adopting Him Was By Far The Best Part Of My 2020

Image credits: aleksiann

#14 Olly Was Rescued By A Group In South Korea That Rescues Dogs Held By Restaurants (To Be Eaten) And From Other Bad Situations. He Was Unlikely To Be Adopted There Because His Bald Spot & He’s A Dark, Mixed Breed. They Sent Him To A Rescue In Our City. Adopted Him Over 2 Years Ago

Image credits: reddit.com

#15 Ivy Grimm Went From A Sickly Street Dog To A Spoiled And Healthy 9 Month Old

Image credits: thecrowfly

#16 My Local Shelter Posted A Post-Adoption Update Of This Pup -Check Out That Glow Up! (Not My Dog)

Image credits: animallover42069

#17 Meet Bebe: Rescued After Being Thrown Out Of A Moving Car And 5 Years Later Is My Music Buddy

Image credits: _adrinthesky_

#18 Mr. Rogers. Blind, Emaciated, Famished, And So Weak He Couldn’t Walk. His Literal Bones Were Jutting Out Through His Skin. Like White Bone. I Brought Him Home From The Shelter For The Night But Decided He Needed To Go Stay At The Veterinarian After I Saw His Condition

Image credits: gkstacey

#19 Piggie In The Shelter & Piggie On His Couch After Adoption

Image credits: pupdrea

#20 This Is Hana. We Rescued Her From A Shelter Two Years And A Half Ago. On The Left Is How The Shelter’s Volunteers Found Her, Wandering In The Woods. On The Right Is How She Looks Now. Best Decision Of My Life

Image credits: reddit.com

#21 Three Months Later

Image credits: HamsterCoordinator

#22 We Welcomed The Sweetest Tripawd Into Our Family Last Week!

Image credits: bitchinawesomeblonde

#23 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!

Image credits: Knottygirl420

#24 We Took Home This Sick Pup That Had Cirrhosis Of The Liver And Wasn’t Expected To Live More Than Three Months. Today Marks One Year Since We Brought Him Home And Now He’s Healthier Than Ever

Image credits: randomgurl1234

#25 I’ve Posted Luna’s Glow-Up Here A Few Years Ago, But Today We Are Celebrating Her Six Year Gotcha Day Anniversary And I Just Love Her So Much And Want To Share Her Again

Image credits: mugglequeen

#26 Mighty Marmalade At Intake vs. Almost A Year In Her Furever Home

Image credits: papalaponape

#27 He Was Scared Of Crates, Brooms, Gloves, And Walking Anywhere New Or Loud. Now He’s A Happy Adventure Dog Who Loves Every Person And Animal He Meets

Image credits: tiny_titanic

#28 My Parents And Kiddo Found Her Abandoned. After Looking For Her Family For Months, My Parents Have Decided She’s Finally Home

Image credits: no_power_n_the_verse

#29 The Day We Met And Present Day. 11 Years Later

Image credits: minerva0309

#30 From Dumped In The Road, To Home Sweet Home! This Is Birch Baby!

Image credits: bl00j

#31 Joker Dog Was A Bait Dog For I Don’t Know How Long. It Amazes Me From The Moment I Met Him All He Needed Was Love To Heal

Image credits: forestfae333

#32 The Day I Rescued Her From A House Of Neglect vs. Today

Image credits: psychotic_misfit

#33 We Got Her At 2.5 As A Foster When She Was Used As A Bait Dog, Eating Zip Ties, And Had A Crushed Hip Joint. Now She Has Had One Best Friend (Who Passed Last Year) And Now Is The Best Friend Of Our Newest Rescue Lindsie!

Image credits: ChronicallyBrookelyn

#34 Yu-Jin’s First Day With Me vs. 2 Years Later!!

Image credits: erotic_salad

#35 We Started Foster Jazz When His Owner Passed Away. He Came To Us As A Fat 11 Yr Old With Heartworms, Hypothyroidism, A Nasty Skin Infection, And Nails Growing Into His Paw Pads. Now He’s Our First Foster Fail And King Of The House

Image credits: jafforter

#36 Adoption Update! When We Brought Her Home, 1 Day Later, 1 Week Later

Image credits: Pixiedursty

#37 Magnum Was Rescued By A Local Shelter Where I Live. Thank You To All Of You Who Work Tirelessly To Save These Angels’ Lives

Image credits: Ogamiya

#38 Millie, When She Was Rescued In Mississippi And Now. The Best Doggo

Image credits: incub8r

#39 Leonard Was Feral When We Found Him, But Now He’s A Perfectly Weird Gentleman

Image credits: pbmax542

#40 Happy Girl Gingko With Us For 9 Months!

Image credits: deoxyribonucleo3p

#41 Oliver Was Underweight, Had Mange, A Distended Belly And We Were Told He Might Fail To Thrive. He’s 8 Months Old Today And Hasn’t Stop Growing!

Image credits: reddit.com

#42 My Foster Dog The Day We Rescued Her From An Animal Cruelty Case And 3 Weeks Later

Image credits: caitiesfosterfam

#43 I Was Told Y’all Would Love This Survivors Big Beautiful Smile! In Order To Really Appreciate It You Need To See What He Looked Like The Day He Was Rescued. Best Smile Ever

Image credits: reddit.com

#44 It’s Been 4 Years Since I Had To Put My Old Dog Down. I Just Adopted This Guy This Past Weekend. Welcome Home, Benny! You Are Loved!

Image credits: OhNoLaBri

#45 It’s Amazing The Difference 3 Weeks Makes

Image credits: Acetylcholine

#46 This Is Old Lady After Years Of Neglect On The Left, And After Just Just Three Weeks Of Love And Proper Care On The Right

Image credits: Shuetzenhoeffer

#47 Aja – When She Was Found By Amazing Girls Who Saved Her And Now Living With Us For 2 Years. Healthy, Heartworm Free And Living With An Also Adopted Furry Brother

Image credits: mashmashshash

#48 Georgia, A 5 Y/O Golden Retriever Rescued From A Puppy Mill Associated With The Dog Meat Trade (“After” Images Didn’t Work The First Time Around, So This Is My 2nd Attempt). We’ve Had Her For 3 Months And She’s Settling In Beautifully

Image credits: Which-Leave

#49 From A Terrified Dog To A Princess!

Image credits: Pandasloth98

#50 Went From Crouching In Fear From Anyone Raising There Voice To Shamelessly Begging For Treats In Less Than A Year

Image credits: 009774425

#51 Chuck (11yrs At The Time) – Shelter Photo vs. 6 Months Later!

Image credits: michellexbelle

#52 Brownie March 2020 vs. Brownie Today

Image credits: fluffysnugglebutt

#53 My Boy Beetle, The Day He Was Rescued And The Day After We Adopted Him

Image credits: tortor224

#54 Someone Dropped Him Off In Our Neighborhood, He Chose Us As His New Family

Image credits: Granny_knows_best

#55 On The Left, Found Chained To A Fence In Detroit. On The Right, A Pampered Goofball. With A Flair For Dramatics, Meet Gena Howlands

Image credits: velvetvulvas

#56 Dave Is 6 Months Old And Was Forgotten In The Van Overnight When His Litter Was Taken To Their Fosters, So He Ended Up Stuck At The Shelter. All He Wanted Was Someone To Love Him. Glad I Get To Be The One

Image credits: JustShutUpNerd

#57 Three Years Ago To The Day At The Shelter vs. This Summer In The Woods!

Image credits: 5dogs0problems

#58 Found My Girl On My Way To Work One Day, A Rural Dirt Road In The Middle Of Nowhere. It’s Obvious Someone Has Hit Her In The Past So I Think She Was Abandoned There. She Is Now Our Sweet Nipsy And Lives With Us On Our Farm

Image credits: Spirited_Charge6191

#59 This Is Patches. His Litter Was Put In A Bag And Thrown In A River. He Came All The Way From Macedonian To Live With Us In The UK At 5 Months Old. He Is Now 7 Months! The First Picture Is His Adoption Photo. The Second After His Format Night With Us And The Rest Cute Ones I Couldn’t Pick From

Image credits: Jeffacake24

#60 Got Mia About 5 Years Ago After She Traveled 900 Miles Pregnant From A Hoarding Situation To My Local Shelter. She Had Her Puppies On The Way And Unfortunately One Didn’t Make It. Now She’s The Happiest Little Chiweenie, And Wakes Up Everyday Wanting Her Belly Rubs

Image credits: Phenganax

#61 Paco When We Found Him As A Stray In Varadero, He Was Barely 2 Months Old, And Now Almost A Year Later Living His Best Life

Image credits: maryandnewt

#62 My Best Boy Lucky The Day I Found Him vs. 10 Years Later (Now). Living The Happy And Lazy Life

Image credits: ktmac1076

#63 We Adopted Her, In Part, Because She Was So Calm. Nope. Just Didn’t Feel Well. Meet My Hellion Maisie!

Image credits: rparkernc

#64 My Baby Monty The Day We Got Him vs. Two Years Later

Image credits: adrewello

#65 Reddit, Meet Scooby! This Is Our Little Guy Before Adoption And Three Days After Coming Home

Image credits: reddit.com

#66 My Foster Girl, Sydney Has Been With Us For A Week. The First Night, She Was Recovering From A Dog Attack. Her Wounds Are Still Healing But She’s So Much More Confident!

Image credits: mugglequeen

#67 4 Years Ago I Saw A Pair Of Blue Eyes On The Side Of The Highway. She Had A Shattered Leg, Was Infested With Ticks And Fleas And Was Severely Malnourished. She’s The Best Dog I’ll Ever Have

Image credits: heybrother11

#68 Adopted This Fella 4 Months Ago. I Love How He’s Opened Up And Became A Happy Goofball

Image credits: ndlesseffervescense

#69 I Got This Beautiful Girl At The Beginning Of Covid When All The Shelters Were Closing. She Was One Of Two On The Pts List Left Over And The Other Got Taken In. We Drove To Another State To Get This Baby And It Was The Best Decision We Ever Made.

Image credits: WeightLossSallyy

#70 Our Seinor Boy Bugs When He Was Found vs. 4 Weeks In His Forever Home. We Couldn’t Love Him More

Image credits: deloslabinc

#71 Before Adoption And Five Years Later. A Lot More White Fur These Days!

Image credits: neil-downe

#72 Our Sweet, Social, Cuddly, Derpy And Sometimes Wild Little Guy Was Left At A Shelter By A Family, He Was So Scared And Melancholy. He’s Now Living The Good Life And We Couldn’t Imagine Our World Without Him, Even At The Expense Of Some Undies And Pants He Chewed The Crotch Out Of

Image credits: justforpups

#73 Found In Plastic Bag And Now She Found Away To Our Home And Heart

Image credits: opalthekitty

#74 3 Months May Not Be A Long Time For Us But It’s Long Enough For Them To Blossom!

Image credits: dogrescueteam

#75 Kylo. A Stray Dog Got His Mother Pregnant, And She Was A Purebred Breeding Husky. They Kept Him For A Year To Use Him As Protection From Strays. He Has Been In Foster Care With Us For 7 Months. No More Poopy Crates For You Kylo. Forever Is Coming!

Image credits: FrasierCranesBitch

#76 Our Little Medina, From The First Day We Met Until Now (1 Year Later)

Image credits: Tsauc

#77 From Found Caught In A Snare To One Month Later

Image credits: thelifeofpies

#78 Picked Up Allie Kazam From A Severely Underfunded Shelter Six Months Ago. 30lbs To 55lbs And The Happiest Weirdo I’ve Ever Met!

Image credits: Kyofuamano

#79 My Fur Nephew Happy! He’s 1 Yr N 1mnth Old, Rottweiler/Lab Mix. I Love This Goofball

Image credits: MeowMe1

#80 Cheddar The Day We Adopted Him (March 2020) vs. 1 Year Later (March 2021)

Image credits: reysmom2016

#81 Adoption Photo vs. Snuggly New Home

Image credits: skynightime

#82 They Grow Up So Fast… From Crusty-Eyed And Terrified To His First Day Of Driving School (Which, To Be Fair, Is Also A Nerve-Wracking Experience)

Image credits: Ice_Cream_Precinct

Source: boredpanda.com