About 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, 3.1 million are dogs. Each year, a total of 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized, which results in 390,000 dog deaths.
A few of these forgotten canines are lucky to get a second chance in life with their new forever families. Probably one of the most emotionally intense experiences is witnessing these poor animals undergo incredible transformations after they are rescued.
It’s not just that they finally get much-needed medical care, are given shelter and food, but are healed by love from the inside out.
Below we wrapped up some of the most touching and inspiring examples of dogs before and after rescue that are likely to make us shed a tear or two, and remind us that love is the strongest force on our planet.
#1 The First Time I Saw Norkis, He Was In Bad Shape. He Had Owners Who Said That Dog Was Old, Sick, And Waiting For His Time. I Wanted To Rescue Him And Give Him A Good Life
Image credits: thehowsph
#2 Kodiak's Before vs. After. He Had Mange And Was Malnourished. Once We Got Him On The Right Meds, His Hair Grew Back So Fluffy
Image credits: agiek
#3 I Found A Dog In The Jungle
A week ago, I was hiking the rainforest on the volcano Mount Meru, next to where I live. In the middle of the rainforest, I found a puppy. The puppy was too weak to move, and its tiny ribs and backbone poked against my fingers. I got her a blanket, soft food, water, and a bath. After 12 hours of sleep, a tiny, but very skinny puppy headed to the vet. She weighed only 2.5 kg.
A week has gone by, and I have a friend for life. She's gaining weight and strength by the day. Her name is Koda. Short for Kodama - the forest spirits in Princess Mononoke.
Image credits: mtumrefu
Bored Panda reached out to this animal rescuer who runs the Home of Well-Loved Strays non-profit organization based in Floridablanca, Philippines.
“My partner and I are an LGBT couple. We've been rescuing cats and dogs since 2015. Currently, we have 20 dogs and 30+ cats,” the rescuer told us. She explained that they were living in metropolitan Manila and supported the animals on their own until Covid happened. “We got flooded in November 2020 and so we moved to the countryside.”
#4 Forever Grateful For Those Who Rescued My Guy. Before vs. After
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#5 When I Found Fred On The Side Of The Road, He Was Skittish, Neurotic, And Sweet As He Could Be. One Month Later, He's Still All Those Things, But Now He's Fat Too
Image credits: imitationofmyself
#6 Wrinkles The Dog I Rescued. Look At Him Now With His Forever Parents
Image credits: Kep23
The non-profit founder said that there are so many stray cats and dogs in the Philippines. “Some people do horrendous acts on them - throw hot water on mating cats on the roof, dump kittens near the river, shoo away dogs looking for food or eat dog meat,” she said.
Moreover, it is a common practice to tie dogs in front of houses as guards. “The locals catch strays and euthanize them. These things are the reason we decided to rescue.” The rescuer said that they prioritize adult cats or dogs that need immediate help, or kittens.
#7 Before vs. After I Found Her. She Really Wants To Heal
I'm lathering her with virgin coconut oil before and after the bath. She's sleeping all the time and taking antibiotics. Her hair is still not that long, and there are still bald spots on the body and half of her face, but she's healing.
Image credits: jaldt
#8 I Found Her Like This, And Now She Looks Way Better. Before vs. Now
Image credits: LA_babygirl
#9 Jess's Transformation. She Was A Stray, Emaciated, Had A Ringworm Infection On Her Eyebrow, And Was 34 Lbs When We Found Her. May 2021 vs. August 2022
Image credits: bradleybaker9
In the Philippines, the population of strays is very high. “The local government still catches strays, impounds them, then euthanizes them. But some organizations are actively offering free or low-cost neutering and spraying. Very few local governments work in partnership with them. There are also some cat groups who take care of strays in certain areas.”
#10 This Dog Is Competing For "Top Shelter Dog Makeover," And I'm So Emotional Right Now. Before vs. After
Image credits: RobertMRodriguez
#11 My Wife And I Saw A Post About Her And Her Puppies Needing A Foster Home
She gave everything she had to those babies. When we picked her up, she was just over 40 pounds. She's now a comfortable 62-pound dog. Most of the pups were adopted out of State, but the rescue had a get-together, and she got to see some.
Image credits: Dejue
#12 Booduk's 1st Day When I Found Her In A Trash Pile vs. 3 Months Later
Image credits: Mean_Brilliant5062
Sadly, the chances of rescued animals finding a new home are extremely low. “The shelters are overly full and do not take in strays anymore. Most people still prefer animals with a breed,” the rescuer explained. She hopes that more people in the Philippines will give a chance to their local dogs without breeds and that their government will offer more free spaying and neutering programs.
#13 Bodhi When Local Organization Found Him vs. This Morning
Image credits: dnewma04
#14 We Are Trying To Give This Baby The Best Life. We're Still Working Through Her Issues, But Her Indomitable Spirit Keeps Us Going. She's My Role Model. Before vs. After
Image credits: Dreadknot84
#15 Freddy Before And After
Seven years ago, I brought home a new foster dog, who was fresh out of surgery for a broken leg and was quite malnourished. I fell in love and adopted him. We did a lot of physical therapy together to get him to walk comfortably again.
Image credits: Kell_Bell__
#16 Today Marks 8 Months Of Our First Meeting. We Love You, Ekko. Before vs. After
Image credits: Status-op1
#17 This Is My Sweet Girl, Queenie. We Rescued Her At 16, And She Crossed The Rainbow Bridge At The Age Of 17. Rest In Peace, Baby Q
We suspect her previous home stopped feeding her due to being incontinent and going through so many diapers. That's why she was so lethargic and underweight. She had doubled her weight by the time she passed away. It was remarkable to see her bounce back like that. And her sassy attitude, my goodness, I loved that about her.
Image credits: OnePupAtATime
#18 Bruno, My Beloved Fighter
This is my dog, Bruno. An animal shelter rescued him from a place where he had no contact with the sun, couldn't pee, and ate spoiled food. When Bruno got better, I adopted him. I love him very much, and he means the world to me.
Image credits: buras13
#19 From Scared Of Everything To A Cuddly Dog. When We Got Him, He Was Unsocialized, So We Had To Start From Square One With Him In All Aspects
Image credits: szansaa
#20 Before vs. After Victoria Was Rescued. She Was Malnourished, With Mange And Extreme Fear And Separation Anxiety. A Year Later, She's Happily Adopted And Healthy
Image credits: Annii84
#21 This Baby With A Target On Her Head. Before vs. After
Image credits: 21stcenturyghost
#22 I Found Him On This Day In 2016. He Had Mange, A Skin Infection, And Was Severely Dehydrated. After A Few Days, His Condition Improved, And I Could Take Him Home
Image credits: SoapFreshSoapClean
#23 This Dog Was Dying In A Shelter, And My Boyfriend Was Going Through Depression Due To His Cancer. Today My Boyfriend Beat Cancer, And She Is Our New Family Member
Image credits: Cleopatrax19
#24 Before vs. After. When I Got My Baby, She Was Stinky, Raggedy, And Scared, But Now She Is Beautiful
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#25 This Is Brisket. The First Time We Saw Him, He Had A Terrible Flea Allergy And Lost Fur. Despite That, We Still Took Him Home The Next Day After Meeting Him
Image credits: Snoo34578
#26 From Being Underweight, Covered In Mange, And Fearful Of Humans To The Happiest Little Boy At The Dog Park
Image credits: ImAnAwkoTaco
#27 Before And After Of Ms. Joni Bologna
Image credits: sobersally3
#28 My Girl Nova Has Come A Long Way. Her Before And After Is Mind Boggling To Me. I Love Her So Much
Image credits: Blargnargles5630
#29 Before vs. After. She Lived In The Jungle Behind An Orphanage In Mexico With A Pack Of Strays, And Now She's Our Sweetheart, Chonky Princess, That We Love
Image credits: Jessicalm90
#30 This Is Rimosa. She's A 3-Year-Old Blue Nose Pitbull Terrier That I Rescued About 9 Weeks Ago
She's recovering well and will start heartworm treatment soon. She is the sweetest girl ever. The top picture was taken on the first day I had her. The bottom was a few days ago, right after she got spayed.
Image credits: diggyrex
#31 Before And After Of Toby That We Adopted Last Week. He Was Found In Texcoco And Is Blind In One Eye. After Some Care And Love, He's Really Bounced Back
Image credits: GoldenHourShower
#32 I Rescued This Sweet Girl Before Her Euthanization. I Wasn't Going To Get Her Because I Was Still Mourning My Dog, But I Couldn't Stop Thinking About Her
Image credits: blurredlines13
#33 How It Started vs. How It's Going
Gureum (the Korean word for cloud) is the pup on the top right. She and other puppies were rescued from a dog meat restaurant. I decided to adopt her a few days after we met.
Image credits: Piczoid
#34 Before And After. This Is Foster Dog Wendy. She Was Rescued Off The Streets 3 Months Ago And Will Be Adopted This Week
Image credits: RobertMRodriguez
#35 I Found Victor In A Box On The Side Of The Road And Didn't Have Any Mobility In His Back Legs. 2 Years Later, He Has A Wheelchair And Can Walk Very Wobbly
Image credits: theBeardening
#36 Honey, My Foster Puppy. We Found Her Starving On The Street With Urine Stains. We Think She Was In A Crate And Starved. But Now She's Gorgeous And Happy
Image credits: gkpetrescue
#37 7 Months Since This Sweet Baby Was Rescued And Began Treatment For Hypothyroidism. Storm Went From Being Shy And In Constant Pain To Living Her Best Life
Image credits: agould666
#38 Joker Was A Bait Dog For I Don't Know How Long. It Amazes Me That From The Moment I Met Him, All He Needed Was Love To Heal
Image credits: RobertMRodriguez
#39 This Is Chef. He Was Rescued Outside KFC In Antigua Two Years Ago. He's Finally Found His Forever Home In Calgary, Canada
Image credits: biddee
#40 A 10-Week-Old Puppy Was Surrendered To Me For Having Seizures. Now He's Improved So Much With Good Nutrition And Lots Of Vet Visits
Image credits: Hoperosaliex
#41 Happy Ending For This Adorable Dog Who Was Rescued From An Abusive Situation. Before vs. After
Image credits: PixelatedStitch
#42 I Found This Beautiful Dog Eight Months Ago. Before vs. After
She was in a critical state, covered in mange, infected with leishmaniasis, and one of her legs was injured and had worms inside. It wasn't a pretty sight.
Image credits: SARA Morocco
#43 This Is Kane 1 Year Ago On The Adoption Day vs. Today
Image credits: MarkToaster
#44 Ronnie Was Starving, Shot With BB Pellets, And Heartworm Positive. Now She's Our Beloved Darling, Goofy Princess. I've Never Had A Sweeter Dog
Image credits: Gingertumericlemon
#45 I Rescued This Very Good Boy, Arnold. He Looks So Handsome In His Sweater
Image credits: Dinklemcfinkle
#46 Willow Was The Runt Of Her Litter, Dumped In A Box By The Road, And Was Scheduled For Euthanizia. Now We're Best Friends And Birthday Buddies
Image credits: ag9910
#47 Before And After The Rescue
Image credits: AlatheaKern
#48 I Just Wanted To Show Off My Moochie, My Pride, And Joy. He Was Used In A Puppy Mill As A Stud For Five Years While Also Being Starved. Before vs. After
Image credits: Dead_as_a_doorknob
#49 This Is Millie. The Shelter Thought She Was A Senior Due To Her Teeth And Body Condition. It Turns Out She Was Starving And Had Been Chewing On Rocks. Now She Is Fat And Happy
When we found her, she had a chain embedded in her neck and weird tough skin all over her hocks. Our guess is she was tied up or confined in a concrete area with nothing nice to lay on and nothing to eat. The good news is she didn't hold it against us.
Image credits: gkpetrescue
#50 Our Foster Bone's Progress More Than 2 Months After We Found Him
Image credits: Ap_Kp
#51 My Boy Jake. From A Shelter Dog To A Couch Potato In 6 Months. He Used To Be Scared, But Now He's Confident And Cocky
Image credits: Jpayne8915
#52 This Is Stinky Rafa. He Was About 3 Months Old When We Found Him In A Landfill. We've Had Him For Almost Two Years Now
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#53 My Sweet Rainbow. She Was About 13 Weeks When She Came To Us After A Friend Found Her Dumped On The Road. She Has Come A Long Way In The Last Year And A Half
Image credits: ositapolar
#54 A Family Surrendered This Baby Who Had Him For 8.5 Years. It Took Him Some Time To Open Up, And Now He's So Much More Confident
Image credits: Forestfernweh
#55 This Poor Dog Was Rescued From The Chinese Dog Meat Traders. Before vs. After
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#56 Belcho, Our Gorgeous Bulgarian Street Dog Before And One Year After His Adoption
Image credits: Failingunistudent_
#57 We Rescued This Beautiful Girl. She Still Has Some Sores, Cuts, And Bruises, But We Got Rid Of All The Worms On Her Leg, And She Is No Longer In So Much Pain
Image credits: sproggs44
#58 The Day She Arrived From The Shelter Nervous, Skinny, And Stinky To A Year Later
Image credits: Effective-Tour-1248
#59 Before And After Rescuing My Pittie
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#60 Chupacabra Before vs. After Finding A Forever Home
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#61 She Was Hours From Death. The Smell Was Enough To Make A Person Gag. It Took A Good Two Years For Her Fur To Come In And The Smell To Go Away. Before And After
Image credits: ShadesOfCerulean
#62 We Don't Know Much About What This Big Guy Has Been Through. But He Has A Bullet In His Back Leg And Is Scared Of Loud Noises. But He's As Happy As Can Be Now
Image credits: bullwinklemoose91
#63 Five Months Passed, Since I Took This Baby Home. We Started His Heartworm Treatment, And He Looks Way Better Now. Before vs. After
Image credits: wholelottaforehead
#64 Before And After Of The Foster We Have Taken In
She was abused horribly by her owner. When we got her, she was scared of men and kids, but not any longer. Enjoy this transformation because it's miraculous.
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#65 Before And After Adoption
Image credits: blajvatore
#66 Before And After
Image credits: imgur.com
#67 Lizzy's Transformation. From The Shelter To Living Her Best Life
Image credits: Brotox123
#68 I Found A Stray Dog In A Park 2 Months Ago. His Before And After Is Pretty Amazing
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#69 Chucky Before vs. After
Image credits: DannyMeatlegs
#70 Princess Olivia's Shelter Intake Photo vs. Princess Olivia Just Minutes Before Going To Her Forever Family
Image credits: icecoldmilf
#71 Meet Grendel. She Wandered Into My Campsite 5 Years Ago. Now We Have A Home, And She's Fat And Happy
Image credits: Tiredplumber2022
#72 I Adopted This Wonderful Girl 3 Years Ago. Here's Her Shelter Picture And A Current Picture. She Is Currently About 7 Pounds Heavier And Is Heartworm Free
Image credits: SpunkyDaisy
#73 Hard To Believe This Is The Same Dog
She's come a long way from being abused and neglected to slowly adjust to being loved. She was fostered before she came to us, but it took her years to adjust and start acting like a normal dog.
Image credits: alyssah01
#74 Theo Was Found Over A Year Ago On The Streets And Rehabilitated By A Wonderful Organization. I Adopted Him 2 Weeks Ago. I Think He's Enjoying His New Home
Image credits: danikadawn
#75 Baby Mira Before And After. Now She Looks Way Much Better
Image credits: thumbtwiddlerguy
#76 Cholula's Shelter Picture And The Day I Took Her Home
Image credits: Theodore-Bonkers
#77 Aqua, Formerly Our Foster Puppy. She Was Found On The Side Of The Road, And I Offered My House For Fostering. When She Was Ready For Adoption, I Just Couldn't Let Her Go
Image credits: ififitsisits29
#78 Before And After I Rescued My Mini-Poodle From Being Euthanized
I pull senior and geriatric dogs from shelters to give them a final home and resting place. When I was going to pull a blind chihuahua, I saw this fluff ball and couldn't say no. She had lost much of her fur, had a rat tail, and had skin issues. She smelled horrific. She could barely move or walk and was listed as a special needs dog. Found out she had a thyroid issue after a vet visit, and after being on thyroid meds for 4-months, her tail is now fluffy, and she's like a fast-moving potato. All it took was a medication that cost me $5 a month to save her.
Image credits: ldawgonyx
#79 This Street Moroccan Pup Had A Terrible Accident And Was In A Critical State. Thanks To A Kind Stranger, He Was Rescued And Recovered His Injuries
Image credits: sproggs44
#80 Kaze Before And After He Was Rescued From A Situation Where He Was Living In A Car With 19 Other Dogs. He And All The Other Dogs Were Given To A Rescue
Image credits: CentriusDW
#81 My Boy Morty Before And After Finding Him Starving On The Street. 4 Years Later, And He's Still The Best Boy
Image credits: badepona
#82 My Foster Dog, Teddy, Was Found In A Field With Life-Threatening Injuries. He Made A Miraculous Recovery, And Now He Has Found The Perfect Forever Home. Before And After
Image credits: greentofu402
#83 From A Scared Dog To A Happy Dog. Before vs. After
Image credits: Penelope_Ann
#84 The Sad Reality Of A Lovely Island Santorini, Greece. Luckily My Dog And Her Brothers Got Rescued By A Great Organization. Before vs. After
Image credits: zeven-tien
#85 I Got This Little Furry Baby Around 5 Years Ago. Before vs. After
Image credits: AstroyashSenpai69
#86 I Found Him Abandoned By The Road. Now Look At Him. He's The Best
Image credits: Illustrious_Big_8485
#87 Left Tied To A Lampost In The Middle Of The Night With A Broken Shoulder vs. Now
Image credits: verno712
#88 From The Streets Of Yabacoa To Our Home
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#89 My Sweet Baby, Denver. I Brought Him Home In January Skinny And Hungry. Now He's An Absolute Chonky Unit That Is Best Friends With My Basenji And Yorkie
Image credits: oldschoolbabe
#90 I Decided To Adopt A Stray Puppy Who Was Very Hungry When I First Saw Her. She Finished Two Dog Bowls Worth Of Food. She Was Soaking In Her Pee And Was So Bloated From Worms
Image credits: HairRevolutionary520
#91 My Street Dog's Juno Before And After
Image credits: reddit.com
#92 Before vs. After. We Adopted Shae From A Family Who Had Been Very Neglectful Towards Her. The First Thing We Did Was Get Her Vaccinated And Then Take Her To The Groomer
Image credits: Adventurous-Wing-723
#93 Our Street Rescued Dog That We Weren't Planning To Keep. Before vs. After
Image credits: the_echo_flower
#94 One Of Our Foster Dogs, Living Her Best Life At Her Forever Home. Before vs. After
Image credits: SmellTheFoxglove
#95 I Picked Up This Handsome Puppy From Colombia. He Was A Street Dog I Found In My Pueblo While Living There. I Brought Him Back With Me To California
Image credits: chauncyyy
#96 This Is Our Dog After Someone Dumped Her Out Of A Moving Car Window, Covered In Over 30 Ticks, Mites, And Missing Fur vs. Now Healthy And Happy
Image credits: SchwiftyEmmmmy
#97 Seamus Was Skin And Bones, Covered In Dreadlocks And Fleas When We Rescued Him. We Cleaned Him Up And Gave Him Lots Of Love. Now He's As Happy As Can Be
Image credits: KustomScattergunz
#98 Maya The Day She Was Rescued From A Neglect And Abusive Situation vs. The Day I Adopted Her
Image credits: tropikal_viking
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