Each and every pet deserves a roof over their head, a comfy bed, nutritious meals, and, of course, a family who will love them forever and ever. The sad fact is that countless animals end up in rescue shelters after being abandoned by their owners. The ASPCA notes that a whopping 6.5 million companion animals enter animal shelters each year in the United States. Meanwhile, an estimated 250k animals go to rescue centers each year in the United Kingdom.
The stats are staggering and our hearts might break. However, there are countless selfless people out there who live by the slogan “adopt, don’t shop” and open up their homes and their hearts to pets in need. Bored Panda has collected this month’s most wholesome photos of pets rescued from animal shelters, and they’ll bring a lot of light and love back into your lives, dear Pandas.
There never seem to be enough cute animals in our lives, right, Pandas? Hopefully, our previous articles about people adopting pets and giving them the quality lives they deserve will help with that. Have a look through our recent articles for June, May, and April once you’re done upvoting your fave photos in this list and booping all those oh-so-boopable noses.
Meanwhile, read on for Bored Panda’s interview with the PDSA, the UK’s leading veterinary charity, about how to make rescue pets feel welcome in their new forever home.
#1 Adopted Our First Family Puppy Today. Found My 2 Year Old And Puppy Like This Day 1 - I Think We Found A Winner
Image credits: Fidel89
#2 The Shelter Said She Was Shy And Wouldn't Want To Be Around Us Much... But This Is What I Wake Up To Every Day
Image credits: pupsaurus
#3 Went To The Shelter And Fell In Love
Image credits: SaintGumbo98
I reached out to PDSA vet Anna Ewers Clark to have a chat about how we can make our new best friend cats feel right at home when we pick them up from our local animal shelter. Anna was kind enough to share her expertise with Bored Panda. These tips and tricks help the cat feel more comfortable and less stressed.
“Pheromone diffusers or sprays can help make your cat feel more at home from the moment they come through the door,” vet Anna said. “Continuing with the same food for a few weeks can also help, to avoid making sudden changes to the diet that could upset their tummies. So ask the rescue center or breeder for the name ahead of time.”
#4 My Brother's Dog, Ricky, Before And After Adoption
Image credits: ChiefWolfy
#5 The Rescue Centre Said Nobody Wants Him Because He's FIV+ And That He's Desperate For A Home Because He Just Loves People. Adopted Him Today And I Think He's Happy
Image credits: lalalazz
#6 We Adopted Our Foster/Rescue. This Is Lewie, Our 97lb Alaskan Malamute!
Image credits: chalillianaire
The PSDA vet continued: “Set up a safe space or den for your cat. Your cat will often need some time to adjust to their new family and surroundings, so think about setting up their own private room with everything they need and let them join you when they’re ready.”
Anna suggested to Bored Panda that when bringing home a new rescue catto, we ought to give it time to acclimate to its new surroundings. Change is hard on all of us, especially on pets who weren’t loved in the past as much as they deserved to be.
#7 Baby Boy We Found And Rescued Outside!
Image credits: Lightzeaka
#8 My Rescue Kitten Has Bonded With My Dog And It Makes My Heart Melt
Image credits: nikkikabins
#9 Rescued This Baby Duck Tonight. Meet Davey
Image credits: MissMeMona
“Keep your cat indoors for the first few weeks, as it’s easy for cats to get lost or confused in a new place. Giving them time to get used to the sights, sounds, and smells in your home can help them feel more confident when you start letting them venture out and help them find their way back to you. When you do begin letting them out, start with short trips into the garden and give them a tasty treat or meal when they come back inside,” the animal health expert explained to Bored Panda.
#10 Aaron Purr Was An Orphan We Took In To Bottle Feed And Care For Until He Could Be Adopted. And Now We Are Keeping Him Forever. He's Six Weeks Old And We Love Him. How Could We Not, Right?
Image credits: angelsong76
#11 I Adopted A 7 Year Old Cloud. I Believe He Adopted Me Too
Image credits: Eincutr
#12 Baxter Is On His Way To His New Forever Home!
Image credits: MerullaC
You also need to start thinking about your new cat’s veterinary and healthcare needs as soon as possible. “Make sure you register your new cat with a local vet and think about pet insurance from the day you bring them home so you can be reassured that they’re covered if they ever become ill or injured. You’ll also need to think about neutering, vaccinations, and microchipping which are all really important to keep your cat safe and happy.”
#13 Someone Likes Being Adopted And Someone Is Not Amused By Her New Brother
Image credits: Jowi27
#14 How Should I Name Her? She Appeared Today On My House And Adopted Me, And She's Missing One Ear, But Seems To Be Healthy And Plays With Anything That Moves
Image credits: lucasjose501
#15 Finally Over Two Pounds! I Can Haz Adoption Now?
Image credits: jiggamathing
And there you have it, dear Readers—that’s how you can make your companion feel at ease and well cared for from the moment they enter your home. Love might be the most important thing, but don’t forget how vital all these practical details are, either! See you in a month for August’s edition of rescue pet pics, Pandas!
#16 My Parents Adopted Me From S. Korea And I Had The Pleasure Of Adopting This Girl From S. Korea. Meet Natto!
Image credits: mskeri
#17 Today I Adopted My First Rescue Dog And Treated Him To His First Of Many Puppuccinos
Image credits: sleepyfeets446
#18 First Night, Xena Fell In Love With Her Smaller Adopted Brother Watson
Image credits: Verhasin
#19 This Sweet Boy Was Adopted Today. Meet My German Shepherd, Ace
Image credits: ImmortalTonsils
#20 Meet Freya, She Adopted Us Yesterday
Image credits: Tab2604
#21 We Adopted Indiana Bones Today. Indy!
Image credits: rebeckyfay
#22 My Wife And I Just Adopted This Little Guy
Image credits: CrypticCrocodiles
#23 Adopted This Little Fella From A Local Shelter Last Week. We Love Him So Much!
Image credits: tj_ebooks
#24 My Friend Was Worried Her Cat Wouldn’t Get Along With The New Kitten She Adopted. One Hour Later
Image credits: jiggamathing
#25 Koda Just Came To Her Retirement Home From The Shelter! She's 12, Blind, And Happy As Can Be
Image credits: cometostay
#26 Wanda My Rescue Puppy! I Think This Is Her Realizing She’s Found Her Forever Home
Image credits: shelbygun
#27 Please Allow Me To Introduce You To My New Rescue Puppy Sisko!
Image credits: Bahumet
#28 Rescued This 8 Month Old Doofus A Week Ago. Something Tells Me He's Happy To Be Home
Image credits: -Chunder-Donkey-
#29 Friend Rescued Piglet Off Side Of The Highway Today
Image credits: Karilovesolivia
#30 Rescue Day 1. Can't Say No To Those Eyes
Image credits: bostonbrewinz
#31 Tiny Rescue
Image credits: NoBotRobotRob
#32 The Only Thing Better Than Adopting A Black Kitty Is Adopting Two Black Kitties
Image credits: _incredigirl_
#33 Adopted My First Cat Today: Meet Mike Wazowski
Image credits: Alexz323
#34 Recently Rescued, She Loves Her New Life!
Image credits: BrutalThor
#35 Adopted A Rescue Today
Image credits: MFrancisWrites
#36 Picked This Little Guy Up Today And Brought Him To His Forever Home With Us
Image credits: clairem2113
#37 This Is My Dog, Cypher. He Had 2 Previous Owners Before We Got Him. This Is His Adoption Photo
Image credits: SSBUBanjoKazooieMain
#38 First Night In Forever Home
Image credits: Suggestion_Of_Taint
#39 I Had A Suspicion My Newly Adopted Boi Was Liquid. Today It Was Confirmed!
Image credits: H0ll0wHag
#40 My Girlfriend Is Gonna Adopt This Little Baby Tomorrow And We Are Looking For Some Names! He Is A Male Grey Cat With A Neurologic Problem That Makes Him A Little Bit Wiggly
Image credits: lemonpuma
#41 Adopted This Pretty Lady A Few Days Ago
Image credits: bunmom16
#42 I Might Have Accidentally Adopted A Seal
Image credits: terchans
#43 Whoever Said That Money Can’t Buy Happiness Has Never Paid An Adoption Fee. First Time Cat Owner, Im In Love With My Fur Ball
Image credits: Achilles4131
#44 My Newly Adopted Kitten Loves Snuggling
Image credits: manderhousen
#45 I'm Adopting These Two Kitten In 2 Weeks, They Are So Cute! I Can't Wait!
Image credits: RGBullen
#46 I Adopted A Stray And He Loves Me
Image credits: The_Rippla
#47 Adopted This Wild Boy Because His Former Family Didn’t Want Him Anymore. A 1,5 Years Of Fluffiness That Made My First Time Having A Cat Just Magical
Image credits: rhum-Forrest-rhum
#48 The Night She Was Adopted!
Image credits: splifs
#49 Just Adopted This Little Cutie, Pepper
Image credits: andrewh661
#50 I Took This The Next Morning After Adopting Him
Image credits: owlmigrant
#51 I Think They Are Loving Our Place. Newly Adopted
Image credits: H_I_G_H_C_L_4_S_S_20
#52 Good Things Come In Pairs, Really Glad I Adopted The Both Of Them Together!
Image credits: itzsamgeddit
#53 Gave Two Girls From The Animal Shelter Their Forever Home Yesterday And Am In Love
Image credits: mmbtc
#54 Meet Theo! She Was Rescued From A Mulch Pile With A Bunch Of Heavy Equipment Driving Around. Her Roar Was Mighty
Image credits: smarshall561
#55 This Year I Moved To A Different Country, And With Covid, I’ve Been Pretty Lonely. In A Strange Place With No Friends, This Gentle Stray Found And Adopted Me. Meet Porchey
Image credits: jessicafilipiak
#56 I'd Like You All To Meet Kenma, He Is The Most Polite Kitty I Could've Ever Adopted. And His Favorite Food Is Tuna
Image credits: fmd3m0n
#57 I'm A Foster Home For Orphaned Kittens. I've Raised 12 Kittens And Gave Them Up For Adoption. This Is My First Foster Fail. Welcome Home, Midna
Image credits: _Schwarzenegger_
#58 Took This Yesterday - On The Left Is Mitten, My Boy Who I Lost In 2017, And On The Right Is Sofia Who I Adopted Last Week. This Moment Made Me Think I Was Looking At Mitten Again
Image credits: ruthh-r
#59 This Is Fru-Fru. She Has No Teeth, Is Deaf, And Has Some Neurological Disorders. A Vet Clinic Adopted Her, And She Is Super Sweet
Image credits: No_Warhawkz
#60 We Went To The Shelter Today To Look For Our First Kitten, And Ended Up Walking Out With This 9 Year Old Pretty Lady
Image credits: offbett
#61 We Rescued Robbie From A Hoarding Situation Last Night. His Life Only Gets Better From Here
Image credits: PoetsSquareCats
#62 We Just Adopted Tomato Here From A Shelter
Image credits: Lincoln624
#63 Recently Adopted A Puppy For My Older Dog To Play With. They’re Getting Along Great
Image credits: fahawley
#64 Adopted This Derp On Monday And He Is The Best. Everyone, Meet Tater Tot!
Image credits: passthekatsup
#65 Unfathomable To Me That Someone Got A Quarantine Cat And Dropped Him Off At The Atlanta Humane Society Two Weeks Ago, But Lucky For Me— Now Pierogi Is Happy In His Forever Home!
Image credits: sha---dynasty
#66 I Just Adopted This Perpetually Snaggletoothed Void. Meet Mr. Claudius Maximus Depussy
Image credits: MrClaudiusMaximus
#67 Adopted This Girl 2 Days Ago And She's Already Showing Her Curls
Image credits: ninjasneverdie
#68 Newly Adopted Shelter Dog!
Image credits: Kayxluna
#69 The Way She Was Looking At Us... We Had To Adopt Her
Image credits: I_am_Lord_Frieza_Yes
#70 Went For Dog Food And Ended Up Adopting This Lil Guy Named Smokey
Image credits: Shy-Blushie
#71 Adopted!
Image credits: born2rica
#72 We Adopted This Little Guy A Few Weeks Ago. A Life-Changing Decision For Everyone!
Image credits: catkini
#73 We Adopted Booley. He Will Be 13 Years Old Soon
Image credits: Acklawhunt
#74 We Decided To Adopt A Pup. Everyone, Meet Fenris!
Image credits: MerpGimmeDaLootzPlz
#75 My In Laws Have Officially Adopted This Gorgeous Boy!
Image credits: CuteBrick1
#76 I Adopted Him 5 Days Ago ! Meet Shrimp My Backpack Buddy
Image credits: xValu
#77 Adopted Our Third Cat. Meet Molly 9 Weeks Old
Image credits: a_to_the_g79
#78 Meet Noodle! We Got Her From The Shelter Yesterday. I Think She's Happy To Be In Her Forever Home
Image credits: Sinnertje
#79 The Face Of This Pup We Rescued From Humane Society Today 5 Minutes After We Picked Her Up. Meet Stella!
Image credits: LaurenZNe
#80 My Wife Has A Hard Month Of Work Ahead Of Her. We Decided To Rescue An Office Assistant. Meet Mable!
Image credits: Sc00tyPuffSeni0r
#81 What A Princess! My Rescue Puppy Looking Dapper In Her New Bandana. Love Of My Life
Image credits: thebigleblowski
#82 This My New Rescue Pup Denver. Even At Only 3 Months Old, She Knows She's Already Perfected The Blep
Image credits: Itsshrovetuesday
#83 Just Adopted This Little Peanut
Image credits: Dlhga123
#84 Welcome To The Family, Pretty Boy. Adopted Him At The Ripe Old Age Of 15!
Image credits: kucinator
#85 Working From Home Got 1000% Better Since I Adopted This Little Guy!
Image credits: Carmen9898
#86 Went To The Shelter For A Kitten. Came Back Home With A 2 Year Old Black Cat Who Used To Be A Stray Cat. Best Decision Ever. Meet Marcel
Image credits: cavashkie
#87 My Friend Was Going To Take Her To The Shelter, Instead I Got My Very First Cat
Image credits: kyliebolen
#88 I Think My Rescue Kitten Loves Me
Image credits: sharpietaster
#89 She Was An Adoption Reject For Biting. Now She Is My Best Friend. Here's To Second Chances, Stella!
Image credits: throwawayhealing
#90 A Newly Adopted Cloud And His Toy Lamb
Image credits: fromthepharcyde
#91 Just Adopted This Pupper. I'd Say She's Pretty Happy About It
Image credits: whoasteed
#92 World Meet Miles, My Beautiful Mutt That Was Saved By A Wonderful Shelter. This Is His First Day At The Beach!
Image credits: Lulu-taco
#93 We Adopted This Sweet Girl, And A Week Later I Lost My Job. She’s Made Me Smile Every Day Despite The Circumstances
Image credits: jadvangerlou
#94 Update: Louise Just Got Adopted!!!
Image credits: JohnGoodmanNSFW
#95 I’m Adopting This Sweet Teefie Angel Today. What Should I Call Him?
Image credits: Substantial-Eagle-94
#96 Decided To Adopt From The Humane Society! So Excited To Welcome Beet Into Our Family
Image credits: Ranchu_craft
#97 A Few Days Ago Daisy Showed Up At Our Door Carrying A Daisy Sour Cream Container And Was Hungry, Dirty, And Scared. We Couldnt Find Any Lost Dog Notices And She Wasn't Chipped So We Adopted Her. She Is Very Sweet And A New Addition To The Family
Image credits: AdrianValistar
#98 After Much Deliberation (Like 15 Minutes) We Adopted Another Kitty. Meet Poppy
Image credits: patsfan038
#99 My Newly Adopted Boy Tigger. He’s A Smol 7 Week Boy
Image credits: bekind888
#100 Oh Snap! Today Ended Up Being This Handsome Man's Adoption Day!
Image credits: drock8277
#101 Just Adopted This Little Guy Today. His Name Is Benji
Image credits: Sanddeath
#102 He's Been At The Shelter For 3 Months. We Have No Idea Why. This Is 3 Hours After He Came To His Forever Home. Best $5 Ever Spent!
Image credits: semprini23
#103 This Kitten Was Crying Outside Night After Night When My Boyfriend Would Leave For Work And Everyone Around Knew About Him From His Loud Screams. He Was Terrified. But An iPad With Mama Kitty Noises, Swift Hand Movements And One Hour Later, I Rescued Him, And Now He’s Smiling In His New Home
Image credits: starbycrit
#104 Our New Rescue Is Starting To Feel At Home!
Image credits: GoAwayJesus101
#105 Adopted This Little Girl Today, Any Name Ideas?
Image credits: jessecke
#106 This Is Dot We Adopted Her Today
Image credits: rexen719865
#107 We Recently Adopted This Mini Panther Who Was Found Abandoned In An Alley
Image credits: sweetloralei
#108 Hello From. Otto And Milo. Adopted From Local Shelter
Image credits: LameCyberZombie
#109 Hatty The Tripod Sends Her Regards, Today She Went From Being A Shelter Stray To A House Pupper
Image credits: Ianmoone587
#110 Adopting This Little Man Tomorrow. Anyone Have Any Name Suggestions?
Image credits: beasleybeasley1993
#111 We Just Adopted This Baby Boy, Need A Name For Him. GF Likes Crow, Raven, Or Some Others, Thoughts Or Other Suggestions?
Image credits: CeeBeeLFA
#112 He's A Cat Lover. Newly Adopted Kitten
Image credits: Brainorgasms
#113 I Need A Name For This 2.5 Year Old Floofball Girl I Adopted From The Shelter Today!!! (Funny Names Preferred)
Image credits: loveoverlust1
#114 I Adopted A Cat After Years Of Begging!
Image credits: -Risotto_Nero-
#115 Just Adopted This Sweetie! Her Face Says It All
Image credits: plamper999
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