#2 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
It goes without saying these days that pet adoption and rescue is the way to go if you’re in the market for an animal companion who would nibble on your couch but would in turn love you more than any human could.
We won’t dive into why shopping for pets is less than ideal but rather will focus on the 920,000+ reasons why there ought to be more adoption.
#4 My Husband Couldn't Have Pets Growing Up. When We Bought Our First House I Got Him A Little Surprise
#5 My Rescue Cat Assuring My Recently Adopted Pup That She Will Be All Right And Is Now In A Home Full Of Love
#6 Had To Say Goodbye To Becker. Adopted Him At 18 Because He Needed A Final Home And He Surprised Us By Being The Most Loving Cat That Ever Lived. Never Missed An Opportunity To Get Pets And Would Always Greet You At The Door. I Don't Think He Ever Stopped Purring. #adoptdontshop
The aforementioned 920,000 number was actually how many dogs and cats were euthanized annually in the past several years. This is actually an improvement on the 2.6 million who were euthanized back in 2011. Luckily, the number declined.
And it’s statistically more likely that this number included a bigger proportion of cats than it did dogs.
#8 Khemjira Klongsanun Found An Abandoned Puppy On The Road Side In Thailand Whilst Running A Marathon, Carrying It For 19 Miles To The Finish Line And Adopting It. That Puppy Is Now All Grown Up!
#9 Frankie Was Born With Four Ears And An Eye Deformity But He’s Still Purrfect
In context, the U.S. is estimated to have roughly 90.5 million homes, or 70% of the total number of households that own a pet. Among these, there are more dog owners than there are cat owners.
The good news is that there are about 4.1 million animals that end up adopted from shelters each year, with more stray dogs than cats returning to their actual owners per year. So, the ball is definitely rolling.
#10 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!
#11 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
However, the fact that there are still around a million dogs and cats who get euthanized annually means that there isn’t enough adoption and population control happening.
It’s not to say that things aren’t happening. The leap from 2010 to 2022 of the number of households that owned pets was 14 million—73 to 87 million. But more has to be done.
#13 This Cat Was Abandoned And This Is His Photo Minutes After Being Rescued
Folks consider the decline in euthanizing shelter animals to be a hopeful sign. One of the main factors for this decline is adoption and stray animal-owner reunions. However, when the minimum required period to keep an animal in a shelter is as low as 48 hours, with the typical being 5 to 7 days, time is of the essence. Also, just 5 states—California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina—alone are responsible for half of the euthanasia.
#16 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
#17 Harvey’s Skinny Body Was Found Abandoned In A Ditch, Soaking Wet, And Dotted With Cigarette Burns. He Was Infested With Fleas, Anemic, And Starving. One Look At His Little Face And I Knew Had To Adopt Him. Fast Forward 5 Years, He’s Now A Confident, Happy, Healthy Boi With A Career In Modelling
#18 Colby = Biggest Love Muffin Ever. 💗 All He Wants Is Pets. ...but People Are Usually Afraid Of Him. So, He'll Just Stare At You In Adoration Until You Pet Him. Rescue Doggo
There are, of course, no-kill shelters who keep animals around indefinitely, with the exception of the ones who are terminally ill or suffer from poor quality of life. However, they do go out of their way to make sure every animal finds a forever home and the no-kill shelter count has actually increased over the years, which is another hopeful sign on the matter.
#20 My Dog, Who Has Never Liked Cats, Adopted My Bottle Baby Foster Kitten. She Adopted Him Too, I Think
