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.
#21 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
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236points
#22 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
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235points
#24 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.
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232points
#25 From Being Underweight, Covered In Mange, And Fearful Of Humans To The Happiest Little Boy At The Dog Park
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230points
#26 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
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227points
#27 Meet Grendel. She Wandered Into My Campsite 5 Years Ago. Now We Have A Home, And She's Fat And Happy
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222points
#28 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
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220points
#29 Before And After. This Is Foster Dog Wendy. She Was Rescued Off The Streets 3 Months Ago And Will Be Adopted This Week
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217points
#30 This Is Chef. He Was Rescued Outside KFC In Antigua Two Years Ago. He's Finally Found His Forever Home In Calgary, Canada
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216points
#31 This Poor Dog Was Rescued From The Chinese Dog Meat Traders. Before vs. After
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214points
#32 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
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208points
#33 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.
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207points
#34 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
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205points
#35 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
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203points
#36 Before vs. After. When I Got My Baby, She Was Stinky, Raggedy, And Scared, But Now She Is Beautiful
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199points
#37 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.
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199points
#38 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.
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195points
#39 Happy Ending For This Adorable Dog Who Was Rescued From An Abusive Situation. Before vs. After
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193points
#40 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
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191points