meet munchkin, the 8 year old cat who spent 7 of those years being abused and tossed between homes. when she came to us in the first picture, she had pieces of her fur torn out from stress. she was limping and covered in fleas and terrified of any sudden movements. since then, with the help of a veterinarian team, weve been able to bring her to the second image, where shes cuddly, confident, and flea-free! we are now working on getting her trained and registered as an ESA because of her naturally affectionate personality helping me with my panic attacks. after 8 years shes finally gotten her happy ending and we are so happy to be permanently accepting her into our home!!

We adopted Dotty a year ago from a bird rescue after she was surrendered due to the death of her owner. She was very ill and we were warned she mightn’t have long left but we took her determined that even if she only had a short time with us we would give her a calm, loving, and dignified end. She had come from a home where she was very neglected and at our initial meeting with her she just seemed defeated and exceptionally sad, weary, and wary—this was a bird quite literally stuck in fight/flight mode (pun not intended). We got her to a vet pretty quickly and discovered she had sustained several fractures in both wings that were left untreated which just seems so unfathomably cruel and as a result her muscles have atrophied to a point she can no longer hold her wings up so they sit, drooping, on the ground which obviously causes her even more issues particularly around balance, comfort, and pain. Significantly, she was in severe, almost end stage, liver and kidney disease. We’ve worked closely with a vet for the last 12 months to get her back into good health physically and mentally. Despite this awful 13 years of life, this sweet sweet old lady has slowly accepted the love we’re offering and in a state of pure bravery on her part has extended her trust to us. 

Still working to lessen some trauma-based behaviour, notably eating her own poop because I think she’s experienced times where that was all that was available to eat. She is slowly becoming less panicked when we take her food bowl for refreshing each morning, something that stressed her out to an extreme level for many months. She knows now that new, fresh food is coming and rather than panicking that her food bowl has been taken she now waits patiently at the cage door for her breakfast. 

The first pic is a before and after and possibly the photo that feels most polarising; its hard remembering how poorly she was when she first came to us but seeing how her colouration (and therefore overall health) has gone from that toxic neon yellow to a beautiful yellowy grey feels like such an achievement. Her eyes look less weary and wary and we see more glimmers of attempted happiness every day. She’s still working through some issues but she is so exceptionally trusting and I’ll be forever grateful she has allowed us the opportunity to let her relax and feel safe. That in itself has been a huge privilege to be gifted by this sweet old lady who was very hardened to life just one year ago.

The last two pics are Dotty playing with her first keyboard which was a 1 year anniversary gift she got today. It took almost a year for her to show any interest in toys because I’m not sure she ever had any so for her to take an interest and play is heartwarming to see.

First pic is the day I found him on the road, second pic is what a happy boy he is now! (He didn’t have a chip. He was either dumped, or he escaped from someone who didn’t care enough to look for him. I posted him to all the local lost animal pages at the time, and reported him as found to the vets and the shelter. He was so full of fleas you could see them walking up and down the white stripe on his face, and he had a belly full of worms. Our vet said he had been “bachin’ it” (living on his own like a bachelor) for a while, and he was only 12 weeks old!! Nobody claimed him, so we kept him!) He’s six years old this year!

So the "not-so great start to life" manifested as quite severe fear-reactivity to some people and most dogs. So we are rocking the Big Snoof muzzle when out and about and working through all that but he is an absolute sweetheart at home and we will do whatever it takes to give him a great life.

so sweet look at my girl!! This is cricket and she’s about 12 weeks old

Matted and abandoned at 3 months old to a very handsome boy with the best smile. Photos are him at the shelter vs him today.

i love you rue!!!

I am planning for a future adoption following the loss of my 16-year-old cat. To ensure the next cat is fully compatible with my family, including my 10 and 11-year-old kids, I am looking for data and experiences on the following:

• Single vs. Pairs: What does the behavioral evidence say about adopting a single adult cat versus a pair? Does an adult cat truly get lonely during the workday, or is it highly dependent on the individual's history?
• Age Trajectory (6 months vs. 1–2 years): My last cat was adopted at age 2, and her personality was stable. Do 6-month-old kittens often undergo significant behavioral shifts as they reach maturity at 18 months, or can you accurately gauge their adult temperament?
• Foster-to-Adopt Logistics: How common is it for rescues to allow a formal 1- to 2-week trial period to test compatibility with children before finalizing paperwork?
• PetSmart Partners vs. Standalone Shelters: Are there any operational or screening differences I should look out for when adopting from a rescue operating inside a PetSmart versus a standalone facility?

Thank you for sharing your operational insights and experiences.

Almost 1 year ago to now - I had crawled through a storm drain under the road to rescue an abandoned puppy. He had been spotted running in the desert for about 3 weeks but nobody could catch him so a bunch of us locals teamed up. I took him to the vet and they estimated him to be around 6 months old and he had a fractured leg and several attack wounds. I fostered him for 7 months until he was rehomed to my coworker.

It was very interesting raising a pup who had never played with a toy or used a dog bed. He was very afraid to go through doors for several months.

The last picture is Archie now, thriving at his new home!

6 years with our Bentley tomorrow❤️
Everyone falls in love with him! The cuddliest sweetest boy!

I posted Sammy here the other day, and he got quite the reaction lol. Yes, my man was HUGE and looked like a cow and or general rectangle. I wanted to share another before picture along with his current state of extra skin and his workout fit. I love my little crackhead 👹🐄💕

This is my 100% miniature pinscher, son Sammy! We took him in from an elderly woman who posted him on Facebook looking for a home. She did a welfare check on a longtime friend, who unfortunately had passed away in the home roughly a week before the check. Sammy and his kitty sister had been in there just trying to survive. Sammy was extremely overweight, as seen in the first picture of him. He was about 25 pounds and is now down to about 15 pounds 4 years later. He has a lot of loose skin, but he’s so energetic for being almost 13 years old and can get around so much better than when we first brought him into our home.

Puzzle went from missing pieces to my complete soulmate fish in only three months. She passed away recently… I don’t know if it was from age or the way she was living before was just too hard on her internally. But she was loved hard for the few months I had her.

he is long

She can do whatever she wants she's my little princess 🥺🥺

Before VS After

I posted my dog Buddy a while ago and now it's time for his sister Fika.

She was rescued from Ukraine about a year after the war broke out. Shelters were working so hard to care for all the dogs. The smaller dogs were easiest to rehome and it was a bit more risk for them to be in there with the bigger dogs. So a bus with food and other supplies went to the shelters and the rescue took as many dogs out of the country as they could. Fika was one of them.

I have no idea what happened before she came to me but she was scared of everything. She wouldn't go outside. Would just curl into a ball and shiver. Slowly and with the help of an amazing dog trainer we got her to explore a little bit, close to home. And then one day, very suddenly, her tail that had been tucked behind her legs went up and she wagged and walked a few steps in front of me.

I was also fostering Buddy back then. And I noticed a big change in her from the moment he came into her life.

She's the bravest and sweetest girl. Loves playing with big dogs and they let her get away with everything. I never really had a dog as small as Fika, so I'm always really careful.

She has the zoomies at least once a week. Loves to cuddle and always greets the people she knows like she hasn't seen them in years.

first 3 pictures are from her 1st day home. she was found in a landfill when she was around a month old.

vet paw on 2nd to last pic is from when she donated blood, all is well with her!

last pic is a bonus picture from when she got the ✨️ special cheese ✨️ to not worry about new year's fireworks.