30 Soul-Healing Rescue Pet Pics To Make You Smile (November Edition)

 Contrary to popular belief, instead of cats and dogs, the first American animal activists focused mostly on horses, working tirelessly to protect the welfare of animals who were a key mode of transportation.

Then, on April 14, 1869, Caroline Earle White and a group of women established what's now considered the first American animal shelter, in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. In addition to horses, its mission expanded "to provide as soon as possible, a refuge for lost and homeless dogs, where they could be kept until homes could be found for them, or they be otherwise disposed of."

It marked a turning point. The notion of a shelter, or even a municipal pound, as a place where you could go and find a pet, according to historian Bernie Unti, really took hold in the latter part of the 19th century and then has grown steadily ever since.

So to celebrate how far we've come, we at Bored Panda are continuing our monthly series, and have compiled the sweetest pet adoption photos we could find. Continue scrolling to check them out and in case you've missed our earlier publications, we kindly invite you to catch up: October, September, and August.

For everyone who is thinking of (or has just) invited a new critter into their home, we also had a chat about making the transition as smooth as possible with the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom. You'll find it spread in between the images.

#2 Adopted The Cutest Stray I’ve Ever Met My BF Named Her Edith (Aka Edee)

#3 8 Month Old Abused Retriever Mix. Scared And Sad. Brought Her Home. She Barely Moved. Was Scared To Even Walk Around The House. Lowers Head When You Reach To Pet Her. Couple Days Later With A Little Love And A Stubborn Beagle That Kept Bugging Her To Play And She’s A New Happy Dog Running Wide Open

#4 I Recently Finished Chemo Treatment And Decided To Adopt A Husky! Say Hi To Loki!

#5 Fishtopher The Cat Finds Forever Home After His Adoption Listing Went Viral

#6 Meet Jade, My Newly Adopted 9 Year Old Fluff Ball

#7 Meet Leo And Luna! Even Though I Saved Them From A Sad Home They Have Ended Up Rescuing Me From Some Sad Days! #catsrule

#8 I Went To Adopt 1 Dog

#9 This Is Bubble. We Adopted Him Knowing He Was Feral And Probably Would Never Go Near Us! 3 Days In And We Are Already Getting Contact

#10 Meet Smeagol! We Found Her Outside In The Rain Clinging To Some Rocks

#11 From Stoic To Smiley

#12 Rescued A Barn Kitty From The Cold Yesterday

#13 Just Adopted This Cat Who Sits Up Like A Groundhog

#14 Dad Wanted To Get Mom A Puppy; She Rescued This Senior Citizen Instead. Allow Me To Introduce Mr. Kiss Kiss

#15 This Handsome Man Was Thrown From A Car Window And Luckily Someone Found Him, I Saw His Adoption Post And Was The First To Inquire. Meet Sushi!

#16 Just Adopted Sylvester. He Is Showing Off His One Fang And Shredded Ears. He Has Feline AIDS And Is The Gentlest Boy

#17 My Wife And I Adopted These Two Sisters Recently, Aka They Chose Us At The Animal Shelter. Love Black Kitties

#18 Lola

#19 I Knew Adopting A Kitten Would Be Kinda Cute, But I Had No Idea What I Was In For

#20 Our Family Adopted A Cat Today. I Swear He’s Smiling

#21 An Update To My Update: Sir Remi Remington And His Mustache Won Me Over. I Couldn’t Part With Him After Fostering Him As A Bottle Feeder And Because He Fit In So Well With The Family. I Officially Adopted Him

#22 Meet Nala! We Rescued This 14 Yo Beauty And She’s Absolutely Amazing

#23 We Found The Best Stray

#24 I Rescued This Kitten Outside Of My High School! Named Her Rocket Because I Found Her During A Paper Rocket Test

#25 So Cute

#26 My Fiancé And I Decided To Adopt A New Kitten. Everyone Meet Larry!

#27 Meet My Newly Adopted Cat Benson! He Was Neutered As An Adult Right Before I Adopted Him So He Has The Cutest Tom Cat Cheeks! His Eyes Are Also So Beautiful!!

#28 Rescued This Cat From The Cold And It Looks Like He Has Claimed Me As His Owner

#29 Friend Just Adopted This Adorable Girl. Her Name Is Sadie

#30 Carson Spent Two Years At The Rescue - He Was Too Shy/Nervous For Everyone. Their Loss. They’ll Never Know What They Missed Out On