Celebrating Animal Shelter Appreciation Week With Emotional Stories and Silly Photos From Shelters

Nothing is more exciting and sweet than seeing an animal get adopted into a loving home, but what we might not always think about is who takes care of the animal before it's found by its new family. Animal shelters and humane societies do amazing work all year round, taking in pets and strays with nowhere to go and caring for them even though it's often really hard work. Luckily, there's a week set aside to honor animal shelters and their workers and volunteers--this week, the second week in November.

So in honor of Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, we're bringing you the flip side of adoption stories. Here we've collected stories and photos from animal shelter workers and volunteers, and you can meet some of the pets they've gotten adopted and see a glimpse into what it's like around the office (when your office is filled with cats, dogs, bunnies, you name it).

01

via u/gerrray

U/gerrray on Reddit shows us how much fun it can be to work with animals all day. Sometimes they even help out around the office! The workers sometimes form close bonds with the animals they care for and genuinely love working with them.
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02

via u/phisea

U/phisea showed us this little mischief maker who loves attention from the volunteers at his shelter. More importantly, they told us about his little mustache and how he's named for it: Mustache Carl! They reported that he was recently adopted, so a new family is now appreciating his mustache and his mischief.
03

via Cheltenham Animal Shelter

With possibly the cutest names ever for twin black cats, Marmite and Vegemite were born to a shelter cat with a new owner already lined up. The Cheltenham Animal Shelter in the UK explains how Tana approached them with a desire to adopt a black kitten--and was willing to wait until one was born to adopt.
04

via Cheltenham Animal Shelter

Tana reports that the shelter staff did a great job of socializing the kittens properly so that once she took them home, they were used to being around people and all ready to settle into their new home. That's just one of the many amazing ways shelter workers help animals find and adjust to new and loving homes.
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05

via The Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County

When the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County discovered Roxie had a condition that would mean she needed a little extra care, they made sure she would go to a home that would treat her right. Luckily, she was adopted almost immediately when a child fell in love with her bright yellow eyes.
06

via The Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County

Pax was rescued from a bad situation where he didn't have enough space and he didn't get to interact enough with people. Meanwhile Mimosa had to overcome a lot of anxiety when she got to the shelter. Luckily the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County rehabilitated them both and found a wonderful family to adopt them both together!
07

via U/Salamanda99

U/Salamanda99 shows us C, a dog they care for at the shelter where they volunteer. This Reddit user's story is a testament to how much both shelter workers and shelter animals have to endure sometimes, and how it's not always easy to be in this line of work. They recount the bad conditions at their old shelter, but the story has a happy ending: the new shelter is in a nice new building and this user is the lead volunteer!
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08

via u/ard2299
09

via u/gerrray
10

via u/gerrray
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11

via u/indylikeindica
12

via u/sirgoodboifloofyface