Born feral and rescued by Ontario dog lover in rough shape, this 100-pound gentle giant spent a year transforming into a majestic doggo and finding his floof

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Jun 20, 2026 4:15 PM EDT

If anyone deserved a glorious glow-up, it is this very good boy named Malachi.

Malachi (formerly Mukwa) had it ruff from the moment he was born. Born from stray parents in the Canadian reservations and treated poorly by the humans around him as a puppy, he knew nothing but fear and loneliness. He became sick, started to lose his fur, and was practically skin and bones when the animal rescue found him. He was adopted by a dog lover with a small dog pack of her own, and finally showed him kindness, safety, and love. And as he grew, they decided to post his transformation on Reddit's r/dogpictures community, and we all got to witness how he blossomed into the most beautiful gentle giant we've ever seen.

Malachi before and after literally looks like two different doggos. He went from a timid, nearly hairless canine to a fluffy, white, majestic pupper with an awwdorable little mustache that is just the cherry on top of his gorgeousness. It's amazing how much a little love can affect such sensitive creatures, like dogs.

Before and after adoption pictures aren't anything new to the internet, and yet, we still write about them every time we see a truly transformational one. Why? Because they show us how love can affect a creature, person, etc, physically. We think of love as this immaterial thing, but when it is given, it manifests in the most beautiful way, and you can see that in Malachi. It's not just his coat, it's his presence and body language. Malachi is now a confident, trusting doggo, and he has his pawrent to thank for that. They were there with him through the tough times, and helped him learn that, if he could learn to trust them, then he would be able to transform into the dog he was always meant to be.

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The real shocker here is that he's not even fully grown yet! Alaskan malamute puppies grow to around their full height by 18 months, and for the next 18 months, their body should continue to develop and look more “adult-looking”. Just imagine how much bigger he's going to be in a year! We had one Alaskan malamute when we were growing up, and he practically looked like a small horse to us. He was the best cuddle buddy.
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Every dog deserves to feel loved, safe, and secure. It's clear in this picture that Malachi feels that way. You can tell by the sassy look he's giving his pawrent, like, “Stop taking pictures of me already!”
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