Happy tales of adopted pets in their new homes

Nothing quite compares to the joy of seeing a once-homeless pet thrive in all the comfort and love of their new home. And at Best Friends Animal Society, we love receiving updates from adopters telling us all about their new furry family members. Here are just a few of the updates shared recently about dogs and cats who are happy and adored at home.

Olive is a happy, healthy, smart little pup. We’ve had to correct some minor behavioral issues, but nothing has been too demanding, apart from her dog reactivity. We started training on a very slow progression, which lets Olive dictate the pace. Olive has learned a bunch of new commands, activities, and skills. Our goal is to someday be able to walk Olive without reactivity meltdowns when she encounters another dog. Hopefully, that is something we can all achieve together. Olive has been a nice companion, and she has been a blessing to us.

Oakley is doing great and growing by the day! She has been a wonderful addition to my family, and everyone loves her so much. She has been enjoying going to the dog beach in Huntington and is making new friends everywhere we go. We visit my grandma in San Diego often, and Oakley has become best friends with her dog, Hope. I have been keeping up with her training, but she came home already knowing how to sit and walk properly on a leash, and she was almost fully potty- and crate-trained. That’s all thanks to her amazing foster family!

I adopted Adored, an orange cat with FIV, and I want to give an update because she’s so special to me. She is now named Shrimp after the shrimp from Shark Tale because that’s how she meows. She has changed so much and doesn’t run when I come up to her anymore. She has a little sister named Furby, who taught her so many things about how to interact with people. Shrimp is so deeply loved and sleeps under the covers all the time. She is the most incredible, interesting soul I’ve ever met.

Karamo now goes by Kamura, and her transition home was seamless. She is the perfect addition to our household. She loves to be the center of attention. Some of her favorite things are chasing her laser light toy, pouncing on paper bags from the grocery store, going for walks and car rides in her kitty backpack, and sitting on the balcony to participate in the community watch program. She’s also a great snuggler! She’s established a relationship with our local vet and is very popular with the staff there.

This article was originally published in the January/February 2025 issue of Best Friends magazine. Want more good news? Become a member and get stories like this six times a year.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.