Adopting a pet is one of the noblest things anyone of us can do. It is our chance to be someone’s heroes. It’s not very likely that we will get the opportunity to do some real heroic act, but we can adopt, save some poor animal and give it a warm and loving home.

In return, we will get unconditional love and devotion. Except if we adopt a cat...but seriously.

All jokes aside, there are so few things in life that can compare to the moment of adoption, and the following photos are a perfect proof. People share photos of their new pets just moments after they were adopted, and they are heartwarming and inspirational.

Don’t wait – adopt!

1. "About 1 Hour After She Was Adopted"

2. "We Had Just Picked Him Up Less Than An Hour Before This Picture And Took Him To A Nearby Park, He Loves His Daddy. We Will Be At A Year Since We Rescued Him On September 21"

3. "Our Pretty Pitty Puppy, Her First Day Home"

4. "The Day I Adopted My Adult Female Cat Pepper"

5. "Brought Home Our Tabby On Feb 1st...this Was A Month Ago. I Think My Fears Of My Tuxedo Cat Not Liking Her Were Squashed Officially After This Photo"

6. "Got Him Yesterday"

7. "On The Day I Adopted The Choc Lab (Harmony) I Took Her To My Parents House To Meet Their Dog (Duke) This Is His Reaction To Her Getting On The Bed With Him"

8. "This Was Taken On Monday, An Hour After Adopting Our Sweet Little Kitten"

9. “I’ll Never Get A Pet” To... 2 Hours After Adopting Cookie"

10. "This Is Faye Only Hours After I Brought Her Home. She Was Found Wandering Around In The Texas Summer Heat. Her Old Owners Were Uninterested In Taking Her Back. I Thinks She’s Okay With It"

11. "Less Than An Hour After Adopting Our Baby"

12. "This Photo Was Taken Right After I Adopted My Littles! Can’t Believe It’s Been A Year Already."

13. "New Home New Stick" Hours After Adoption"

14. "Precious Boy Cuddled Up To The First Sock He Found"

15. "This Is Kramer. Someone Tossed Him Out Of A Car And I Was Lucky Enough To Be Rescued By Him. Immediate Mama's Boy! Sweetest Dog I've Ever Had."

16. "Lily, 15 When I Adopted Her, She Lived To 17, Most Beautiful Girl Ever Xxx"

17. "1 Hour After We Brought Wesley Home. Almost A Year Later And It’s Still His Favorite Position"

18. "Little Oscar, Technically, It's Our Other Cat Who Adopted Him."

19. "15 Minutes After We Got Home Foe The 1st Time"

20. "Little Pawtatoe The Drive Home And Then Realizing What He Got Himself Into"

21. "This Was Hank In Jan 2020 When I Picked Him Up From A Transport That Brought Him To Massachusetts From Arkansas Where He Was In A Foster Home"

22. "My Daughter And Our Cat Just A Few Days After We Found Him : He Was Left Starving In The Streets."

23. "In The Car On The Way Home From Adopting Her From Leeds Dogs Trust"

24. "This Is One Of My Rescues, 5 Minutes After Bringing Her Home. She Made Herself Comfortable Quite Fast"

25. "Someone Threw This Baby Out In The Parking Lot Of A Gas Station From Their Car Yesterday..."

26. "A Couple Of Hours After Bringing Our Rescue Staffy 'Blue' Home... 3 Years Later & Hes Like Hes Always Been Here.. Such A Good Boy"

27. "This Is Luna. Adopted Her A Week Ago. This Photo Was Taken 2 Hours After We Brought Her Home"

28. "This Was My Baby The Day I Adopted Her. She Slept For Hours. I Love Her To Death"

29. "The Most Adorable Fluff Monster Just Minutes After Coming Home From The Woods"

30. "Rescued This Kitten Yesterday And He’s Already Settled With My Daughter!"

31. "Adoption Day For Dixie, The Black Pup. She Immediately Loved Her Big Brother!"

32. "This Was The Same Night We Got Her"

33. "When I Took This Picture, This Baby Was A Stray Cat"

34. "Fig My Lockdown Foster On His Ride Home From The Rescue. He Was Neutered Yesterday So I’m Just Waiting For The Final Paperwork So I Can Officially Say He Is Furever Mine"

35. "Off To His Forever Home"

36. "Doc & Archie"

37. "Foster Fail!"

38. "Adopted 5 Hours Ago"

39. "Rescued These Two Beasts From The Side Of The Road In The Caribbean Where We Live. Sisters"

40. "Sophie, An Hour After Adoption. Shelter Deemed Her A Black Lab/Huskie Mix And A Lost Case With Parvo"

41. I" Rescued A 12-13 Yr Old Dog Three Years Ago. This Is Her Being Held By One Of The Animal Shelter Employees And The Other Is About 20 Mins After Being In Her New Forever Home! Sweet Chloe"

42. "Is Henry A Few Hours After We Adopted Him. A Mama’s Boy Immediately!"

43. "Sam On The Right Who We Adopted After About 10 Minutes Of Bringing Him Home. Cricket (Corgi) Loves Her New Brother!"

44. "This Is Ginger, We Rescued Her From The Pound This Photo Is Her First Day In Her New Home. She Has Since Lost Any Insecurity And Is One Happy Pup"

45. "I Rescued This Handsome 15 Yr Old Siamese And He Hopped In My Lap Immediately"

46. "We Adopted This Pupper Today"

47. "This Is Our Rescue Scrappy! This Is After His First Meal Home With Us. He's Such A Good Boy"

48. "Found Little Marmy In The Middle Of A Road , All Alone , Scared And Meowing .."

49. "This Is My Dog Marcie. This Was Her A Few Hours After Getting Her From Our Local Humane Society. I've Never Met A Dog That's More Cuddly And Silly Than Her"

50. "This Is Us With Our Lil Teddy At The Shelter, We Are Filling Out Paperwork To Take Him Home. He Is In His Mommas Jessica Jck Dms Lap And After 3 Years That’s Still His Favorite Place To Be"

Fortunately, more and more people are turning to adoption these days. Louise Lee, the Blue Cross For Pets spokesperson, says that the opinion about “‘broken’ pets is gradually changing and people understand pets are handed over for all sorts of reasons.”

Adoption became more popular during the recent coronavirus epidemic when people were seeking a devoted companion in times of crisis. Pamela Reid, the vice president of The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Behavioral Sciences Team, says that:

"During this period of great uncertainty, one bright spot has been the incredibly passionate response from people willing to open their homes and hearts to foster and adopt vulnerable shelter animals."

Compared to 2019, a 70 percent increase was recorded in animals going into foster care all through ASPCA New York City and Los Angeles foster systems.

This was the opposite of what was expected: "We thought people were going to bring their animals in and then run for the hills," said Katy Hansen, communications director for the Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC).