Taking in a pet can feel like adding on another member of your family. There's another mouth to feed, another life to worry about. Sometimes they're cute, lovable. Other times they can come with baggage, and that baggage can be violent. With time and patience, though, you can break through and make that "unlovable" animal the family they were always meant to be.
Reddit user, u/CallMeRyann, wanted to know the most difficult start when they asked:
[Serious] Redditors that have adopted 'unadoptable' animals, what's their story, and yours?
Food, Water, And Patience
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He was a 10 year old black tomcat who had bounced around fosters and the shelter for two years and needed a special diet. In all that time he was available for adoption but nobody had even inquired, and he needed out of his current foster ASAP since an elderly cat owned by the people had suddenly taken a dislike to him.
We took him in and were warned that he was so terrified of people he'd likely hide under the furniture for two months before we'd see him. This seemed to be right on the money since the moment his crate was opened he zoomed under the bed and stayed there for the rest of the day and into the night. We left food and water under there and a litter tray in the corner, but there was no coaxing him out for love nor money, so we'd have to sleep with a terrified cat under us.
Then came 3am, when he decided to sit on my face and demand petting. The little guy would never have to go back to the shelter again.
It's A Package Deal
Our humane society had a "bonded pair" of beagles, who had to be adopted together. They were there for 7 months because no one wanted two at once. My husband volunteered at the shelter...I had finally convinced him we should get a dog, when he turned around and convinced me we should get two.
There's hardly any room for me in the bed at night now....
A Secret Call
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I adopted a senior triple rescue beagle.
3 homes had given up on this noise nugget before me.
One week of training, and he calmed down on the howling.
The only time he does it now is when we get pizza delivered.
The driver doesn't ring our bell, or knock on our door.
Instead, he walks up to our door and yells "WOOO!"
Our dog will run to the door and "WOOO!" back at him.
When we open the door, they both WOOO at each other, and we get a pizza.
My story?
I re-homed a rescue girlfriend from a far worse household, and I don't get nearly as much credit for her as I do our dog.
Love Built On A Lie
I got a German Shepard mix that had clearly had a rough time. The shelter lied to me and told me the wrong age, that she was a different breed bc of the stigma (she's clearly a Shepard), and she came with the kind of mange you get from living somewhere filthy. She did not know a single command, and barely knew her name.
She has never been aggressive, but she does have separation anxiety and a fear of strangers, especially men. When I first got her if I ever left and came back she would cling onto me and cry for several minutes. Also, if I ever raised my voice she would submissive pee and hide.
It took a lot of work to get her to trust me, to listen to me, and to teach her basic commands. It really made me be patient bc if I ever got frustrated teaching her sit she would hear it in my voice and run and hide in her crate.
I've almost had her for a year now and I can easily say she's bettered my life. We still have some things to get over, like the fear of guys, but we're working on it.
Sometimes, You Just Need The Right Fit
I love a--hole cats. Our orange fluff was at the shelter for 6 years and was adopted out and returned no less than 4 times. We've had him a full year plus now and he's just the most precious creature. An absolute hell cat, yes, but also sweet and super adorable. His most recent habit is sleeping under the covers with his head stuck out like a human. Freaking cute.
Partnered Up With Other Pets
I adopted my second rescue dog when he was 8 months. The shelter lady kept asking if I am sure I wanted to take him it turns out he was brought back once from a previous family because of his nervousness. He did start to get along with my first dog and my cat took him in as one of her own. It took him awhile to get used to people, he was very shy/scared for awhile but eventually he has become a very loving boy.
Just A Little Bit Of Work
I brought home a black and tan terribly abused Doberman. She was full grown and only 32 lbs. She was a bag of bones and heartworm positive on top of it. Truthfully I wasn't sure she would live. I hand fed her and worked with her until she was strong enough to be treated for the heartworms.
Today at 75 lbs she is the sweetest most intelligent dog I have ever met.
Called Out To A Dream
I have a deaf, albino cat named Ophelia that was found half-drowned at a local lake. We have a pretty large community into superstitions involving animal abuse... Amish, Santeria, stupid kids in gangs... Reading can kind of suck.
Anyhow, I had a few dreams about a white cat named Ophelia- on my 35th birthday (years later) I typed the name Ophelia in the local shelter website.
My husband and I have a tiny animal sanctuary, so we were given the okay to adopt her- they had her listed as 'Special needs.
She is an absolute sweetheart- we nicknamed her "Little Biscuits" since kneading is her favorite hobby.
The Kitty Just Knows
Answered an email from an email group about a kitty who kept showing up at a neighbor's door. She wasn't wanted and seemed hungry.
Thought I'd go pick her up and atleast take her to the vet and then the shelter. She walked right into her kitty carrier and I carried her to my car, where I let her roam free on the drive home.
Once I got home she rolled down the window by standing on the button and let herself out. She went to roll around the grass and when I picked her up to bring her inside I knew immediately she was pregnant.
Come to find out she had a cold, was pregnant, and was only 8 months old! I got her fixed and she's the best kitty ever. She can high five, shake, double high five, and even comes to me when I whistle.
Time To Grow Together
Me and my family fostered dogs 9 times and the last one we ended up adopting after half a day. We suspect she was abused verbally and physically. She was so extremely scared of men for probably 2 years, i think we have had her for a little over 2 years and shes not that scared anymore.
Being around my dad and brother was bad, she eventually loved and adored my dad quickly tho but any quick sudden movements and noises scared the bejesus out of her. My dad has a friend who is 6'7 i think and she was scared out of her mind when she met him but she loves him now. Shes such a cutie and she is so playful and adorable
A Home For Splinter
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When I was a kid I took a pet rat from a friend who's mom didn't want it in their house anymore. A lot of people hate rats but he was an awesome pet. They're smart and friendly and surprisingly trainable. I was a weird lonely kid back then and he got me through a rough time. I still miss the little dude. RIP.
A Lifesaver Both Ways
this will 100% get buried, but means so much to me. in 2015 i was in the worst place of my life, but didn't realize it at the time. i was suicidal, commuting over an hour to work (one way), living at home with my parents. i had no friends. i missed a concert of my favorite musician in the world, just because i had nobody to go with.
so i started looking online at dogs. and as somebody who said they hated chihuahuas, and would never get one, i saw her. she was 10, code red at a shelter. has congestive heart failure, pancreatitis, partially blind and partially deaf. chihuahua, obviously.
she had been adopted once - and the woman ended up dying. returned. nobody wanted her. and she saved my life when i rescued her. i am in such a better place now, and when her pancreatitis flared up (didn't know what it was, legitimately thought she was dying) i really thought my world would end when i lost her.btw,
she's still alive, sassier than ever. only eats out of a bowl if you let her stand in your lap and hold it for her. doesn't walk well on anything but carpet. falls. a LOT. has about 2 teeth left. and i still adore her.
Best. Name. Ever.
I adopted a little calico cat from a high volume yes-kill LA shelter. They warned me that a family already adopted her and returned her to the shelter due to biting and scratching attacks. She was sweet and desperate for attention at first, once running up my back to my shoulder as I tried to leave her quarantine room. Normally she'd purr and rub you, but occasionally would launch into unrelenting hard attack mode.
Tough mechanic hands, patience, learning and avoiding her triggers, and building trust with her diminished them to almost nothing by about 2 weeks in her forever home with a cat buddy. Now she's a happy friendly house cat.
Just A Really Ugly Pup
A mangy, hideous old pup sitting in a cement shelter corner. We asked the shelter rep about the poor dude. Looked like he was at death's door. Shaking, not looking around much. Big bulgy eyes. Probably an old dog abandoned by sh-t owners, left to die sad and scared.
Well, turns out, he was just ugly as f-ck. Little man was only about a year old, probably much younger, and he was terrified of all the shelter noises.
We take him out to meet him, and he's an absolute soul. Wants to play, sits with us, totally the coolest guy. Everyone was fast friends with him.
Adoption papers done fast as light. Take him home and it's like he had missed the place, despite never having seen it. He was running all over, rolling around on the carpet. Made a happy mess for us, honestly. That night, when he calmed down, he slept on my bed and didn't make a peep. In the morning he nipped my ear and ran off to start his day.
He did this every night and morning until I moved out. He still does when I come home.
Eight years on, he's as playful and ugly and perfect as ever. I'm not home often, but I visit, and he's always peeking out through the blinds when I park.
He's got a little wit to him, too. He's probably part terrier. Gets into anything, and he'll steal your socks if you don't pay him heed when he's being cute. We called him Watson.
edit PIC: the day we got him (after a bath and a cursory groom), before he was named
Do you have an adopted pet that came from a bad upbringing? Tell us all about it!
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For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.