PHOTOS: Amazing Shelter Animal Stories

As organizations across the country prepare to "Clear the Shelters" on Aug. 15, take a look at these heartwarming adoption stories.

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Pet adoption extends beyond cats and dogs. After meeting in a shelter, Beagle mix Jack and pig Tuna became best friends and soon were adopted as a package deal in North Texas.
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Although Quasimodo the dog has not had the easiest life, he has now found a loving home — and new legs to match. Thousands of strangers donated enough money to cover a surgery to repair his deformed legs after he was abandonedon the side of the road.
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An unusual Pit Bull mix attracted national attention, and plenty of applications for adoption. A photo of Rami, a Pit Bull-Dachsund mix, posted on a local Humane Society Facebook page eventually went viral.
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A foster family helped an obese Beagle go from unhealthy to happy within a matter of months. Kale Chips, a Beagle who used to weigh in at a whopping 85 pounds, shed 23 of those after diet and exercise.
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A kitten got a new accessory — and some Internet fame — after losing his eye. Sir Stuffington has a disfigured jaw and lost eye, but his foster mom came up with a fix: a tiny eye patch. After she uploaded a photo of her cat wearing the eyepatch online, it soon gained traction and thousands of views.
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A group of 45 small dogs got quite the adventure when they were all flown to Canada for adoption. A Canadian animal shelter called a local California adoption center to request small dogs, which are popular in Canada. The trip is dubbed "Freedom Flight for Dogs."
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After being found starved and abused, "Bunny" has now found a home. The 6-month-old puppy was found in a New Jersey park weighing only 14 pounds, when she should have been roughly 50. After being taken in, she gained 11 pounds in two weeks. She also found a forever home with a New Jersey couple.
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WAGS Adoption Center
Little Dude's effort to slim down to get adopted drew worldwide attention. Sadly, the obese cat, who at 36 pounds was three times the normal weight for a feline, died at age 10 before he could be placed in a new home.
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A dog rescued by one firefighter, i was adopted by another. After the poodle mix became trapped in New Jersey ravine, a firefighter repelled roughly 50 feet to save the dog. She was soon transferred to an animal shelter, where she immediately found a home with another firefighter. They named her Easter after noticing her resemblance to an Easter bunny.
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Ten beagles were set free after being held in labs their whole lives and transported through a blizzard. Many labs hold the dogs to test them for pharmaceutical companies and others, but after Beagle Freedom Project intervened, the dogs were placed up for adoption. None of them had been outdoors, had a toy, or been on a leash before.
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One kitten got on the road to recovery and receiving a new home thanks to the viewers of NBC Philadelphia. When 5-month-old Ruby was abandoned after a hit-and-run, doctors said she would need two expensive surgeries to survive. The local shelter reached out to viewers for help, and thousands of strangers donated enough funds to get Ruby the treatment she needed.
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For one Maltese, "rescue dog" takes on a whole new meaning. After being trapped in a hot car, one Texas animal shelter employee broke a window to bring the dog to safety. The Maltese is now in the shelter and soon to be adopted.
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