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When a Florida shelter noticed potential adopters looking to adopt dogs by breed instead of based on their personalities, they took a note from the popular Harry Potter series and began sorting their dogs into Hogwarts Houses in hopes of getting them adopted – and it’s working!
To encourage people to adopt based on personality instead of on breed alone, the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando got creative. Inspired by the four houses of The Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the famed Harry Potter series, shelter staff joined progressive shelters around the country in removing breed labels, opting, instead, to categorize adoptable dogs by their personality traits.
They created the adorably named “Pawgwarts School” and began assigning pups to their appropriate “houses” based on personality and individual behaviors.
Throughout the Harry Potter series, students were placed into one of four houses based on the sorting hat. Each housemate possesses certain core values intrinsic to that house. Since the only sorting hat available is within the walls of Hogwarts, the shelter’s crack team of wizards and a few muggles, created a series of activities to allow a dog to be sorted by personality.
For example, a dog who takes to learning obedience cues or quickly figures out a puzzle has the KNOWLEDGE of a Ravenclaw. A small dog who has the determination to climb the agility A-frame possesses the AMBITION of Slytherin house. Our affectionate happy-to-know-you dogs embody the FRIENDLINESS of a Hufflepuff, and a dog who embraces change and new things has the BRAVERY known to all Gryffindors, the shelter explained.
The shelter even created a fun, at-home sorting quiz to help pet parents determine which house their own dog would be assigned.
“We want to start a national conversation about dog personality rather than dog breed,” Stephen Bardy, executive director of the shelter told The Dodo. “That is our ultimate goal and we think this is a fun and universal way for people to start talking!”
