A Florida animal shelter has begun sorting its dogs into Hogwarts houses — and not just because it’s incredibly cute (even though it is).
The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, a no-kill shelter, evaluates every pup that comes in to see if it’s a Gryffindor, a Ravenclaw, a Hufflepuff, or a Slytherin, and hopes that very valuable house information will help owners better choose their new pets.
Since the shelter has found that listed pet breeds are often inaccurate — and some local apartment complexes don’t allow certain dogs based on breed alone — they hope this new method will open minds and homes to more dogs in need of families.
First Years, this way! Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, a no-kill shelter, sorts dogs by evaluating their behavior and personalities
Brave little buddy! They each get a personality evaluation and are put into appropriate houses
Don’t judge a book by its breed: They say that a lot of breed information is incorrect, so they don’t post it
The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando started the sorting about a year ago to chance perceptions.
‘We wanted to do something where people would focus more on the dog’s personality traits rather than what breed they perceive the dog to be,’ he the shelter’s executive director Stephen Bardy told Today.
In Orlando, about 1,800 pets are given up every year because landlords and building management won’t accept particular breeds, which Bardy and his team find unfair.
‘Scientific research has proven that visual identification of dog breeds is incorrect more than 70 per cent of the time,’ the shelter explains on its website.
At this shelter, they see 3,5000 dogs come through their doors every year for various reasons, and want them all to have a fair shot.
Brilliant! They watch the animals play with toys and put the friendliest ones in Hufflepuff, the smartest in Ravenclaw, the most athletic in Gryffindor, and the leaders of the pack in Slytherin
Hagrid would be proud! hey call it Pawgwarts and have found it to be a successful program
Mudbloods: Some apartment buildings in the area ban certain dog breeds
Now, instead of putting up cards announcing a pup as a Golden Retriever or a Saint Bernard, they name them a Gryffindor or a Slytherin.
Of course, they don’t use a Sorting Hat to figure out which pups belong in which houses. Instead, dogs who enter ‘Pawgwarts’ each spend time with a behavior specialist, who evaluates their personalities.
‘Since the only Sorting Hat available is within the walls of Hogwarts, our crack team of wizards and a few muggles created a series of activities to allow a dog to be sorted by personality,’ the shelter’s website explains.
The specialist will watch their behavior, using the assistance of four dog toys to watch how the dogs play with them.
Tamer than Fluffy: They also have an online quiz for dog owners to take at home
Taking after Dumbledore: ‘For us, this is about recognizing the individual dog and not a breed,’ said the director
Crookshanks, is that you? Even one of the cats in the shelter got in on the fun
Since Gryffindor are brave, dogs that are more athletic end up there. Ravenclaws, who are smart, get the problem-solving dogs, and Hufflepuffs, who are loyal, take the patient dogs who warm up to everyone they meet.
Dogs who act as pack leaders join the ambitious, cunning Slytherin house.
‘For us, this is about recognizing the individual dog and not a breed,’ said Bardy.
Pet owners at home can also go to the shelter’s website to take a quiz, which will sort their own dogs into houses. So far, Bardy said 53,000 people have taken it.