ORLANDO, Fla. – The Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando recently introduced its “Pawgwarts” initiative, a way to stop labeling rescue dogs by breed. Staff members will sort dog’s inspired by the four Harry Potter sorting houses, now called Gryffindog,Ravenpaw, Slobberin and Hufflefluff.
The shelter released a statement about why they introduced the sorting house system.
"Scientific research has proven visual identification of dog breeds is incorrect more than 70 percent of the time. We joined many progressive shelters around the country and removed breed labels from our shelters. To encourage people to adopt based on personality, we decided to show them for their individual behaviors and personalities.”
Each house exemplifies different character traits, similar to what's known from the popular J.K. Rowling series.
"That Hufflefluff dog is really that loyal or dedicated dog," said Stephen Bardy, executive director. "Ravenpaw - they're kind of the elite intelligent dog. They pick up tricks pretty quick."
A dog will be sorted by personality based on a series of activities created by the shelter’s team.
An idea so simple that those at the shelter can't quite believe it hadn't been done.
"It seemed like a no-brainer to us," Bardy said.
And the magic seems to be working.
"People that love and embrace Harry Potter totally get it and those who don't, there's kennel cards that tell a little bit about the house," Bardy said.
If you want to know what Harry Potter house your dog is in, take a look at the quiz the shelter created here.
Dogs at @petallianceGO shelter are being sorted into #HarryPotter houses so people adopt more based on personality, not breed. @jk_rowling pic.twitter.com/BJ96JHbudh
— Clay LePard (@ClayLePard) October 26, 2017