One of the biggest problems with dog adoptions is that people tend to focus on the breed of the dog, rather than the personality of the individual animal. Deciding to tackle this problem head-on, the awesome folks at Pet Alliance in Orlando, Florida had a genius idea—sort them into the Hogwarts Houses from Harry Potter.
After making the choice to sort the dogs, Pet Alliance asked their animal behaviorist, Diane Andersen, to create a test for the pups that would work like a Sorting Ceremony. Andersen picked out special toys that exemplified the qualities of each House, and the dog’s preference would help them figure out where each canine belonged.
So far, the shelter has Sorted over forty dogs (and you can do the same for your pup with their handy quiz!) According to Executive Director Stephen Bardy, it is helping more dogs get adopted, too, increasing their foot traffic and buzz about the shelter. Each dog gets a House banner for their kennel and some pictures in adorable scarves. They haven’t managed to Sort the cats yet, though; they are not as keen to dress up in themed attire.
Here are the the key House traits, as the shelter defines them:
Gryffindor — brave and heroic
Hufflepuff — kind and loyal
Slytherin — determined and resourceful
Ravenclaw — intelligent and witty
According to Pet Alliance, the most common House so far is Hufflepuff, with a fair number of Gryffindors and Slytherins. It’s a bit harder to find Ravenclaw dogs, it would seem….
Have I mentioned that this is just way too much fun to do? Here is my dog, for example:
Here is Natalie‘s dog:
(Yeah, it’s safe to say that many dogs are Hufflepuffs.)
You should feel free to share the House alignment of your pets in the comments below, is what I’m saying.
And head over to the Pet Alliance website if you’re in their area and want to find your Hogwarts House soulmate!
[Via The Dodo]
Brilliant idea. Make adoption fun …
Ella, Slytherin.
Knows who the enemy is (garbage men, oil delivery guy, postmen, feral cats who walk by on the street, birds who land in HER yard)
Sneaky and determined, will obtain food with or without your permission if left within her range
Assertive and proud- knows she is beautiful and you can’t resist her cuteness, will use this to her advantage when requesting treats
Zeppo, Slytherin
Refuses to learn plebian tricks like “fetch” or “heel” but will stand on low fences to search for things he wants.
Not a leader, but experience has taught him he’ll get what he wants (snuggles and no old lady growling at him) when he follows others, true Slytherin resourcefulness! Also knows the weakest link (Mom) that will give him extra treats when he wants more. Known for waiting all day to eat so humans are more likely to cave and give him human food.
Ambitions including killing all rats and leading the walk where HE wants to go.
Emer, Ravenclaw (ghost)
Good with gestures and vocal commands, she was a very intelligent girl that also knew how to improvise (ex. climbing onto pulled out chairs to get onto the table and clean up the butter dish). Also patient enough that she could take advantage of abandoned food without getting in trouble.
Champion snuggler that knew the order everyone woke up so she could move from cozy bed to cozy bed. Loved her people and didn’t need frequent walks to be happy, but very focused when out walking, ESPECIALLY if visiting her favorite place: the PetCo rodent aisle.
Knew how to keep bouncy young pups in line with a stern growl, but not above knocking them over for laughs.
Renowned terror of raccoons, rats, mice and the occasional bird. Smart enough to figure out the hamster was a pet, but ready to take advantage if that situation changed.
I have a tiny little Slytherin and a big ol’ Hufflepuff. Great idea.
I have one Griffindor (Oreo – very active, loves to chase & chew, a people slut) and one Ravenclaw (Paris – another people slut, much more laid-back and interested in food, knows who’s the softie for getting people food).
My first thought was, ‘are any cats being sorted?’ because if so, you know most of them will be in Slytherin (or Ravenclaw) – note, I am a HUGE cat lover ;) Part of what I love about them is how they can be so aloof and DGAF, unless you’re one of their chosen companions. Dogs always seemed kind of needy and overly demonstrative to me, tbh. (Sorry, dog lovers!)
@6/Lisamarie: My first thought was that cats would be Slytherin by default, too :) Although one of mine is a clear candidate for Hufflepuff.
@6/Lisamarie: The online test only requires a skosh of creative interpretation for a couple of the questions when applied to cats. Our two cats were sorted into Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, which seems about right.
I strongly suspect, however, that dogs probably are more stable in their House affinities over their lives. Most cats over the age of 6 or 7 are probably Hufflepuffs. Perhaps we sort too soon…
I tried to answer the questions for my favorite childhood cat growing up and I did end up getting Slytherin :) Although she was very affectionate/loyal to me (but was fairly aloof around others).
Barney, Hufflepuff.
Sorting cats is easy: they’d all go in Slytherin
hmm they put a good spin on slytherin good. Interesting idea wonder if they just randomly assign the dogs – expect they do in reality.
How about cats??
Bean-Slytherin?
-Bean likes to tackle down my other cat for laughs.
He also always stay in that one corner to stare at me while I study or work.
Occasionally puts dead creatures(rats,birds,insects…) in front of my room.
Mess up my nicely made bed with his fur everywhere.
Scares EVERYONE away.. (my friends,visitors…)
Fluffy-Hufflepuff?
-Fluffy likes to roll around the floor and get his belly rubbed
He fights with my other cat and always end up running towards me
Sleeps.All.Day
When Im sad he will curl up next to me or on my lap.
Likes everyone and everyone likes him
FLUFFY AND CUTE
Sleeps on my bed so I always come up to him ehen I got home
MARYJANE- Gryffindor my mix CHIHUAHUA she is very protective but hates people on drugs she has a keen sense. She would be a great sniffer. She demands petting n thinks shes a CAT she kills MICE and other insects. She hates all CATS!!! Loves house food n knows how to sleep under her blankets no (dummy).
KITTY- Ravenclaw my tabby kitty loves to ride on my shoulders demanding pets n belly rubs. Very smart knows how to get house food but secretly steals it. Thinks hes a DOG takes walks n is protective of my MARYJANE (gryffindor) the only CAT my dog allows now!!! Yeah KITTY (ravenclaw) got under her skin LITERALLY.
I did the test for my cats, and like I expected, the two girls (both 9 years old) were sorted into Slytherin.
Juno mostly ignores lowly humans and goes about her own way. Her growling manages to scare little children and big dogs.
Donna is loyal and affectionate towards me, knows a lot of tricks, likes to scare the other cats for giggles, and always finds a way into my closet to hair on my clothes.
The boy (12) is a Hufflepuff. He’s afraid of little critters, but loves humans, cats, dogs. Mostly he loves blankets and napping on my lap.
Someone stole my letters to Hogwarts! It is not fair! On another note I love the fact that the lovely animals are sorted into Hogwarts houses. It is so unique and a clever idea! Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, They all are different in many ways!
What I have been noticing is that EVERYBODY is judging cats by their cover! If you are gonna do that you might as well sort all dogs into hufflepuff, all snakes into Slytherin, and all lions into gryffindor! It is like judging a human by his/her race and gender. I hate that people would say a woman is only for chores and cooking, while a man pursues his dreams! It is inbearible! and the same thing goes with animals. Not every snake will bite, not every lion will pounce, not every hyena will steal the food of another predator! THIS IS LIFE! THIS IS LIBERTY! THIS IS JUSTICE RAINING DOWN UPON THE HATERS, THE CRUEL, THE RUDE PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD!
I sorted my cats. I’ve got two Slytherin, and a Hufflepuff.
I don’t have a pet now, but the dog I had in childhood was Hufflepuff, and animals that friends/family have/had would be sorted into all four of the Houses: Hufflepuff (dog), Ravenclaw (dog), and Slytherin (cat). Another cat’s probably Ravenclaw but would really fit best in a house for cats who treated everyone as staff, lol. The Ravenclaw dog could “spell” cat; her owner would say “Gabby, C-A-T!” and she’d perk up her ears and go looking for cats, or something :). The cat who I kept for two weeks while her owners were on vacation was probably a Ravenclaw (she’d watch action movies with me) or Griffyndor (she’d climb everywhere), but unfortunately when she was back home, she did not survive an encounter with a ’70s-era extra-heavy garage door :(.
Wonderful idea! Of course, more briliant because my Vinka is a Griffindor :-) (Squirrel obsessed, and as @sraun said, “Loves to chase, people slut”)
But I totally support the desire to sort their dogs by personality, not breed. I have lived for years in places with “pit bull” bans, and yet my current dog’s BFF is a Staffie I would (and DO) trust her with implicitly. Neither my dog nor her friend are without faults, but “breed” isn’t the problem.
My two Bouviers des Flandres sorted into Ravenclaw (Bonnie – clever enough to open refrigerators, get back scratches, learning tricks and managing to be passive aggressive to my sister’s dog; Chit-chat – a retired show dog who was Slytherin through and through, pretty, clever and sneaky and delighted in showing that to us, but loved my daughter more than life).
The two mutts went to Gryffindor (Irene) and Hufflepuff (Peter). Irene had enough nerve and courage for three dogs. She was a blast. Peter was a snuggle monster and Irene’s partner in crime. He was sweet, but he was lethal as many a possum found out to my regret.
The current cockapoo is a Hufflepuff through and through. Snuggle up with anyone.
Sorting from memories of my prior dogs and those of my parents:
Nina (our previous dog, a beloved Cocker): Ravenclaw
Mikey (out first dog) was definitely Slytherin.
Henry (parents’ last dog): Slytherin, although he tended to kill snakes. He wasn’t too fond of cats or water, either. He’d probably snap the golden snitch from the air, and kill it, as was his want with bees, wasps, and hornets. He’d been stung doing this, and that just made him vengeful.
Champ (parents’ penultimate dog)” Gryffindor. He had the interesting habit of dragging my baby sitter’s boyfriend onto his doggy blanket when they got too close. Bit of a duenna, him..
My cats sort out as Hei/Hufflepuff, Fidget/Gryffindor and Toothless is a Slytherin. :D
My cat is such a Hufflepuff. She’s lazy, chubby, and follows me around the house like it would be greatly distressing to not be in the same room.
is there anything better than reading people describe their pets?
And as others mentioned, how brilliant to describe dogs by personalities rather than breed.
An absolutely BRILLIANT idea. I, too, have loved reading how people sorted their pets. I am wd right now (without dog) and miss having one but I’m away from home enough to think it not wise right now.