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An innovative scheme is challenging stigmas around dogs breeds – and making us feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Have you ever wished you could get your hands on your very own Hedwig, Fang or Crookshanks? Well, sadly, you can’t, because they’re pets in a fantasy children’s book.

But here’s the next best thing: real-life rescue dogs sorted into the four Harry Potter Houses, with an important Potter-worthy message to boot.

At the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, a Florida pet shelter, newly arrived dogs are assessed for their personality, behaviour and talents. In the spirit of Hogwarts’ Sorting Hat, staff then put the pets into one of four houses – Gryffindogs, Hufflefluff, Ravenpaw and Sloberin.

Each house has a set of values associated with its chosen canines. For example Gryffindogs (named after Harry, Ron and Hermione’s house, Gryffindor) receives dogs who have exhibited bravery, courage, daring, nerve or chivalry. Meanwhile Hufflefluff, named after Hufflepuff, is known for hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, justice and fair play.

Dogs younger than six months, or those still waiting to be sorted, stay in an area of the shelter called Pawgwarts.

We’ve got endless time for Harry Potter IRL in general, especially when it makes dogs look super cute, but this sorting hat trick also serves a more serious purpose.

Prospective dog adopters at the shelter are informed of the dogs’ characteristics, rather than their breeds, which helps to challenge stigmas around certain varieties of dogs. 

Recent years have seen increasing efforts to challenge perceptions of Staffordshire Bull Terriers, for example.

In 2011, London animal Shelter Battersea Dogs & Cats Home launched its #Softerthanyouthink campaign, which challenges misperceptions around the aggressiveness of Staffs.

“We want people to look at the dog for their behaviour and personality and what their talents are,” Stephen Bardy, Pet Alliance's executive director, told .

“We want people to understand what they want in a dog and what will work in their lifestyle rather than going into a shelter and saying, ‘I want a black Lab,’” Bardy said. “We want people to start talking about their own lifestyles and personalities and allow us to match a dog to them not based on looks or breed.”

The non-profit shelter receives around 1,800 pets a year, the majority of which are dogs. The most common reason for dogs being brought to the shelter is people moving house and their new landlords not accepting certain breeds. 

The shelter has reported a significant jump in visitor and in-person traffic since the launch of the Pawgwarts initiative. 

A 2014 study found that , concluding, “Although general characteristics of dogs and owners may be a factor at population level, it would be inappropriate to make assumptions about an individual animal's risk of aggression to people based on characteristics such as breed.”

Nevertheless, showed that when shelter dogs were labelled Pit Bulls (a term that in the US can be used to include Staffordshire Bull Terriers and English Bulldogs), it had a negative impact on their perceived attractiveness to prospective adopters.

In animal shelters, where dogs aren’t often pure bred, dog breed identification is often based on owner reports or staff determination according to the dog’s appearance. Much of the time, the staff’s educated guesses at identifying Pit Bull-type dogs are actually genetically inaccurate.

The researchers argued that, “a validated behavioral assessment would likely be a better way to inform potential adopters about individual shelter dogs.”

We're not quite sure what methods Pet Alliance use to assess their animals' chivalry, but we're all for dispelling stigmas - especially if it gives you paws for thought.