An animal shelter in Florida was having difficulty getting larger dogs adopted; a problem many other shelters face as well. To try and combat the issue, Hillsboro Pet Resource Center came up with a brilliant idea. Using their Big Dog Adoption Grant of $10,000 from Best Friends Animal Society, they did DNA testing on 200 dogs weighing over 40 pounds. The program is designed to help make the larger breeds more adoptable for a variety of reasons.
First, it lets everyone know what kind of dog they’re getting. Many families have an idea of the breed or breeds they are interested in and knowing the breed characteristics of the dogs in the shelters will help them make a better decision of who to bring home. Different breeds have different personality traits and physical and mental needs and these need to be taken into consideration when placing a dog in what we hope will be a forever home.
The DNA testing also helps a lot of these larger breeds get adopted by challenging the breed specific regulations many apartment complexes have. A lot of new owners and families live in complexes that don’t allow breeds like Pit Bulls and Rottweilers. While a lot of the dogs at the shelter have a Pit Bull-type look to them, they can no longer be denied a home if their DNA results show no evidence of the banned breeds.
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The shelter has done a great job getting these dogs adopted. They are posting guessing games on Facebook to get the community involved in finding out what breed mixes each of the dogs are. This puts a face to the animals needing homes and the adoptions rates are rising. The DNA testing tactic is helping a lot of these large dogs find forever homes and we’re hoping that other shelters start doing the same.
Toledo, United States.