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One of the best reasons to adopt a rescue pet is finding a pet that’s matched to your lifestyle, family and circumstances.
PetRescue has thoughtfully created the filter options in our searches to encourage adopters to look beyond broad generalisations about breed and focus more on the pet's personality, your lifestyle, and your family. Our hope is that we can change the narrative and open minds so that every pet, no matter what they look like, has a chance at finding a loving home. Since our launch in 2004, we have seen and spoken with many happy families who searched beyond what they thought looked like the ideal pet and chose their pet based on their personality.
We understand that people tend to gravitate toward breeds they find cute or perceive to have desirable behaviours. It's understandable to have a type of dog in mind. Research can help put those expectations in perspective. A 2022 study of dog ancestry and behaviour found that breed offered limited information about an individual dog's behaviour. That doesn't mean breed has no influence; it means getting to know the dog still matters.
Looks don't always reveal a dog's ancestry. In research involving dogs at two US shelters, visual breed labels often differed from genetic ancestry results. That's a reason to be cautious about a label based on appearance - not evidence that every DNA test is inaccurate. Neither a visual label nor an ancestry result can tell you everything about an individual pet's needs.
The good news is, you don't need to rely on a breed label to get to know a pet. Many pets listed on PetRescue are living with foster carers who spend time getting to know them in a home environment. Their profiles can give you a much better picture of who they are as an individual - their personality, energy levels, behaviour, likes and dislikes, and the kind of home they're likely to thrive in. And if you have questions, you can contact the rescue organisation caring for the pet to find out more.
With these factors in mind, PetRescue's search filters are based on what we know makes a difference in how successful a pet is in their new home - their basic physical characteristics (size, age, sex) and their behaviour. This way, we are helping adopters to filter the available pets using information that is as accurate as it can be and that will give them the best chance of finding a pet that matches their hopes and expectations for their new furry family member.
That being said, some PetRescue member organisations care for and rehome specific breeds, so for individuals who are set on adopting a particular breed, we recommend searching that breed name in our Rescue Directory.
Our goal is to help all of Australia's homeless pets find their perfect match. By relying on a rehoming organisation's guess as to a pet's breed or mix, families may be excluding the very pet that would be the perfect match!
Meet some bully breeds breaking hearts and stereotypes
Read more about why PetRescue is opposed to laws that ban or discriminate against specific dog breeds or breed mixes based on how they look.
And take a look at how the community is getting behind PetRescue's 'Love Knows No Breed' campaign:
Batemans Bay rescue pets shed stereotypes
National Pet Adoption Day 2019
Banner image: Pepper, adopted via RSPCA Dakabin.
