Rescue may be in the stars for these dogs

Nov 30 (Reuters) – (This Nov. 26 story has been refiled to change company name to “Squarespace” from “SquareSpace”)

An animal shelter in Los Angeles is applying astrological traits to its dogs in the hopes of matching them with a compatible human.

Wags and Walks adoption center teamed up with website building company Squarespace to create the website wagsandwalksfoster.com, which shows dogs and their star signs to help get better foster matches.

“Compatibility is a huge factor when it comes to pairing a pet with a foster parent and what better way to showcase compatibility than with astrological signs?” said Ashley Camale, head of consumer, product and international communications at Squarespace Inc .

Workers at Wags and Walks keep records of personality traits and likes and dislikes of each dog in their care.

Ariana Howell, the center’s volunteer coordinator, said, “Although they are rescue dogs, so for the most part we don’t know their actual birthdays, we assign them a star sign based off their personalities as we get to know them.”

The unique approach has attracted attention. Since the website launched in mid-October, foster applications submitted to the shelter have increased by 20 percent.

Reporting by Rollo Ross; Writing by Mark Porter; Editing by David Gregorio

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