Linda Kauffman is days away from taking home her new best friend, a pit bull-mix from the Lancaster SPCA.

Kauffman may not be a potential dog adopter had it not been for an interview.

“I really enjoyed being able to just meet one dog instead of five or six dogs at a time,” Kauffman said. “It’s easier to choose that way.”

The pairing comes from something new the shelter is trying. It’s called “Mutt Match”.

Rachel Golub, the site manager for the shelter, said that instead of a potential adopter walking through the shelter, an interview is done first. Then, workers pick the dog that’s the best match.

Golub said it gives dogs the best chance to shine.

“We do all these behavior assessments, so we know these dogs are really good dogs,” Golub said. “It’s just this environment where they are facing other dogs and constant foot traffic and people coming and going, it causes them to act worse than they would if they were in a home.”

Golub said they won’t limit adoptions to dogs that match up, and she said and those looking to adopt can still check out all the dogs that need homes through a computer in the lobby.

“It’s not like we’re hiding dogs from people and saying these are the only ones you’re allowed to meet.” she said. “We’re just saying, based off what you said, these are some dogs.”

The program is in a trial phase. Already, more than a dozen dogs have found forever homes using the match program.

