When I was 19, I wanted a Husky.
I'd seen them online, watched videos, fallen in love with how they looked. I didn't know much about the breed — I just knew I wanted one. So I got one. His name was Leo.
What followed was one of the most challenging experiences of my life as a pet owner.
Leo was a Husky — built to run, wired to roam, and completely indifferent to the fact that I was a first-time owner with a moderate lifestyle and no real idea what I was in for. He was difficult to train, constantly found ways to escape, and every time he ran we'd be chasing him down the street — terrified for his safety and ours. There were moments, if I'm honest, where I wondered whether I'd made a mistake. Whether he'd be better off somewhere else. I could never go through with it — I loved him too much. But that question sitting in the back of my mind was its own kind of heartbreak.
I kept Leo. He's still loved and cared for today. Life changed in the way it sometimes does, and Leo became part of a shared chapter that eventually closed — but he was always looked after, always loved, and never rehomed. That part of the story, at least, has a good ending.
What I know now, that I didn't know at 19, is that a Husky was never the right dog for my life at that time. Not because there was anything wrong with Leo — he was exactly what a Husky is supposed to be. But I wasn't the right owner for him. I didn't have the activity level, the experience, or the understanding of what that breed genuinely needs. Had someone asked me the right questions before I made that decision — about my lifestyle, my living situation, my experience, my routine — I would have ended up with a different dog. A dog that suited me. And Leo would have ended up with an owner who suited him.
That's why I built Paws for Me.
— Raymond Heng, Founder
Not because they don't care — they care deeply. But because the way most people find a dog is broken. They scroll through listings, fall in love with how a dog looks, and make one of the most significant long-term commitments of their life based almost entirely on appearance.
What they don't know — what nobody tells them — is that temperament, energy level, space requirements, and training difficulty vary enormously between breeds. A dog that looks perfect in photos can be completely wrong for an apartment, a first-time owner, a household with young children, or someone who works long hours.
The result? Dogs in shelters. Dogs being rehomed. Dogs in households where they are loved but not thriving. Owners who are overwhelmed, under-prepared, and quietly wondering if they made a mistake.
This is a solvable problem. It just requires asking the right questions before, not after.
Paws for Me is not a marketplace. We do not show you a list of available puppies and let you browse by breed and price.
We ask you about your life first. Where you live. How active you are. Whether you have children or other pets. How much time your dog will spend alone. Your experience with dogs. Your budget. Your timeline. What matters most to you in a companion.
Then we match you — not to a dog, but to a breeder whose dogs genuinely suit your lifestyle. Every match comes with a written explanation of why we think it fits. Every breeder on our platform has been personally verified. And every set of matches is reviewed by a human before it reaches you.
We believe the right dog makes your life better in ways that are hard to put into words. We also believe the wrong dog — through no fault of its own — can make your life genuinely harder than you expected.
Getting this right matters. Not just for you. For the dog.
Every breeder on Paws for Me is verified before they appear on our platform. We check registration with recognised Australian breeding bodies, confirm health testing on parent dogs, verify that puppies are home-raised, and conduct a personal interview before approving any breeder.
We have zero tolerance for puppy farms. No exceptions.