diff --git a/backend/.github/workflows/backend-ci.yml b/backend/.github/workflows/backend-ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93a0191
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/.github/workflows/backend-ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+name: Backend CI
+
+on:
+  push:
+    paths:
+      - 'backend/**'
+  pull_request:
+    paths:
+      - 'backend/**'
+
+jobs:
+  backend-ci:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Checkout code
+        uses: actions/checkout@v3
+
+      - name: Set up Python
+        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
+        with:
+          python-version: '3.11'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        working-directory: ./backend
+        run: |
+          pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+      - name: Run pylint on backend
+        working-directory: ./backend
+        run: |
+          pylint main.py db.py init_db.py
+
+      - name: Run Pytest
+        working-directory: ./backend
+        run: |
+          python main.py &         # Run server
+          sleep 5                  # Give it time to start
+          pytest tests/
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index ad707dd..91ce44f 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -229,4 +229,5 @@ def before_first_request():
     init_db()
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    app.run(debug=True)
+    app.run(debug=True, use_reloader=False)
+
diff --git a/backend/requirements.txt b/backend/requirements.txt
index a9f380d..5de15b1 100644
--- a/backend/requirements.txt
+++ b/backend/requirements.txt
@@ -1,12 +1,5 @@
-Flask==3.1.1
-Flask-Cors==5.0.2
-flasgger==0.9.7.1
-Werkzeug==3.1.3
-Jinja2==3.1.5
-itsdangerous==2.2.0
-MarkupSafe==3.0.2
-click==8.1.8
-blinker==1.9.0
-PyYAML==6.0.2
-mistune==3.1.2
-jsonschema==4.24.0
\ No newline at end of file
+flask
+flasgger
+requests
+pytest
+pylint
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/tests/__pycache__/test_api.cpython-311-pytest-8.3.4.pyc b/backend/tests/__pycache__/test_api.cpython-311-pytest-8.3.4.pyc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..db01062
Binary files /dev/null and b/backend/tests/__pycache__/test_api.cpython-311-pytest-8.3.4.pyc differ
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_api.py b/backend/tests/test_api.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..851f2d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_api.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import requests
+import sqlite3
+import os
+
+BASE_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:5000"
+DB_PATH = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), '../animal_shelter.db')
+
+def test_get_all_pets():
+    response = requests.get(f"{BASE_URL}/api/pets")
+    assert response.status_code == 200
+    assert isinstance(response.json(), list)
+
+def test_add_pet_boundary_age():
+    new_pet = {
+        "name": "Oldy",
+        "species": "Turtle",
+        "breed": "Galapagos",
+        "age": 150,
+        "personality": "Wise elder",
+        "image_path": "/images/oldy.jpg"
+    }
+    response = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/api/pets", json=new_pet)
+    assert response.status_code == 201
+
+    # Check if it's actually in the DB
+    conn = sqlite3.connect(DB_PATH)
+    cursor = conn.cursor()
+    cursor.execute("SELECT * FROM animals WHERE name = ?", (new_pet['name'],))
+    result = cursor.fetchone()
+    conn.close()
+    
+    assert result is not None
+    assert result[4] == new_pet["age"]  # age