Lee Asher’s Rescue Pups Get The VIP Treatment After $100K Cane’s Donation

On National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, the rooster finger chain made a serious transfer for animal lovers in all places, donating a whopping $100,000 to The Asher House, the beloved pet welfare nonprofit based by viral animal rescuer Lee Asher. And sure, there have been joyful tears… and joyful tails.

Lee Asher, who has greater than 12 million followers throughout social media, was joined on the Portland-area occasion by his spouse and 5 of his lovable rescue canines, Patrick, Butters, Cali, Matilda, and Tommy, every dressed to impress in Cane’s bandanas and pup-sized hats.

The furry crew loved rooster fingers and infinite stomach rubs as followers swooned over the shock celebration. But the true star of the day? The heartfelt message behind the cash.

“This donation shows the importance of never giving up,” Asher mentioned throughout the occasion, for which The Blast was current. “Not long ago, we didn’t even know how we were going to fund the sanctuary. We weren’t this big presence online. Back when I first started, my biggest fear was: how are we going to afford this? And now… this is a beautiful reminder that when you stay true to your mission, amazing things can happen.”

The donation got here from Raising Cane’s limited-edition Golden Plush Puppy marketing campaign, launched in March to have a good time the corporate’s “golden birthday” of turning 28 on the twenty eighth. The all-gold collectible pups, modeled after the model’s well-known yellow Lab mascot, Cane III, bought for $9.99, with 100% of the proceeds going to pet welfare orgs throughout the nation.

The Asher House, primarily based in Oregon, presently offers sanctuary to over 200 rescue animals, from canines and cats to horses and llamas, a lot of whom had been saved from euthanasia lists.

Asher, a former finance exec, famously traded in spreadsheets for slobbery kisses after taking a two-year cross-country RV journey with a van filled with canines. That journey turned the idea for his hit Discovery+ sequence “My Pack Life,” and the start of a mission that is since modified 1000’s of lives, human and in any other case.

“In a world with so much negativity, having someone like [Raising Cane’s founder] Todd Graves step up and bring light into the world, it means everything,” Asher mentioned. “There are a lot of businesses that say they care, but not many show it like this.”

To date, Raising Cane’s plush pet campaigns have raised over $8 million for pet causes. The model has additionally donated greater than $13.5 million complete by way of adoption occasions, donation days, canine parks, vaccination clinics, and extra. They presently work with over 9,000 pet welfare organizations nationwide.

“A business’s mission should be just as important as its profit,” Asher emphasised. “The art of living is giving. If you’re ever in a dark place, go do something kind. You’ll feel better. That’s what I try to live by, and that’s what Raising Cane’s is doing.”

He additionally did not draw back from calling out the poisonous sides of the rescue group, saying, “Unfortunately, a lot of people in animal rescue can be really judgmental, even cruel. It pushes people away. What we need are kind, compassionate voices, not just for the animals, but for the people trying to help them.”

For Lee Asher, the true heartbeat of The Asher House is not simply the animals, it is the individuals who love them.

“The reason The Asher House is so successful is because of our community,” he shared. “We want people to feel like they belong, like they’re not crazy for loving animals as much as they do—or for letting all their dogs sleep in bed with them.”

And Asher signifies that actually.

He and his fiancée Sarah sleep on what they name a “family mattress,” typically sharing it with 20 to 30 rescue canines at a time. “We show everything in our videos because we want people to feel connected,” he defined. “There’s no success without community, not a community built to sell, but one built on belonging.”