Why This Quick Trip to Oregon Meant More Than I Expected

Some trips are flashy. Some are fast. And some quietly become your favorites. When Raising Cane’s flew me to Portland, Oregon, to celebrate National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day, I knew it would be special. I just didn’t realize how deeply it would stay with me. The occasion? A jaw-dropping $100,000 donation to The Asher House, the beloved animal rescue nonprofit founded by social media star Lee Asher. And from the moment I arrived, it felt different.

Lee didn’t just show up for the check presentation, he brought several dogs from his sanctuary to the event. Yes, actual rescue pups. We got to play with them, pet them, and see firsthand the kind of joy and second chances this organization creates every single day. There’s something grounding about being surrounded by animals who’ve overcome so much yet still greet you with pure love.

And then there was Matilda.

“She was in the shelter forever because no one wanted her,” Lee shared during the press conference, visibly emotional. “She has cerebellar hypoplasia, a neurological disorder that affects her balance, and people just passed her over.”

Cerebellar hypoplasia affects coordination and balance, often making animals appear wobbly. For many adopters, that difference becomes a reason to walk away, but not for Lee. For him, Matilda’s story felt personal.

Growing up with severe learning disabilities and often feeling like an outcast, he saw himself in her. “When I met her, I felt seen,” he explained. “She reminded me that there’s no such thing as broken, that our differences make us beautiful. Now she’s deeply loved… and sleeps in bed with me every single night.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

Matilda is just one of more than 200 rescue animals living at Lee’s Oregon sanctuary. Dogs. Cats. Horses. Llamas. Animals that were overlooked, abandoned, or deemed “too much.”