I Have the Best Idea for a New Animal Shelter in Portland, Maine

Animal Shelters in Maine

We all know the infamous saying, “adopt don’t shop!” and I stand by that. Rather than get a pet from a breeder, you should rescue one from a shelter that needs a home. I recently spent time at the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland and fell in love with every single four-legged pal in the building.

There are shelters scattered around Maine, so if you’re in the market for a pet, you can find your next best friend in one of these many places.

A New Type of Shelter in Portland, Maine

The Starbucks on Exchange Street in Portland recently closed so I made a list of places that should replace the iconic location. While curating this list, a grand epiphany came to me: A new type of animal shelter.

I’m about to rant so bear with me.

There should be an animal shelter where you can “rent” or sign out animals for an hour or so at a time. Shetler animals sit in those kennels all day long so imagine if you could “borrow” a shelter animal to go for a walk, go to the park, take them to the beach, etc. Leashes would be provided and when you go for a walk around Portland, you can bring a dog out with you to socialize, get some air and get some love.

This would be therapeutic for both the human and the dog but it would also increase the chances of the dogs getting adopted, which is huge. I know for me personally, if I took a dog for a walk for an hour I wouldn’t be able to return it, I would need to bring it home with me.

There would obviously be some logistics to manage but I personally think it would be a great idea. It would be so good for the animals, it would be good for us, and it would just be so fun and wholesome.

What do you think?