A taphouse in Portland, Oregon, offers delicious craft beer, good food, and cute dogs. Fido’s Taphouse is the world’s first bar and restaurant that doubles as a foster home for puppies. These dogs got rescued from kill shelters in central California. Since the establishment opened in 2018, over 70 dogs have found their loving homes.
Fido’s usually accommodates up to four dogs at a time, although, the facility is equipped to house eight dogs if needed. The dogs stay in a room that’s separated from the bar and dining area; in the room, there are toys, kennel cages, and dog food.
Customers who stop by to enjoy some drinks or food have the opportunity to play with the dogs in hopes of taking one home. If an individual finds a dog they want to adopt, they have to wait three days before signing the paperwork to ensure that alcohol did not influence their decision.
As a bonus, dogs and their ‘to be’ owners can enjoy a meal together. For humans, there’s a variety of dog-themed food to choose from the menu. For the dog, there’s a gourmet mashup of brown rice, chicken, peanut butter and teriyaki sauce; the dish is called “the doggy mash.” The founder of Fido’s, Scott Porter, launched the bar three years after he got inspired by cat cafes.
Porter said:
Fido’s is unique in that it is a craft beer taproom. We focus not only on beer, cider, and wine. We primarily focus on charities, dog rescues, and helping them to solve the pet population problem.
Fido’s has a partnership with the Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals (OFOSA) charity, which saves the dogs from high-kill shelters in California. OFOSA organizes mandatory meet and greets, along with an interview with the family or individual interested in adopting.
Porter hopes that the foster dogs will give families the same kind of unconditional love, inexplicable joy, and therapeutic support that his dogs have offered him in the past.
“My own dogs helped me through some pretty severe depression. They were extremely loving and attentive to me. And they understood that I was going through some tough times,”
Porter said his pets saved his life, and that’s why helping people connect with dogs is so meaningful to him.
“People oftentimes will step into the room. And they’ll get dogs in their arm. And they just break down sobbing because of that connection,”
If you are interested in visiting Fido’s Taphouse or adopting a dog, check out their website. For more information and photos visit their Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook pages.
