Community Spotlight: Lee Asher, The Asher House and the pack that saved him
In the hills just south of Salem, a 240-acre property is home to roughly 200 dogs, about 20 cats, and dozens of horses, goats, alpacas, llamas, donkeys, pigs and sheep. It's The Asher House, the animal sanctuary founded by Lee Asher, and it's this week's Community Spotlight.
Asher's route to rescue work wasn't a straight line. He left a corporate job and spent more than two years driving across 49 states in an RV, promoting dog adoption and spotlighting shelters and rescues along the way. In 2020 he founded The Asher House, which started on 20 acres in Estacada before moving to the Salem area. It's a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and the IRS granted its tax exemption in December 2020.
The sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates animals that have been abused, abandoned or
discarded. Some stay for life. Many others go to new homes through its adoption program. According to the organization, its work also reaches past the property: a rescue network that connects animals with other groups around the country, a national spay and neuter program, library partnerships, school assemblies, homeless outreach, and occasional financial help for shelters hit by wildfires and other disasters. Millions of people follow the animals' daily lives on social media.
Now Asher has written a book. Saved by the Pack: How 50 Dogs Helped Me Find My Purpose came out September 22 from National Geographic. (One of its dogs, the Saint Bernard Lillie, is described as "a leader of the pack.") The book follows Asher from a childhood marked by ADHD and bullying, through the corporate job he left behind, to more than 1,000 dog rescues since 2020. He tells it through 50 animals, including Bo, Matilda, Tommy and Bear.
"I'll never forget my teacher told my parents I'd never be able to read or write," Asher said in a video announcing the book. "Now look at where we are, a National Geographic author."
The lessons in it are practical ones. "Don't hang on to first, second, or even third impressions," he writes. "Important things take time, patience, open-mindedness, and the courage to wait." On the hardest calls, he adds: "I always have to do what's best for the dog in front of me and for the pack."
How you can help
The sanctuary isn't open to the public, and it doesn't have a volunteer program right now, to protect the animals' and staff's privacy. It plans to announce any future visit or volunteer opportunities in its monthly newsletter. In the meantime, there are plenty of ways to pitch in:
Ways to Give: https://www.theasherhouse.com/pages/ways-to-give (one-time and monthly gifts, stock, memorial bricks, estate gifts; right now $25 provides a bed for a rescued dog)
Employer matching gifts: https://www.theasherhouse.com/pages/the-asher-house-matching-gifts
By mail: The Asher House, P.O. Box 3548, Salem, OR 97302 (EIN 84-3719750)
Newsletter: https://www.theasherhouse.com/pages/newsletter
You can find Saved by the Pack on Amazon or at your local bookstore.
As an Amazon Associate, Willamette News earns from qualifying purchases.
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