You might have already heard of cat cafés before, but have you ever heard of dog bars? Well, let us be the first to tell you about a new bar in Portland, Oregon that’s bound to be the hot new trend among booze-imbibing dog lovers.

Fido’s Taphouse is the first bar in the world to double as a shelter for foster dogs.

While the bar offers the same beverages and food fare found in many other taphouses, it has one unique purpose that sets it apart from the rest; matchmaking rescue dogs with their forever humans.

The bar/restaurant gives dog lovers a chance to come in and chill with the rescue dogs while they sip on a cold one. What’s even better, though, is that if someone stops by and really hits it off with one of the doggos, they can apply to adopt them!

Portlands poppin’ new dog bar all started with a man named Scott Porter.

Porter had visited one of the many cat cafés and was left feeling inspired to do something similar for rescue dogs. If you’ve ever been to Portland, by the way, then you know that the city is ALL about dogs. They even have a 1,000-acre dog park nestled in the woods along the Columbia River. It’s kept lush and beautiful specifically so your furbabies can roam in an open, gorgeous, and unpolluted landscape.

While Porter liked the idea of a dog café, he knew the rescue dogs couldn’t get away with walking around freely in one.

Unlike with cats, people aren’t as keen to have a strange dog come in and jump on them. That’s when Porter came up with the brilliant idea of a dog bar. There, he could have a regular taproom like any other bar. Only, the bar would also have a separate enclosure where patrons can go in and lounge with a pup. This way, people know what they’re walking into and can play with the rescue dogs safely.

The dog bar can hold around eight dogs at any given time.

Though the dog bar is spacious enough to hold eight, most times only 3 or 4 pooches will be found playing with the staff and customers. Regardless, Fido’s Taphouse is always open for people looking to adopt one of the rescue dogs. If a match is made between a customer and a dog, they can fill out the appropriate adoption paperwork and arrange to take their new furbaby home within a few days’ time.

Why the waiting period? So the dog bar and the customer have time to determine whether or not an adopter is serious.

The idea is to make sure that adopters are thoroughly vetted. This ensures that they can, in fact, take care of the dog they’re bringing home. For the doubters out there, Fido’s Taphouse is already proving this is a winning method. Since opening its doors, the dog bar has already helped rehome over 70 rescue dogs!

The dogs that greet customers at Fido’s Taphouse are rescues brought in from various high-kill shelters in California.

In such shelters, dogs have a very short amount of time, sometimes only a few days, to get adopted out. If they aren’t, they are tragically put down due to lack of space and supplies. By bringing them into the dog bar, Porter is literally giving these dogs a second shot at life.

Porter says that giving back to the dogs is his only real goal.

The bar owner has battled depression many times in his life. According to him, if it weren’t for his dogs always being there to help see him through his depression, he wouldn’t be here with us today. By opening the dog bar, he hopes to show the dogs his gratitude by placing as many of them into happy forever homes as he can.

Though Fido’s Taphouse has only been up and running since 2018, the dog bar’s rescue game is running strong.

If you’re passing through Portland and are looking for a good place to have a few brews, check out Fido’s Taphouse. You never know. You may just end up meeting your furry, forever soulmate there! You can learn more about the popular dog bar in the video below.

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H/T: Shareably