Animal rescue icon Lee Asher plans to expand his sanctuary concept across the U.S.

BOCA RATON — Renowned animal rescue hero Lee Asher said Thursday he is looking to expand his Asher House sanctuary concept nationally — and the Sunshine State is a priority for a new location.

"Do I want to be back in my home state, that's absolutely a yes," said Asher, a former Animal Planet television network star who grew up in South Florida, during a talk at Lynn University's Dialogues Speaker Series.

During the presentation, Asher detailed how he found his cause, taking in unwanted animals, while working at a animal shelter as an adolescent who suffered from severe attention deficit disorder. When told the animals were not there "jailed" for misdeeds, but simply because they were unwanted or discarded, Asher revealed how he would pen letters to the animals promising to rescue them one day.

"I felt this sudden need to protect them," he said. "It was a beautiful connection, because I didn't have a purpose at the time. I felt very different."

Today, Asher very much has a purpose, taking in a variety of animals, from dogs to cats to horses to parrots and llamas, and a massive social media following of 8 million people with whom he shares stories of joy, caring, loyalty and sadness.

Robert Watson, a Lynn professor of U.S. history, moderated the discussion and said the outpouring of interest from the community when the university announced Asher would be speaking was unprecedented.

"We've had Nobel, Pulitzer prize winners and I've never had the reception that we've had today," said Watson, who also reflected on his own experiences rescuing 10 dogs, including pitbulls, during the event.

Asher House sanctuary concept partly inspired by a pitbull named Stella

Stella, a pitbull Asher said he rescued from a shelter on the very day she was to be euthanized, ultimately steered him to found the Asher House sanctuaries in the Pacific Northwest.

"It was a huge eye-opener to me how many of these amazing, beautiful dogs that exude love, and that will be the best dog you'll ever have, just how many of them are going to be euthanized," he said.

Not long after adopting Stella, Asher said he sold all his belongings and boarded an RV to tour the country with 11 dogs, all former candidates for euthanizing, on a mission to "show the country, the world" dogs in shelters. He traveled non-stop for two years followed by another 36 months of on-and-off road trips that took him to each of the 48 continental U.S. states, plus Alaska, and then across Canada.

"I traveled shelter to shelter to promote animal rescue and to show all these amazing dogs," he said.

When Stella came down with cancer and passed away, Asher decided to limit his travels and establish a home for the animals he had taken in. Today, the main Asher House sanctuary is on 240 acres near Salem, Oregon, and the organization is in the process of buying another 140-acre location about 30 minutes from their home base.

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Asher House looking to expand nationally, and maybe to Florida

Through the years, and his travels, Asher said he has developed close connections with people at various animal shelters. He believes he can work with them to establish Asher House-like sanctuaries across the United States.

"My goal is to be able to open up sanctuaries all over the country and have these people run them and that's exactly what we are looking to do with these locations," he said to loud and sustained applause.

Asher did not elaborate on a timetable for expanding beyond Oregon, or how partners would be selected or what financing arrangements would be necessary.

Allison Shevlin, who has been rescuing animals for nearly two decades, applauded Asher for committing to establishing a sanctuary network.

"There is so much need so I was really happy to hear him say that," said Shevlin, who attended the talk and then waited in line for a half hour to get a selfie with Asher.

Shevlin works with a Shih Tzu rescue organization based in Georgia that transports animals needing safe haven from as far north as Maine. She said nearby areas, like Okeechobee, could meet the space needs an Asher House here would require.

"There is so much land out there that he would be able to do something," she said. "There's plenty of acreage to be able to do that."

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.