Can your dog help you date? This Portland comedian thinks so
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Local comedian Andie Main is launching "Fetching," a DIY dog-based dating show, this summer. Photo: Courtesy of Andie Main
Ever wondered if your dog could help you score a date? Well, a new Portland dating show is betting your mutt is a better matchmaker than the dating apps.
The big picture: Local comedian Andie Main is launching a DIY dating series called "Fetching" next month, where dogs — not algorithms — will be making the matches.
- In a city obsessed with dogs and equally disillusioned with dating, Main told Axios she hopes this lighthearted and silly experiment can counter an "increasingly isolated world" and spark real connections.
How it works: Any Portlander who is "romantically and emotionally available" — regardless of gender or sexuality — and has a friendly dog is welcome to audition for about 20 slots at Migration Brewing at the end of May.
- "I'm screening out for psychos," Main said of the process. "It's to gauge commitment and energy."
- Those selected will gather at a farm in Hillsboro later this summer, where they'll release the hounds all at once. Matches are made based on which dogs play and "naturally vibe" the best together.
- Six people will be chosen to go on filmed dates, and beforehand they'll undergo a light "Queer Eye"-style makeover with the help of Main's comedian friends, like Carlos Kareem Windham, Mx. Dahlia Belle, Ally J Ward and more.
The dates aren't necessarily meant to spark romantic love. "It's just two people who are meeting because their dogs brought them together," Main said. "If any long-term relationships come from it, that's awesome."
Between the lines: The concept started as a joke during the pandemic.
- Main, newly single, adopted her dog, Sadie, to help with loneliness. Then she got to thinking, "How could my dog help me meet a person?"
- Years later, a casual chat with a fellow dog owner at the park — who also happened to be a TV showrunner — helped turn the bit into a real production.
What's next: Don't expect Netflix (not right away, at least). Episodes will drop via YouTube and will be clipped out for sharing across social media.
- If the idea takes off, Main hopes to take it nationwide — traveling to different cities, spending about a week in each and filming local versions with new participants.
But first: Portland — where, she promises, "we're gonna leave no butt unsniffed."