If you've ever been to an animal shelter, you have seen first hand what a horrible place it is. No offense, they do the best they can with the money that is donated. Caring for the animals is a chore. The conditions are less than ideal. Cages. No wonder pets adopted there might have medical or behavioral issues. As best as the caregivers can do, there's a lot to be desired. I have a better idea.

Instead of a shelter, let's build a village.

Yes, I know. This is a dream and would take so much to build it. But, there's no harm in sharing the dream, is there? Maybe someone can help me realize it.

First, imagine 1,000 apartments. Nice apartments!! Spacious and well designed. State of the art appliances. Everything luxurious. Arranged into a village setting that encourages neighbors to get to know their neighbors and work as a village.

I'm going to give those apartments away for free.

WHAT?!?! That's crazy!! In exchange for the really nice free apartment, the resident has to foster 1-2 dogs. They have to feed them, take them to the groomer and vet. Walk them, clean up after them, TRAIN them. Prepare them for a forever home in every way. There's marketing involved. Keep photos and videos on our social media and website. Then, they have to make those pets available to potential adopters and prepare for another foster pet.

We save labor and provide an infinitely better living environment for the animals. Plus, a foster parent is going to catch medical issues and can get those addressed right away.Training issues can be addressed immediately. We are truly making a pet home ready for that potential adopter.

The foster parent pays for their food. We require the dogs are fed high quality food available in our pet store. We will have leashes and toys and treats - on campus - for them to choose from. It's conceivable to rebrand/repackage a high-end food with our name on it. We could possibly make that food available to vets and pet stores in the area. Best case scenario, people from outside the village are buying our food, too.

The village has a groomer and each pet is required to stay up on their hygiene. The foster parent pays for grooming. With 1,000 apartments, an average of $100 per pet, approximately once a month, that's a revenue stream of $100K per month.

Training is important. Each pet has to visit the trainer once a month. Even after basics are well trained, the maintenance never ends. We don't have to make it a boot camp. But, staying well trained ensures that the pet gets the best suitors. That's a revenue stream of another $100K per month.

All vet bills are covered by the village. However, the foster parent still needs to keep an eye out for medical issues so they can be addressed sooner rather than later. The foster parent is responsible for flea meds and heartworm meds since those are care, not a medical issue.

Our vet clinic will need to be huge. And, I'd love it if our clinic became THE clinic for pets outside the village. The challenge will be how to build such a clinic without it becoming a competitor for other vets in the area. Ideally, this clinic would partner with them. Maybe it could fill in gaps or provide medical procedures on a wholesale basis. Surgery, for example. Maybe MRI services. An in-house pharmacy that competes with online sources. Communication is essential. Build relationships and find our niche.

A proper village needs a restaurant or two and a bar or two. We need social events for the villagers. We need a convenience store. We need as many essential things to keep the village as self-contained as possible. Could we have our own auto repair shop or oil change shop? A tire shop?

Our villagers are not paying rent or utilities, but all the things they were spending money on beyond that, are now revenue streams for the village.

AND, the animals are better cared for and they are home ready when a potential adopter gets there.

We could charge a little more for our pets because they are the best. We could set it up that the pets all have vet prepaid medical through our own clinic. We could encourage them to visit our trainer and buy our food, join us in social events and eat at our restaurant.

I'd like to at least consider the possibility of 3D printing the construction of the village. I think this will give us a better building(s) and will be less expensive. I'd like to weigh the possibility of solar power to save money. Maybe even a gray water system if that's possible. I think if we explore technology, we're going to find ways to improve the bottom line.

Yes. I'm going to give away the apartments. I think we'll be fine, though.