TV Series “Save Our Shelter” Heads to Canada for True North Shelte

Amy Tokic
by Amy Tokic
From the CW to CAN – the hit TV series Save Our Shelter heads to Canada to makeover the Etobicoke Humane Society. And PetGuide got to go behind the scenes for an exclusive look before the big reveal!


SAVE OUR SHELTER by DOG for DOG follows entrepreneur, philanthropist, and pet expert, Rocky Kanaka, along with his team of specialists, as they hit the road to help breathe new life into animal shelter facilities across North America. Each episode works with local community members, including volunteers, contractors and industry experts, as they revitalize rescues and get more pets adopted. The result: creating healthy and happy environments for pets, increasing adoptions, and saving more pets’ lives. Each episode educates audiences about pet-related topics and culminates in a big reveal.


Dog for Dog and Save our Shelter came up to Ontario, Canada, to work their magic on animal shelters in need of a makeover. We met up with them at the Etobicoke Humane Society (EHS), an independent, 100 percent volunteer run, no-kill shelter. It has no paid employees – thanks to its 230 volunteer staff members, the EHS is able to take in homeless animals, provide full vet care, microchip each animal, and carefully rehome these pets.


We were so excited to see the magic happen! Here’s a look at our unforgettable behind-the-scenes tour:

Building a new cat intake room: At one time, all pets came through the same intake door, which can cause a lot of stress for both cats and dogs. The SOS team wanted to build a separate entrance. This included rearranging shelving and setting up a permanent wall with a door between the dog and cat intake rooms.

Redesigned dog intake room: the dogs already had a separate entrance, but as you can see, this area needs to be tidied up. SOS put in a new dog food prep area, moved in new equipment and repositioned kennels to better use the available space.

Atticus the dog: This adorable fella was adopted the day that I visited!

Cat Alley: Each enclosure mimics a home environment. These cats are let out and have free (and human monitored) of the room. Volunteers go into each enclosure to pet and socialize with the cats, so they get quality 1-on-1 time.

This kitty is trying to teach the SOS team how to speak proper Canadian, eh! And don’t forget – we Canadian kitties are super polite.

Raising the roof: As part of the makeover, Dog for Dog is replacing the current roofs with plexy on all of the cat kennels.

Micro the Kitten, who’s featured in this episode, was adopted by volunteer Emily.

Here’s to a job well done! Four paws up to Save Our Shelter and Dog for Dog!

Want to see the big reveal of the new and improved EHS? So do we! You’ll have to catch this special episode on the CW network, which airs in February 2017. Check your local listings or the Save Our Shelter website for air dates and times.

Amy Tokic
Amy Tokic

Amy Tokic, Editor of PetGuide.com, is a passionate animal lover and proud pet parent of Oscar, a Shih Tzu/Chihuahua cross, and Zed, a Japanese Chin. Her love of animals began in kindergarten, when she brought her stuffed dog Snoopy into class with her every day. Now, she writes about her adventures in pet ownership and tirelessly researches products, news and health related issues she can share with other animal enthusiasts. In her free time, Amy loves perusing used book and record stores, obsessing over the latest pet products available and chasing squirrels with wild abandon (a habit attributed to spending too much time with her pooches).

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