‘To the Rescue’ tells stories about shelter canines
Tommy Habeeb is promoting shelter dogs on his new TV series “To the Rescue.”
Tommy Habeeb recalled a rock star’s surprise when someone offered him a little dog.
“Here was this big guy saying, ‘Are you kidding me? I don’t want a Chihuahua,’ ” Mr. Habeeb, producer and host of the new TV show “To the Rescue,” told the News-Press by phone from his Dallas home.
“And that dog climbs up on his lap and just started licking him,” Mr. Habeeb said.
The little dog got to the big guy, who found all his stress just washing away, Mr. Habeeb said.
That’s one example of how people and dogs help each other on “To the Rescue.”
The syndicated series premiered last weekend and is airing locally on NSBY, also known as KSBY-DT2. It’s a digital subchannel of San Luis Obispo station KSBY-TV.
“To the Rescue” features the stories about shelter dogs and the families who save them.
“You see these people and how their lives are changed by a dog,” Mr. Habeeb said.
“If you have one of these sweet little animals that give you unconditional love and they just want to snuggle with you and play with you, it really changes your mindset,” he said.
“These dogs, they don’t judge you,” Mr. Habeeb said. “They just love you.”
Filming started in February, and Mr. Habeeb said he would love to feature a story about a dog in Santa Barbara at some point.
Before “To the Rescue,” Mr. Habeeb was the longtime producer of “The Cheaters” reality show. He has been a longtime shelter dog advocate with his Forever Family Rescue Foundation.
Mr. Habeeb noted people are surprised by the variety of breeds at local shelters.
“People come to me and say, ‘I really want this breed. I really want this full-blood German shepherd. Or I want a labradoodle.’ They go, ‘I know we can’t find one in a rescue,’ ” Mr. Habeeb said. “That’s not true.”
And sometimes people are surprised by a specific breed they weren’t planning to get. The rock star found that out with the Chihuahua.
“Now this Chihuahua is traveling the world, doing rock shows and living the life,” Mr. Habeeb said. “That was a fantastic story.”
email: dmason@newspress.com
FYI
“To the Rescue,” a new syndicated TV series about shelter dogs, airs on KSBY-DT2. Check local listings for days and times.
