On April 20th it was raining cats and dogs, and that night 200 people gathered together at Theatre Passe Muraille to celebrate writer and broadcaster Erika Ritter’s latest book,” The Dog by the Cradle and the Serpent Beneath”, and honour the work of Fred Victor Centre’s pet-friendly Caledonia Road Shelter, the only one of its kind in Toronto. 

It was a sold-out uplifting evening of celebrity entertainment – song, comedy acts and special readings about animals, which raised over $2,000 for the shelter.  Among the performers, Andy Barrie, the renowned CBC Metro Morning host read “The Last Will and Testament of An Extremely Distinguished Dog”, and revealed he has a “therapy dog” Wrigley who helps others in need. 

Performers that evening included:  Andy Barrie, Christie Blatchford, Mathew Brown & Melissa Veszi, Melanie Doane & Ted Dykstra, Joe Fiorito, Jessica Holmes, Tom McCamus & Chick Reid, Linda Mcquaig, Yannick-Muriel Noah, Nancy Palk, Ross Petty, Stephen Ouimette, Clayton Ruby, Dixie Seatle.

We at Fred Victor Centre give a bark of thanks and a meow of gratitude to Erika and Andy and all of the kind and generous performers who gave a boost of support to our “pet friendly” Caledonia Shelter.

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