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Photo via rapsanimalhospital.com

The crew from Pets & Pickers, now showing on CTV and ROKU.

Photo courtesy ctv.ca/shows/pets-pickers

'Pets & Pickers'

By Joe Leary

Published 12:30 PDT, Mon August 19, 2024

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On its surface it may sound like a rather unusual premise for a pseudo-documentary/reality style television concept.

But Pets & Pickers has been extremely well-received and has just entered its third season. The series follows an animal hospital, known as RAPS (Regional Animal Protection Society) with two decades of roots in Richmond.

The show follows animals in need; their owners and the team of veterinarians. Pets & Pickers made its Canadian debut two years ago and it was followed by the US premiere in 2023. That’s the Pets part of the equation.

The Pickers, represent a group of people that wade through abandoned storage bins and the like; hoping to turn some of their finds into value that will ultimately pay for animal surgeries and recovery.

Unlike shows like Storage Wars where individual collector’s bid on unopened storage lockers; ultimately hoping to cash in on a treasure trove of abandoned belongings, Pets & Pickers is all about parlaying the valuables into much-needed medical coverage for animals and their owners, often faced with costly care and treatment of their pets.

And it’s all done through RAPS own thrift store. Local resident Jamie Ansty has been a volunteer at the thrift store for over five years.

When the concept of the TV show was first proposed, he was thrilled at the chance to be among the pickers. As a buyer and seller of collectable himself, he fit right in.

“They had started filming a pilot and asked me to appraise items as an “expert” as I have been buying and selling things my whole life,” he says.

“I was happy to oblige and we went ahead and filmed the pilot episode. “It was a lot of fun opening storage bins and digging for treasures inside.

“Luckily, most of the stuff I could appraise easily, especially records and music related memorabilia as that had been my forte for many years”.

Now the aim of the show is basically to turn someone’s donated items into treasure. Ansty recalls an early experience sifting through one such less-than-stellar collection of goodies.

“The first locker we opened had soiled mattresses, mouse poop and sex toys, which was a little discouraging as there was no treasures to be had. “But the second one we opened, we found a ruby and gold bracelet that was worth $5,000.

“That really helped the thrift store and the animal hospital, and was probably responsible for saving the lives of many pets”.

The best art of Pets & Pickers would most certainly be the combination of joy in finding items of value and then further parlaying those valuables into necessary funds for the hospital; providing financial assistance and comfort to many animals but also their owners in need.

“I was totally flattered to be included and happy to be a part of it,” says Ansty. “It has been fun appraising cool finds in the storage units we get to open.

“I find it very rewarding and fulfilling to be a part of something that not only directly benefits sick and injured animals but also puts me in my element working with collectibles and cool storage finds—the thrill of the hunt. “You never know what you’re going to find in the storage units.

“At the end of the day you have to remember that all the money that comes in through the thrift stores is used to help pay for pet surgeries, and operations that save the lives of countless animals and make their lives better.

“That’s what keeps me coming back to volunteer at the store and also participating in the television series”.

Pets & Pickers is growing every season and was recently picked up for US distribution on Discovery Channel and Animal Planet.

Locally it continues to grow as well on Discovery Canada, Crave Canada and ctv.ca

Season three premiered last month and is now available on ROKU.

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