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Learn more about the unique relationships between children and service animals on AMI's Collar of Duty Kids, debuting June 23 on AMI-tv and AMI+

Cision Canada10-06-2025
TORONTO, June 10, 2025 /CNW/ - Dogs are said to be human's best friend, but what about pigs, horses, turkeys and snakes? Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), in partnership with Summerhill Media Inc. and in association with Fifth Ground Entertainment, is excited to announce the debut of the eight-episode Collar of Duty Kids, Monday, June 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv and AMI+.
A spinoff of the successful original series Collar of Duty, Collar of Duty Kids takes young viewers into the lives of amazing children who have been matched with extraordinary service animals.
Whether it's a therapy horse helping a 13-year-old boy with Down Syndrome to find his voice, emotional support chickens acting as a cheery distraction for a young girl with Type 1 diabetes, or a service dog teaming up with a young girl with a limb difference, this series immerses viewers into the world of children and the animals that assist them.
"This inclusive, fun and touching documentary series is all about the powerful pairings between children and animals, as well as the life adventures they experience together," says Cara Nye, Director, Content Development and Production at AMI. "We know our young viewers and their families will love learning these stories."
"Animals are making our world more accessible for kids, and the impact is both profound and undeniable. It is also needed," says Laura Lillie, series creator and executive producer, Summerhill Media Inc. "This first all-kids season is as playful as it is educational. Get ready for the best season yet."
Companies featured in Season 1 of Collar of Duty Kids include PetSmart, SARI Therapeutic Riding, Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides, CNIB, Horse Discovery, Dancing Goat Therapy Farm, Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory, Partners with Paws, CHEO and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
The first three episodes of Collar of Duty Kids include:
Puppy Bath Time – Monday, June 23, at 8 p.m. Eastern
A horse named Ace helps a 13-year-old boy with Down Syndrome find his voice. Meanwhile, it's bath time for future dog guide puppies, and things go swimmingly when service dog Atlas teams up with a young girl with a limb difference.
Foster Puppy Pick Up – Monday, June 30, at 8 p.m. Eastern
Therapy horses Shaemus and Soleil join 17-year-old Sam as they take new steps forward on a snowy trail. It's puppy pick up day and time for eight-week-old puppy Eloise to head home with her foster family, and study buddies Lucy and service dog Elwood are crushing their first year of campus life together.
Learning with Horses – Monday, July 7, at 8 p.m. Eastern
A chattering of emotional support chickens is a cheery distraction for a young girl with Type 1 diabetes. Meanwhile, children are learning and feeling with horses at Horse Discovery, and William takes on his first solo musical performance with service dog Wander by his side.
Collar of Duty Kids airs Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv. Stream episodes anytime, for free, on AMI+.
About Summerhill Media Inc.
While our goal is pure entertainment, our passion is connection through story. Inspired by subtext and the sublime, we are on a mission to tell life-affirming stories, in both unscripted and scripted original programs. Our flexible and caring approach allows us to continue to work and play in an ever-evolving marketplace. Our series and award-winning docs have appeared in every major market around the world.
About Fifth Ground Entertainment
The Fifth Ground Entertainment (FGE) team brings stories to life on every screen — from factual and documentary to scripted to branded content. Toronto-based FGE is known for its award-winning television including scripted comedy series Rent-A-Goalie (Showcase, 22 industry awards noms), music documentary series The Rawside Of … (IFC, 2 Gemini noms), and critically lauded documentary series Reelside (TMN/Crave, 2 Canadian Screen Awards noms — best doc series and best directing). FGE produced kids' science adventure series Leo's FishHeads and Leo's Pollinators (nominated for a Best Children's Non-fiction CSA) for TVOkids, with Secrets of the Forest on air now and The Screen Team in production. Cloudy and The Booligans are in development. Additionally, FGE produces digital and branded content including collaborations with Spin Master, Deloitte, BlackBerry, Yahoo! and the NHLPA. FGE is also heavily involved in documentary production with a social conscience.
About AMI
AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.
SOURCE Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)
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