Katts and Dog

This was one of several excellent family-oriented Canadian productions from that time that were broadcast in the US and then disappeared. As other commentators have indicated, they were thoroughly enjoyable for all ages.

Imagine my shock when on visiting Montreal about ten years ago I turned on the hotel tv and, finding nothing better, checked out Katts and Dog. Which I had known exclusively as Rin Tin Tin, K-9 Cop. Now, you have to understand several things. First, Rin Tin Tin was a famous German shepherd dog character from a series in the late 50s. So it was perfectly logical for this dog to have that name. But the dog in Canada was Rudy, and I was amazed to discover that they had gone back over every single "Rudy" and dubbed in "Rinty" for the US audience. The dubbing was absolutely undetectable. But to this day I don't get the point.

Second thing you have to understand: They never made it clear where the show took place. It was intentionally an unspecified city in the Pacific northwest. The police uniforms looked plenty US to me but they must have been designed to look Canadian to the Canadians as well. (They did not have checkered caps.) Standard Canadian and standard US English, if there is such a thing, are scarcely distinguishable, so I guess they got by by not having the characters say "eh?" Because of PC or union considerations or both, there was a sequence of episodes in there where the female interest spoke with a French accent. In the context they made her French French, but obviously she was quebecoise.

Anyway, an excellent family show, and it is a shame that those of its ilk seem to be with us no more.

i love this show!! i wish it came back on!! it was awesome sending just say no messages and all that! and i loved how jesse adopted andrew as his son that was cool and it shows that men arent that bad as fathers! well i just wish i had seen the last episode thanx for your time and anyone interested in joining a chat of this show or actors please email me!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this series growing up. It was one that if I was going to miss it, I'd set the record timer so that I'd have it. My mom new better than to interrupt me while this show was playing. Besides the fact that Andrew Bednarski was a heart throb of his time, the show dealt with a lot of great family oriented topics. It was moralistic, enthusiastic and dealt with everyday issues. I was surprised to find it on TV in Canada 7 years ago while driving through, but have never found it on re-runs in the U.S. With all the shows of the past hitting the tube, I think that this one should make that list as well. You can't even find anything on Ebay for it, it is almost like it never really existed...just dropped off the planet.

SEND THIS SHOW BACK INTO SYNDICATION, you'd be doing families a favor, what with all the immoralistic shows out there for our kids to watch, it would be nice to have a show with values to watch.

I would love to see Rinn Tin-Tin K9 Cop on DVD. I haven't seen this show in about 18 years. I had a huge crush on Andrew Bednarski. I wrote him fan letters and he would write me back. It was the highlight of my middle school years.

If I remember correctly, the show was about Hank Katts ( I never heard of the title being "Dog and Katts") and he was a cop in a K9 unit with Rinny the German Shepard who was smarter than everyone on the show. Rinny would save the day every time and could always tell Hank when Stevie was in a well or in trouble. I believe it took place in Canada. Hank was Stevie's uncle and had adopted him after Stevie's mother died.

It was a great show with lots of great family values and adventure. I'd love to catch an episode or two again to remember old times. We need more shows like that on TV today.

In response to what jbuck_919 said:

'Katts & Dog' (or 'Rin Tin Tin K9 Cop') takes place in and around Toronto, Ontario.

As I recall, that was abundantly clear in the Canadian versions - due to the scenery and references to the Toronto Police Service, among other things.

I loved the show; it was one of my childhood favourites. If someone decided to air it, I would definitely watch it.

The plot and effects weren't quite as complex as my modern favourites (ie Third Watch), but they were excellent for its day.

~Mark