About Us
Squish & Charlie’s Doggy Daycare was built for dogs who deserve care, comfort, friendship, and a team that sees them as family.
Our story starts with one very special dog named Apolo, better known around here as Squish, and a family who accidentally turned love, loyalty, and a whole lot of dog hair into a daycare.
A Dog Daycare With a Real Dog Story
We are not here to run a cold, clinical kennel. We are here to create a place where dogs are understood, watched carefully, loved loudly, and treated like the strange little family members they are.
Squish is the reason this place exists. His story shaped how we think about care, patience, safety, second chances, and the kind of community we wanted to build.
Who is Squish?
Although we call him Squish because of his squishy face, we do not know what his name was originally. Our owners were volunteering at a dog shelter in Mexico when they met Apolo.
Apolo had been at the sanctuary, or municipal impound, for eight months after being rescued by the federal police. The human who had him was abusing him. We will spare you the horrible details, but he was not in a safe environment. Neighbours called the police, and he was removed from that situation.
Over the next eight months, Voluntarios Perrunos in Playa del Carmen worked tirelessly to help him recover. Then he met his forever humans. They planned to foster him temporarily, but failed miserably.
Squish came to Canada and absolutely hated the snow. He started going to daycare, where he fell in love with the team who looked after him. He made friends, became bilingual in Spanish and English, and fell in love with a little black lab named Lainey.
When his daycare closed suddenly, his humans made the impulsive decision to open their own daycare and kept the previous staff to make the transition easier for the dogs and families. Squish & Charlie’s opened its doors in four days.
Since then, Squish has become the ambassador for the daycare, taking his happy vibes and toothy smile on every adventure.
Thank you for joining us on our little adventure. We are incredibly grateful and proud of what we have created.
Tippy Tappies,
Albert, Elle, and Squish
Follow his adventures here: Apolo the Pitty on Instagram.
What Squish Taught Us
Every Dog Has a Story
Some dogs arrive confident. Some arrive nervous. Some need time. We meet them where they are and pay attention to what they are telling us.
Care Should Feel Safe
Dogs deserve patient handling, familiar routines, supervised play, kind humans, and a place where they can relax into being themselves.
Community Matters
Squish & Charlie’s exists because of dogs, their humans, and a team that wanted to keep a good thing going when families needed it most.