Former “Cheaters” Host Tommy Habeeb Says Betty White Got Him Interested in Dog Rescues (Exclusive)

While he might be best known for his stint as the host of Cheaters, Tommy Habeeb is now focused on televising animal rescue stories — and it's a passion he came to by way of the late Betty White.

Speaking to PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, Habeeb, 67, recounted how he once participated in an ASPCA telethon alongside White that sparked both a friendship, and a passion for a`nimal rescues.

"Betty got me into rescue," Habeeb says. "She first introduced me to it and it was pretty special."

After the two filmed the telethon, Habeeb received a surprising phone call from the Golden Girls actress.

"I remember vividly, the first call I got from Betty," he says. "[She said] 'OK, I'm coming to get you.' And we went over to to this shelter, and then she took me to a zoo, and, and we worked with these animals, which was interesting, but, you know, she believed so much in animal care and love and, it was infectious."

Habeeb continues: "And when Betty White speaks, we listen, right?"

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White, who rescued several dogs over her lifetime, was publicly committed to animal causes and in 1971, created a fan club, Bets' Pets, to help animal charities. She often supported fundraisers for animal welfare organizations, like the Morris Animal Foundation and American Humane.

The actress died on Dec. 31, 2021 at age 99.

Years after he learned more about rescue from White, Habeeb found himself in between television projects.

"A friend of mine's wife was in rescue, and we were having dinner and she's telling me this story about rescue, and I went, 'Oh my gosh, what have I been doing? You know, I'm sitting here, I have a big megaphone. I need to launch this show," he recounts.

Habeeb, who produced and hosted Cheaters' from 1999 to 2002, is now the creator and host of To the Rescue, a weekly television series spotlighting shelter workers, heroic animal advocates, and life-changing rescue stories across the country. The series began as a passion project and has since grown into a movement as it raises awareness for overcrowded shelters and emergency medical needs.

"If anyone ever gets down in the dirt, and goes and and does this just once — just be a part of a rescue or a transport — it's a game changer," Habeeb says.

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The show, he adds, takes "puppy dogs from their worst place in their life — they're usually beat up and tattered and [suffering from] malnutrition, they have mange — and then we give you the final story, right? At the end, they're adopted out and living their best life."

Habeeb has his own dog (an eight-year-old, 100 pound Portuguese water dog named Winston) but admits it can be difficult not to also take home the dogs featured in the show.

"It's very difficult, you know, really, because I establish a bond ... but I know that these dogs are going to wonderful places."