Dog Stories on the Radio

Animals are the topic of conversation around the world. Have you noticed that pets create such a wonderful topic for conversation with loved ones, and strangers. It is easy, comfortable and safe to talk about our pets. There seems to be no shortage of stories to share when it comes to pets.

As we traveled with our dog Toby, the star of our books On Toby's Terms and Toby The Pet Therapy Dog, on book and speaking tours, I enjoyed the stories that were shared with us.  One story that touched my heart was shared by a gentleman who's dog had escaped from their farm.  The family searched for weeks, put up posters, had notices in the papers, called shelters on a daily basis, and alerted every person they knew.  They had given up hope that their four legged family member would be found. One day the gentleman had to travel to a nearby community, about 30 miles away.  In a conversation with the shop owner, the topic of dogs came up. The gentleman shared his story about their missing dog and showed the shop owner a photo. The shop owner smiled and said "he's here!"  A local had taken the dog in after he showed up on their property. The "foster parent" had put up posters in that community, talked to everyone she knew and no one knew the dog's owners. The shop owner contacted the "foster parent" who was delighted to be part of this emotional reunion. The family doesn't know how the dog traveled 30 miles, but to be reunited after a few months, was incredible.  Although this happened a number of years ago, and their dog had passed away, the emotion in the man's voices was as if this happened yesterday.  I too was in tears listening to this heartwarming story... a story with a very happy ending.

At a bookstore event, a lady shared a story about her life as a child, she had a number of medical issues and her dog became her healer, companion and gave her strength to persist through the many medical procedures.

Pets give so much.... their stories connect people....


When we adopted Toby, we truly had no idea how he would impact (and change) our lives, touch the lives of people around the world, and become our teacher.  Nor did I know then that Toby's story would be shared on radio programs around the world.  Dr James Sutton interviewed me about Toby's story, you can listen to our conversations and stories here:

http://www.thechangingbehaviornetwork.com/2012/04/08/from-incorribible-to-incredible-what-toby-taught-us-part-two-guest-charmaine-hammond/

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Radio Show Brings Toby's Story to Life

Recently I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Dr. Jim Sutton, of the Changing Behavior Network. This was my second interview; the first was about my book Bounce Forward. This radio interview was about my book On Toby’s Terms, and the story of Toby, our dog. I love to share Toby’s story, some of my greatest lessons in life came through this incredible dog.

The interview with Jim actually brought me to tears at two points. His questions and the way he summarized key points from the story were so eloquently phrased and tugged at the heart- and made a connecting bridge between the author, the listener, the interviewer and the story. At one point in the interview Jim read from my book. As an author, hearing someone read your words aloud is incredibly impactful.

Our discussions about the lessons learned from changing our dog’s behavior through training and a volunteer job as a pet assisted therapy dog helped provide tips for changing our own behavior as people. For example, with Toby, we knew we needed to be patient and work with him, that change would not be overnight. The same applies to humans, as much as we would like change to be fast (and relatively pain free), it takes time and effort. We also talked about persistence, and not giving up. As with the wise words of Winston Churchill “We will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up!"

Enjoy the discussions and radio show with Dr. Jim Sutton here:

http://www.thechangingbehaviornetwork.com/2012/04/01/from-incorrigible-to-incredible-what-toby-taught-us-part-one-guest-charmaine-hammond/