When Toby and I would travel north America sharing his story, we would often talk with children about how we became Toby’s forever family. This often opened up a dialogue about pet adoption, we got to hear so many heartwarming stories. I am really enjoying hosting my own pet related radio show PAWsitive Radio! It was our dog Toby, the star of my books On Toby’s Terms, and Toby The Pet therapy Dog, that inspired me to keep the conversations going.


My recent guest Craig Haverstick met in California at a Pet Expo. His dog Stanley could have passed for Toby’s brother. Toby and Stanley had the chance to play and surf together at Dog Beach in Del Mar California, and it was Craig who taught Toby how to surf.

Toby's first surf board lesson- Craig got Toby surfing in no time at all!

Craig spent 20 years in the Navy traveling the world. He now works as an environmental specialist at various military bases. He became involved with dogs after adopting Stanley, his first dog since childhood. He never dreamed that having a dog could be such a wild adventure. Craig volunteers as a foster home with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever Relief and Rescue (http://www.cbrrescue.org/default.asp). Since Stanley entered his life he has been involved with 2 Rose Parades, featured on the Outdoor Channel TV series "Logs & Dogs DockDogs World Championships for 2 years (with a world champion Chesapeake named Henry), inducted into the DockDogs Hall of Fame (2010), and many other numerous adventures. Stanley's rescue story can be found at:

http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x437101149/A-dogs-tale-From-local-shelter-to-Rose-Parade


Having Craig on my PAWSitive radio show was great, we chatted about some very important topics:

• Animal rescue and adoption- ways to make your pet a forever member of your family or as Craig said “a lifelong family member”
• Know the Breed before you adopt
• Responsible pet ownership- reach out and ask for help (e.g. with behavior issues)
• Find ways for your family to support local pet organizations and rescues (e.g. donations, volunteer walkers, etc.)
• The importance of pets having a job. Our Toby volunteered as a Pet Assisted Therapy dog at a local hospital, it had a profound (positive) effect on his behavior and gave Toby and I a purpose together.

Toby at Work

You can listen to the interview with Craig at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/03/17/guest-craig-haverstick


Follow PAWsitive Radio Show on Saturdays 2 pm PST, 3 pm MST. We would love to hear who you would like to hear interviewed… maybe it’s you?


To find out more about Toby’s books, visit www.ontobysterms.com or you can order your copy here:

From The Doghouse to the Big Screen

Dogs inspire us!  I now know and believe that animals, just like people, show up in our life when we need them most (even when we don't know we need them). That's how it was for us and Toby. This gorgeous Chesapeake Bay retriever showed up in our life, when we needed some change. Not only did he shake up our world and toss it around, he inspired a lot of growth and change (and some new renovations to the parts of the house he destroyed).

Toby looking very proud after he emptied the closet.

His turnaround from the dog that rearranged furniture, emptied our closets, broke toilet tank lids to the dog that brought joy and laughter to those in the hospital (as a pet assisted therapy dog) was so inspiring to me I wrote a story called Volunteering from the Heart for Chicken Soup for the Soul (It is Story number 72).

Going on book tours with Toby, and our continued lessons of love, life and purpose inspired me to write On Toby's Terms, which is in development to become a major motion picture!  How exciting is this!! Literally, Toby has gone from the doghouse to the big screen!  Our journey with him has not only inspired us, but has impacted thousands of children and adults around the world. 

To find out more about the movie On Toby's Terms, and how you can get involved, visit:

http://www.indiegogo.com/On-Tobys-Terms-The-movie

To learn more about how Toby inspired me to write, check out this blog with Beachbound Books:

http://www.beachboundbooks.com/charmaine-hammond.html

Animals Are Smarter Than You Think

Last week I read this on Facebook “The real reason animals don't talk, is because they understand so much.” The quote really resonated for me because during the wonderful years we had Toby, our Chesapeake Bay retriever we learned so much from him.  We learned early on that this dog was a lot smarter than we gave him credit for, and once we figured that out, life got a little easier. Toby’s ability to “read” his environment was uncanny, this became particularly evident during his hospital visits, he visited as a pet assisted therapy dog with Chimo - http://www.chimoproject.ca/chimo/ and was placed at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. He seemed to know exactly what the patients needed from him and acted in such a way that built trust with them.

In a recent discussion with Susan Sutcliffe (K9 Body Worker and expert dog behaviourist) on my PAWsitive Radio with Charmaine, we discussed the ways in which animals communicate (non verbally, through their behaviours, routines and so forth). Susan provided some incredible tips to increase our ability to communicate with and understand our pets. You can listen to the show here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/03/10/guest-susan-sutcliffe

Georgina Bradley also shared some helpful perspectives about how smart animals really are. Georgina trained dogs for Hollywood movies, the Olympics, and for families and pet owners, like you and I. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2012/02/25/guest-georgina-bradley

How fun it would have been to have Susan and Georgina meet Toby, I would have loved to hear what they thought he was saying.  J

Until next time… remember, our pets understand a lot more than we think they do!