RV Travel with your Dog

This was our FIRST RV travel experience. A beautiful 31 foot motorhome sponsored by Fraserway RV for our Million Acts of Kindness Tour. 

Part of our preparation for the six week journey was learning as much as we could about:

1) the areas we would be travelling,
2) RV travel
3) campgrounds and rest areas
4) what to bring and how to make it the best trip ever.

I'd say we succeeded.

We researched the communities, and thanks to Telus, who provided the WIFI for the RV, we could be online anywhere anytime!  This was a HUGE help! 

We also found the KOA Campground guide to be a useful resource, it provides maps, KOA site details, and useful community information. Provincial and State Tourism webpages were also a big help in finding places to park the RV and camp, and attractions to visit. 

Now, preparing for RV travel was likely our bigger education as this completely new experience for us.

The Fraserway RV staff were extremely helpful in educating us about the RV and provided great RV travel hints and tips.  

The RV comes with a very detailed book with tips, troubleshooting and contact information. 

We also completed the Preparation Checklists provided on the Fraserway RV website. 
These preparation checklists are extremely helpful when preparing to travel in an RV.  The checklist about the Supplies Needed was extremely helpful. 

We also completed the Pre Trip Checklist and used this as a guide especially in the early days of travel.  We felt much more confident when we drove away for the first time.

To read more about the article we wrote for Fraserway RVs blog, check it out here:  
http://www.fraserway.com/discover/blog/fraserway-blog/2015/10/08/have-dog-will-travel-5-tips-to-ensure-a-great-pet-friendly-road-trip      Please share with people you know going on a pet friendly adventure in an RV.

What is your BEST learning from travelling in an RV?

What was your favorite place to camp or visit in an RV?

Follow our Million Acts of Kindness tour.  Share the acts of kindness that impacted your life on our Kindness Matters Page.

Million Acts of Kindness Tour stops in Airdrie, Alberta

Our Airdrie stop in Alberta, was a very short but sweet stop on the Million Acts of Kindness tour. A huge thank you goes out to Best Western Airdrie, who graciously hosted us for a night, and went above and beyond with their hospitality. This hotel wins the award for ‘Best Rest’ along with the ‘Toby Tested, Toby Approved’ award, as it was by far the best sleep I had on the tour. The rooms were very quiet, while the bed was plush and the pillows plentiful. The breakfast was also top-notch, as it included all of my breakfast favorites. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, toast and a hot coffee!

We had the chance to visit Fraserway RV that afternoon at their Airdrie location. Luckily for us, the staff was eager to help us out on our kindness mission, and teach us important RV maintenance, such as making sure our water levels are full, and how to empty the septic tank! Unfortunately, not all parts of the tour can be glamorous, but the team at Fraserway RV was very knowledgeable and helped teach us how to perform these tasks efficiently, and without making any messes (thankfully!). With our RV inspected and topped off, we were ready to hit the open road! 

Our last stop in Airdrie brought us to the Boys and Girls Club, where Toby had the chance to make some more friends. As we were unloading the RV, we had the opportunity to meet a gentleman who was a huge advocate for sharing the message of kindness! What started as a group for local dads, Airdrie Dads, to get together and socialize, quickly grew into something amazing. We were so happy he spotted the Kindness RV and stopped to talk to us! 

We had a lovely visit with our friends from Petland Canada, one of our tour partners.  They do amazing things to support local animal charities, like this:

Their team made Toby a new tag for his tour.

Special thanks to our Million Acts of Kindness Tour sponsors, champions and partners. Your support is helping us make a difference through kindness.

 Written by Julie Angeletti, Team Toby Event Coordinator

Please remember to share how kindness has impacted you or someone you know. Put your story, or photo on our Kindness Matters page: http://charmainehammond.com/ 

Are you travelling anywhere this year? where to? What's on your travel bucket list, share it with Canadian Traveller Magazine.

Million Acts of Kindness Tour Movie Night in the Park....in the rain...

Red Deer Alberta was a highly anticipated tour stop, as we had much excitement and engagement from locals and the community. We were also excited to stay at the Microtel Inn and Suites because they had hosted Charmaine, Chris and Toby originally on the Paws Across Canada tour in Lloydminster.  A great hotel with friendly customer service as you can see.

The hotel itself is newly built, very modern and clean. They are the perfect place to stay with your pet, as it is located right next door to a beautiful memorial park where you can walk your dog. Toby had an awesome time stretching his legs in the park and jumping in the lake!

We had to get Toby dried off and cleaned up because we had a big event to attend that night… Red Deer movie in the park night! With the help of Petland Canada, and collaboration from the City of Red Deer and Green Deer, we were able to host a family, dog-friendly movie in the park at Bower Ponds. The film screened was Home, a tale about an outcast alien, who teams up with a lost girl on a mission to find her mom. The theme of the film coordinated perfectly with our kindness mission, as the lesson learned from the story is not to be so quick to judge others, and to always treat each other kindly. The City of Red Deer and Green Deer were also present at the event, and helped spread our message of kindness through their community clean-up programs and opportunities to volunteer. 

Let me just take a moment to commend Red Deer and the people that live here. About an hour before the movie was set to start, big, dark rain clouds started looming over what was supposed to be a bright and beautiful day. But it soon became very clear that a few rain clouds weren’t going to stop this party! Despite the lack of cooperation from the weather, everyone stayed to enjoy the movie, and eventually the clouds parted and we were able to enjoy the rest of the night. For Team Toby and Petland Canada’s first movie in the park night, we are glad to report that it was a huge success! 

Red Deer Child Magazine provided us with print copies of their magazine for everyone who attended. 


Big Appreciation to our tour sponsors, partners and champions! Your support is helping us make a kinder world one paw one person at a time!

Julie Angeletti, Team Toby Event Coordinator

Ps... what's on your 2016 Bucket List for Travel?  Our partners Canadian Traveller Magazine would love to know.

Million Acts of Kindness Tour in Calgary

On the second day of the Million Acts of Kindness tour, the team made the long voyage over to Calgary, Alberta. A long drive through the mountains in rain and fog. Arriving quite late at night, it was convenient to be able to park the Fraserway RV in the Wal-Mart parking lot, which was situated right across the street from our hotel sponsor for the night, Super 8 Shawnessy. This hotel generously hosted Team Toby for the second year in a row. I was pleasantly surprised with this hotel, as the decor was quite modern and the service was fast and efficient. You know you’re at a hotel that loves dogs when there is a huge vase full of dog treats on the counter!

Thankfully, the team got a good night’s rest that night, because our agenda was full of kindness events and activities! Early that morning, the team made their way to CTV, where Charmaine and Toby were featured on Morning Live. We are so fortunate to have the local news channels support our cause and help Toby bark his message of kindness across the country.

We also enjoyed a park clean up at Shaganappi Park with members of the

​Evolutionary ​Business Council. Th​e​ park was so clean we were done ​i​n no time​!​

CBC showed up to cover the event.  

Toby got to make some new friends at the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary that afternoon, where Charmaine, Chris and Toby were able to teach the students valuable lessons, such as how to treat each other with kindness, love and respect. Toby helped the students find ways in which they can help each other out, as well as ways in which they can be kind to family members and club staff. Thanks to Petland Canada, all the children were able to take home a copy of Toby’s book and kindness bracelet, so they can remember Toby’s positive message.

That night the team celebrated yet another fun and successful day at Petland Canada’s store in Shawnessy. Charmaine and Toby were thrilled to meet the staff that helped out on the Twoonies for Team Toby fundraising campaign. Because of their hard work and dedication, hundreds of students across Canada will now have access to Toby’s books and kindness presentations. It was also great to see some of Charmaine's friends who came to support the event.  

​That night we left Calgary​, and​we had a short and pleasant drive to Airdrie.

Julie Angeletti, Team Toby Event Coordinator 

 Thank you to all our sponsors, partners and champions on the Million Acts of Kindness Tour... you are helping us make a difference!

PS..... What's on your bucket list for travel this year?  Please share.  Canadian Traveller Magazine, one of our sponsors, would love to know.

 

Team Toby Social Media Links

https://www.facebook.com/TheOriginalTeamToby

http://www.pinterest.com/teamtoby1/

http://instagram.com/originalteamtoby

https://www.youtube.com/user/TeamTobyTv

https://twitter.com/TeamToby2

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teamtoby

http://tobytalesblog.blogspot.ca/

Million Acts of Kindness Tour Kick Off Event

Today's blog is from our Team Toby event coordinator extraordinaire Julie!.

Photo Credit Team Toby

The Million Acts of Kindness tour

​, created by North Vancouver resident Charmaine Hammond,​

 kicked off at the end of August in Port Coquitlam.

​

 Our amazing sponsor, Petland Canada, kindly hosted the event at their store location and celebrated 

​the

 launch

​ with us​

. Toby the dog, and star of this tour, had the opportunity to meet some of his fans, as well as give-away copies of his book “Toby Says ‘Be A Buddy, Not A Bully’” and “Toby and His Hospital Friends” to students and children that came to the store. Petland Canada

​​

​ participated​

 in the Twoonie for Team Toby campaign, 

​and ​

s

​old​

 cut out paper pawprints for $2, with all funds supporting donations of Toby's books and classroom resources into local schools.
 

Photo Credit Team Toby

Anticipation was building the closer we got to our take-off time, but the team was really excited to hit the open road in the Kindness RV sponsored by our friends at Fraserway RV!

​ ​

Our first stop on the tour was beautiful Kamloops, and we took off, 

​driving​

​

 into the sunset towards interior BC. Despite enjoying the scenic views from our 

​Fraserway

 RV

​,​

 we were happy to arrive to our first destination safely, and we pulled into the Best Western Kamloops for the night.

Photo Credit Team Toby

Wired from the excitement from the launch of the tour, I didn’t think I would get any sleep that night. But I was pleasantly surprised! It had been a while since I slid into a king sized bed with multiple excessively plush pillows, which instantly put my body into relaxation mode. Not surprising for a hotel that has hosted dog-whisperer icon Cesar Millan. It didn’t take long before I was seeing Z’s. Charmaine, Ch

​r​

is and Toby had a restful sleep in the RV. The generosity of this hotel 

​was

 greatly appreciated, this was the second year that they hosted Team Toby.

Photo Credit Team Toby

The next morning, I had a chance to meet the general manager Tim at the front desk. He and his staff took some time out of their day to show me around the hotel and impressed me with their love for animals. Not only did they double their pet-friendly rooms within the last year, but they renovated all their pet-friendly rooms to hardware floors! Toby gave his bark of approval and promised the staff he’d see them again on his next visit to Kamloops, and the team took off to our next stop.

​

Written by Julie Angeletti, Team Toby

Photo Credit Team Toby

Family Fun TAILgate Parties with Pets

It's me....Toby the dog... travelling across North America on a Million Acts of Kindness tour with my humans!  And this is my blog.... life through the eyes of a dog.

All along the way we see so many acts of kindness....

People being loving and kind to one another..... and to animals....

Julie and I in Winnipeg  Photo credit Team Toby

... like our team member Julie. She is PAWsome!


Businesses collaborating to make a super fun event for families, kids and pets.  Thanks Westoba Credit Union, Petland Canada, Fraserway RV, The Original Poop Bags, Telus, Holiday Inn, and Canadian Traveller Magazine!

And of course all TAILgate parties need awesome music!  Thanks to the DJs at the event.

Family Fun TAILgate Party At Petland Canada Winnipeg

Have you posted your act of kindness on our Kindness Matters Page?  Share the acts of kindness that have impacted you or someone you know.  Together we can make a difference!

Thank you to our incredible Million Acts of Kindness tour partners! 

Remember to follow our tour on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!