Taking care of your dog's teeth

The Million Acts of Kindness tour would never have been possible if it weren’t thanks to our many partners who have supported us and our mission. 

This week, Team Toby got the opportunity to connect with Robin Canuel, the owner and operator of K9 Gentle Dental, who provides gentle and effective teeth cleaning to dogs without using any medications or anesthesia. According to Robin, they aim to help pet owners stay on top of their dog's oral care needs by providing a teeth cleaning that is able to be done more frequently than the normal anesthesia method. 

Their goal is to have dogs go under anesthesia less often for their teeth and for pets have less severe dental issues throughout their lives by providing frequent cleanings and educating pet owners on how to maintain their dog’s teeth and the dangers of dental disease.

3 Tips Robin offers for dog owners:

1. Brushing dogs teeth on a daily or regular basis (at least 3 times a week) will give your dog the best chance of maintaining their oral health into their elderly years.

2. Coconut oil makes a great doggie toothpaste. Not only is it naturally antibacterial but it is also naturally anti-inflammatory and dogs love the taste!

3. Using an extra soft toothbrush, like an infant brush, will be extra gentle on your dogs sensitive gums. Slightly bleedy gums is fairly normal but if you notice excessive amount of blood when brushing please have your vet examine your dog’s mouth thoroughly at your next visit.

We asked Robin to share an act of kindness that has impacted her life, and why she chose take part in our goal to reach one million acts of kindness.

Wow what a question! We see so much kindness everyday in our profession but to name a specific moment...  We took in a little 4 pound rescue Maltese who needed serious dental surgery (among other things). The vet we work with in Steveston, BC, Little Paws Animal Clinic, took our little man in and gave us an honest rundown of our options to help the little guy in his old age (he was 15!). They provided us top notch service and medical treatment for a reduced rate. I know first hand that Dr. Martinez helps so many rescues who need vet care by offering massive discounts or free services to rescue doggies all over Vancouver. On top of all that, we found Little Man the most wonderful home with a family who took in this old doggie knowing very well that he would cost them money in vet bills and probably not be around for too long. They gave him the most amazingly loving home for his remaining time on this planet, and considering what a terrible life that little guy had endured he must have thought he had died and gone to doggie heaven! People amaze me everyday with their kindness and generosity towards animals.

It was a very simple choice to show kindness to this movement! Using animals to teach kindness and patience is an amazing tool and I felt like it had the potential for a huge impact. Kids these days are bombarded by advertising, internet and terrible role models and by introducing children to animals in an educational way can definitely better their development in so many different areas. I also very much respect the fight against bullying and love this approach to the subject.

Social Media Links:

Our Blog - http://k9gentledental.ca/blog/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/k9gentledental

Instagram - https://instagram.com/k9gentledental/

Twittter - https://twitter.com/K9GentleDental

Website - www.k9gentledental.ca

Thank you K9 Gental Dental for your support and the guest blog!

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 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!

Spinners Raise Funds and Awareness for St John Ambulance Therapy Dogs

Photo Credit Charmaine Hammond team Toby

Toby the dog here.

You guessed it.

I 'm a dog with a blog!

Do you travel?

Do you travel with your pets?

Do you travel for good....with your pets?

That's what our family is doing September 2015... our Million Acts of Kindness tour...we're on a mission to make the world a better place through kindness. 

Thanks to one of our amazing PAWtners, Carolyn Ellis of Brilliance Mastery created this amazing image of what our tour is all about...

 While mom was in St Catharine's Ontario, she had the chance to participate in an exciting event SPIN 4 THE PAWS with an incredible line up of pawtners..

and

Thanks to the amazing partners, volunteers, sponsors, attendees, exhibitors, and those who cycled to raise funds and awareness.... THANK YOU!!  Together we made a difference.

The Power of Pets, Liva Health and Niagara Region St. Johns' Ambulance Therapy Dog Program... it was great to collaborate with you on this event!

Check out the conversation that mom and Denis had about the event on her PAWsitive Radio show.  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/teamtoby/2015/05/09/spin-for-the-paws-cycling-to-raise-funds-for-therapy-dogs

To find out about our upcoming Million Acts of Kindness Tour or to order a copy of Toby’s books check out our Facebook Page  https://www.facebook.com/TheOriginalTeamToby    

What's on your dream or bucket list for travel in 2015 and 2016?  For people who love to travel, please check out canadiantraveller.com for awesome destinations, travel tips, bucket-list adventures and so much more.

Rescue Madness!

It's me...Toby the dog....

A dog with a blog.

And that's my human mum, Charmaine... she is always trying to get in on my selfies....

March is Rescue Madness with our friends at DoggyBNB

Photo Credit :   DoggyBNB

They are on a mission to help rescue dogs through a super fun March campaign.... Rescue Madness!

There are great prizes and by being part of Rescue Madness, you help animal shelters/rescues and the adorable pups waiting for their FURever families.

You might be asking.... What or Who is DoggyBNB?

Here's a bit 'bout them....

Doggy BNB is all about having an inclusive community of pet care options with the people you trust and care about the most. Just like my  mom, other pet parents  love their dogs so much and have to know that when their dog is in someone's care, they are well taken care of and safe. DoggyBNB is a social connection platform to find responsible, safe loving pet care when the humans have to go away. Check out the DoggyBNB app at

http://www.doggybnb.com/

Remember to go on and pawticipate on Rescue Madness... together we can make a pawsitive difference and find some forever homes for dogs in need

Toby out.

PS  remember to follow me on Facebook and Twitter

For people who love travelling, please check out canadiantraveller.com for awesome destinations, travel tips, bucket-list adventures and so much more.

Canadian Traveller is one of our amazing partners on our PAWS Across Canada and upcoming Million Acts of Kindness tours.