Teamwork makes the Dreamwork!

Toby has been fortunate to have awesome vets at Blueridge-Cove Animal Hospital in North Vancouver. He loves going to his check-ups and really enjoys visiting the staff. That’s because caring for your pets isn’t something Blueridge-Cove does for a living, it’s something they live for. 

Since 1979, they have dedicated to offer complete pet care and ensure a healthy lifestyle for your animal companion. Blueridge Cove Animal Hospital has on-site radiography, dentistry services, surgery and more!

The team at Blueridge-Cove share their top tips in preventative pet safety and health care.

1) As the weather gets colder, looking out for your pet's safety regarding poison control becomes even more important. Antifreeze on driveways, sidewalk salt, and other chemicals create a serious risk for your pet. If your dog walks on roads or sidewalks that could be contaminated with these chemicals be sure to wash their paws before they go back inside or have a chance to lick them. Ingestion of antifreeze is extremely toxic and can cause death. Call your veterinarian or an emergency hospital immediately if you think your pet may have ingested something.

2)  This year we have seen an overwhelming amount of fleas on both dogs and cats. With the dry weather and possibly dry winter ahead we encourage everyone to maintain proper flea prevention all year round. Contact your Veterinarian for their recommendation on the best Veterinary approved flea control products.

We asked the staff how kindness has impacted their business, and why they chose kindness to Team Toby in helping us reach our goal of one million acts of kindness.

In the spring of 2015 we held a fundraiser for a local charity to help animals in need. A young boy named Isaac and his family brought in a cheque to make a donation. When we asked him more about his donation he revealed all the money he was donating was from his birthday presents. At such a young age he had asked his family and friends for money as presents so he could give it all to charity. This act of kindness amazed all of our staff and inspired us to remember to be more like Isaac, especially when we have the chance to do good for others!

We chose to support Team Toby as we love the message that Toby is helping to spread! As a patient of ours, Toby was always a sweet and happy dog when he came to visit us. We think everyone could use a reminder to treat people and pets with respect, kindness and acceptance. Toby's great attitude and demeanor has shown that he can inspire students across North America and help children listen and remember an important lesson!

Social Media Links:

www.blueridgevet.com

https://www.facebook.com/BlueridgeCove

Thank you to the team at Blueridge Vet from mom and I!!

We appreciate all the support from our partners on this Million Acts of Kindness tour.

 

3rd Avenue Businesses 4 Paws Up for Kindness!

There is a beautiful quote that says "It takes a community to raise a child" and the kindness of local businesses on third street in North Vancouver have helped us in creating a kinder community during our Million Acts of Kindness Tour.

Prior to leaving on our Million Acts of Kindness Tour we decided to take a walk down to two businesses on 3rd Avenue in North Vancouver that we love.

Mom always goes to Escape Hair and Body to get her hair done.  Not only do they do an awesome job, there is always great conversation there!

...and....I get my hair done at Bark Avenue Grooming and Bath.  

I love that they have squeaky toys... I love squeaky toys...... I realllllly love squeaky toys.....

I was so relaxed and zenned out after my pawsome spa......just like mom is after she gets her hair done!

Stella owns Escape Hair and Body, and is a huge champion for my books and our kindness tour!  She made a donation so we could provide some schools with my books!  Thank you for the kindness Stella and Escape Hair and Body!

Bark Avenue Grooming and Bath has been doing the Twoonie for Team Toby, raising funds in the spa which also support local schools.

We are so excited this week to go and pay forward the kindness from these two amazing businesses and surprise some schools with books. 

Thank you to Bark Avenue and Escape Hair and Body for all you do for the community!  You make a difference.

What an incredible journey our six week Million Acts of Kindness tour was.  We travelled in the Kindness RV, sponsored by Fraserway RV.

This tour was on our bucket list.... what's on your travel bucket list?  Check out Canadian Traveller and share what your travel bucket list items are, and see what others are doing to make their travel dreams come true.

Thank you all from mom, dad and I:

Million Acts of Kindness stops in Edmonton and meets a life size Beaver?

Edmonton was a special stop on the Million Acts of Kindness tour because Charmaine had spent 10 years living just outside of the city in Sherwood Park. 

We had spent the better part of 4 days in the city, and enjoyed a well deserved couple of days off. I had the luxury of staying at the Matrix Hotel, located in the heart of downtown Edmonton. The hotel itself was quite beautifully decorated, having a modern and upscale design. The rooms were absolutely beautiful, contemporary styled and convenient, as they had multiple easily accessible plugs for laptops and cell phone chargers. It was very obvious that this hotel had been made with business people in mind. I also enjoyed the scenic view of the city from my 15th story window! 

Charmaine, Chris and Toby stopped by a few Petland Canada stores to say hello and meet their awesome teams!

The next few days of our trip were quite busy, as Charmaine had the opportunity to provide presentations to several organizations, including McMann Family Services and the Holistic Chamber of Commerce in Edmonton. We really enjoyed working with these groups, as they both share the same values as we do and sharing the importance of kindness! 

Team Toby presented at the Boys and Girls Club of Edmonton, where Toby got to meet over 20 children and teach them important values of compassion and kindness. The children loved the presentation as they cheered when Toby crashed into a pile of buckets trying to find the hidden treat labelled as ‘kindness’. 

All of the students in the two groups each committed to do an act of kindness in the next 24 hours, their commitment and pledge to making the world a better place through kindness.

 We would love for YOU to join our kindness challenge, one act of kindness for ten days (the 10 day challenge). Then, go onto our website link and upload your acts of kindness to inspire others: 

 http://charmainehammond.com/

Read some of the acts of kindness here: http://charmainehammond.com/kindness-matters/

Thanks to Petland Canada and the generous amount of funds raised by their guests, each child was able to walk home with a copy of Toby’s book in hand. 

Want to support the Million Acts of Kindness? For less than a cup of coffee you can put a kindness book in a child's hands. Visit our kindness fundraising page and if it resonates, we welcome you to give. Your act of kindness will make a big difference! 

And of course a big shout out to all the amazing businesses and people who have made this tour possible. 

Today's blogpost written by Julie Angeletti, Team Toby

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/