Are you part of the pack?

Are you a CritterKin Kickstarter?  Are you in the pack? Visit www.critterkin.com to find out how to join the pack!  CritterKin Kickstarter Campaign… it starts April 22!

Last week, Jena Ball and Marty Keltz joined me PAWsitive Radio- All Things Pets!

This radio show was inspired by our precious dog Toby, a dog who lived life big, made a difference, and taught us a lot about life and being a better person.
 

Animals connect people... you can be sure that we met Toby's two friends families (especially when he returned to us with a toy he "borrowed" from his friends).  Pets stories are conversation starters. Animals create a safe place for conversation, and are incredible teachers about empathy, kindness and unconditional love.

CritterKin pack member, Jena Ball is a writer, illustrator and the creative director at Startled Cat, and is the artist/storyteller responsible for the CritterKin™ concept. Her work focuses on using new media to produce compelling narratives while building strong communities focused on innovation, creativity and collaboration.  An Emmy Award winning producer and pack member, Marty Keltz was the co-founder and president of Scholastic Productions, Inc. and a Senior Vice President in charge of New Media. He led the teams that created The Magic School Bus, The Baby-Sitters Club feature films, home videos for Clifford The Big Red Dog, and more than 300 hours of television programming. As a media consultant and producer, he has worked with the Discovery Channel and the Alliance Atlantis Lifetime Channel for a series with True Entertainment on Doctors Without Borders.

April 22 CritterKin launches the Kickstarter campaign.  And there is room in the pack for you to join.  :)

The mission of the CritterKin™ project is to help children learn the invaluable life lessons that pets can teach. These include respect for all life, an understanding of and appreciation for difference and diversity, empathy, responsibility, and an awareness of our role as the species that has the greatest impact on the planet. 

CritterKin™ is a suite of products including mobile apps, e-books, online games, print media, and film designed to educate kids (and their families) about responsible pet care through fun interactive activities.
Website: http://www.critterkin.com/

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2013/04/10/guests-jena-ball-and-marty-keltz-from-critterkin

 The Kickstarter campaign fundraiser to finish the app development will launch April 22.  How can you be involved?

Help spread the word.  Tweet about it using the #critterkin hashtag.  Share the CritterKin updates and news on social media, create your own "I'm a CritterKin Kickstarter" video and share with CritterKin and visit the Kickstarter Campaign page on April 22.

Share the animal stories that warm your heart with Critterkin and with us on our Toby blog.

Share this radio recording with animal shelters, pet lovers, pet businesses and your friends. Together we CAN make a difference!  Listen here:

To learn more about Toby's story visit:  www.ontobysterms.com and

    

CritterKin- helping kids learn the joys of petcare

Our guests on PAWsitive Radio- all things pets was    CritterKin

And what a PAWSOME conversation it was!


Jena Ball, the writer and illustrator and Creative Director with Startled Cat and CritterKin talked about the inspiration for CritterKin, which actually dates back to when she was a young child.  Jena grew up passionate about wanting to prevent animals from being returned to shelters, and to teaching the importance of choosing the best pet for your family, and making certain families have the education, tools and resources to have their pets be FOREVER (or shall I say.... FURever) pets.  They are part of our family.

Jena Ball

The CritterKin Mission is "help children (and through them their families) learn the invaluable life lessons that pets can teach. These include respect for all life, an understanding of and appreciation for difference and diversity, empathy, responsibility, and anawareness of our role as the species that has the greatest impact on the planet." (Source: CritterKin).  CritterKin is closely tied to and very supportive of animal shelters, and the important work they do!

Marty Keltz talked about the importance of stories, and that stories connect people. An Emmy Award-winning producer he was the co-founder and president of Scholastic Productions, Inc. (1978-1995) and a Senior Vice-President in charge of New Media at Scholastic Inc., the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. He led the teams that created The Magic School Bus on PBS.

Martin Keltz

CritterKin Moments are beautiful stories, photographs and music about the lessons we learn from animals, and the many beautiful ways in which they make the world a better place. I was thrilled, and honored to learn CritterKin featured our dog Toby in one of their CritterKin Moments ( http://critterkin.com/moments.html)./   Scroll down and you will see PAWS with Purpose and a wonderful photo of Toby surrounded by children. What a legacy our pets leave. 

All the CritterKin dogs have their own personality, and their own story to share. One our interview Jena shared a few with the listeners.

The next phase of the CritterKin project is their Kickstarter launch in late April. This is a fundraising campaign to hire the animators, designers, engineers, and programmers needed to transform the humane education plan and Jena’s illustrations and stories into a mobile application. 





And there is one more member of the pack....
A veteran brand strategist, Thompson brings more than 20 years of experience in market research, brand positioning, advertising, design and digital media to Startled Cat. In 1998, he formed Remedy Communications, Inc., a full service agency with clients that included Fortune500 companies like Johnson & Johnson (Tylenol), AstraZeneca, and the U.S. Dept. of Defense. Thompson is both a co-founder of Startled Cat and the founder of the Academy of Bright Ideas (AOBI) Ltd.

Doug Thompson

So how can you help? What can you do?  First, listen to the radio show to hear Jena and Marty talk about CritterKin and the many ways in which the project will help create forever homes for animals. And, make sure you visit their website www.critterkin.com and their facebook and Twitter pages to help share their message.

You can listen to the show here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2013/04/10/guests-jena-ball-and-marty-keltz-from-critterkin


Read a great article in the Examiner about CritterKin:

Barking Orders

Ryan Cooper is the co-founder of Barking Orders  – a free online resource dedicated to helping reduce the number of abandoned pets on the streets and in shelters because their owners were unprepared or unable to care for them. Through education Barking Orders (The Canine School for Humans) hopes to build awareness in dog owners in a fun and informative way. The services and information they offer will help many families who adopt pets.  

Our Toby was a rescue dog, who we adopted when he was five years of age. Learning more about his breed, Chesapeake Bay retriever, helped us help Toby.

Toby with his favorite toy....The KONG

Barking Orders was inspired by Jake the dog, and Ryan’s desire to help dogs thrive in their family situations. A recent guest on my PAWsitive Radio show, Ryan shared some great tips for pet families.

 Barking Order tips for pet families are:

1.  Ensure your pet gets enough exercise, and the right type of exercise 
2.  Do your research before adopting, know the breed and choose the breed that is the best fit for your family and lifestyle 
3.   Invest in a seat belt for your pet. Having a seat belt saved Jake’s life. 
4.   Choose a good quality leash, and safe toys, and 
5.  Ensure your dog has a healthy diet and good quality food.

To learn more about Toby’s story, or his books On Toby’sTerms, or Toby The Pet Therapy Dog & His Hospital Friends, visit http://www.ontobysterms.com

 To listen to Ryan share more information about Barking Orders, and to hear his tips for helping dogs thrive in their family, listen to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/chammond/2013/02/20/guest-ryan-cooper

You can follow Toby on Twitter at:  https://twitter.com/Ontobysterms

Bounce Forward- the TOBY Way

Bounce Forward™

By Charmaine Hammond

Have you noticed that life is full of moments?

There are moments that frustrate you. Moments that challenge you. Moments that you get stoked about. Moments that define you.  And moments that make you grow.  

My husband Christopher and I adopted a dog, a Chesapeake Bay retriever named Toby, who gave us all those moments wrapped up in an adorable four legged furry package. If you have ever had a pet with “issues” you might know exactly what I am talking about. In fact, oddly enough, this dog who destroyed our house, moved furniture around and broke toilet tank lids, also became our teacher. Toby’s destructive behavior became so frustrating we had to call for help. 

Maggie, the behaviorist and trainer, helped us learn that Toby needed a job and a purpose. 

Toby on Graduation Day- another round of training completed.

We got Toby a job as an Animal Assisted Therapy Dog at a local hospital and something magical happened when he began helping people by visiting them every week.

Toby on the job

Toby taught us many lessons about:

1.    Patience

2.    Persistence

3.    Purpose

4.    Play

5.    Perfectionism is highly over-rated

6.    Kindness

7.    Courageous Dialogue

8.    Keeping your eye on the Kong (your goal)

9.    Finding joy in the simple things, and,

10.  The importance of Being Yourself

Thank you Toby for making our moments matter! 

Team Toby - Making PAWsitive Change

Eight local Edmonton businesses join the pack, Team Toby, to sponsor books for children that stay at Ronald McDonald House Edmonton. To kick off this initiative, these eight sponsors provided books for the children attending the Ronald McDonald House Story Book Ball.

Toby was a therapy dog, and while he didn't have the chance to volunteer at Ronald McDonald House... this was on our bucket list.  

This is part of the Million Acts of Kindness .... Toby's Global Mission. 

You can watch as Charmaine Hammond, author of Toby The Pet Therapy Dog & His Hospital Friends thanks the sponsors for their support, and welcomes them to the pack....Team Toby!

Dogs With Toothy Tales

Dr. Paul Weiss and his Golden Retriever, Brooke, are making a difference in the dental chair. 

Imagine this. 

You arrive with your child at the dentist, your child is nervous and not sure what to expect. 

 And you are greeted by a friendly, loving dog whose purpose is to love unconditionally and ease the nervousness of the patients who visit the office. Talk about making the trip to a dentist a memorable one. 

Well, that is what Dr. Paul Weiss and Brooke are doing.  Meet Brooke.  The Therapy Dog.

 

Paul said “it all started with a walk.”  He noticed how everyone smiled at Brooke and how Brooke connected with everyone she met.  Paul noted that Brooke had a bigger purpose than simply being an incredible family member and pet. 

He wanted to share Brooke with the world.

Dr. Weiss has been practicing pediatric dentistry in Williamsville, New York since 1989, however, last summer Brooke was certified by TDI as a therapy dog and now works two mornings a week alongside his human dad, Paul. 

Brooke helps people feel comfortable in the dentist office, and for each person this looks different. For some, Brooke lays quietly on the floor. And for others, she has curled up in the chair.  

Many people saw the photo of Brooke on the dentist chair with a child (see one such photo below) and this photo went viral on facebook, in fact, that was how I learned of Dr. Weiss. 

Brooke wears a special bandana to work, that way she knows it is time to work. Paul did mention that Brooke amazingly enough knows how to tell time, she knows when it is time to go to the office, what a great alarm clock... love on four feet!

Find out more about Brooke and Dr. Weiss at www.Drpaul4kids.com  or facebook

 http://www.drpaul4kids.com/brooke

Our Dog Toby was also a therapy dog, 

His story is featured in his books On Toby's Terms and Toby the Pet Therapy Dog & His Hospital Friends    Toby's story was also featured in a book by Dr. Dawn Marcus. You can see the link below.

If you think your dog would make a great therapy dog, speak to your Vet, local behaviorist or trainers or you local Animal Assisted Therapy association.

Please feel free to share this blog with other pet lovers.  Let's help spread the word about the PAWsitive role that animals play in the therapy of humans....