1 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: This is Pet Life Radio. 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:05,080 Speaker 2: Let's talk pets. 3 00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,519 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Human Animal Connection Show, where we believe 4 00:00:10,599 --> 00:00:14,480 we can communicate with all animals. Join us as we 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,760 explore the thirty three principles and healing methods of the 6 00:00:17,839 --> 00:00:21,480 Human Animal Connection. As animal lovers, we know that you 7 00:00:21,679 --> 00:00:24,800 share our commitment to making the world a kinder place 8 00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:29,600 for all creatures. Together, let's embrace the transformative healing power 9 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,039 of the Human Animal Connection. 10 00:00:33,039 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 2: Hello everyone, welcome to the Human Animal Connection. I'm your host, 11 00:00:37,399 --> 00:00:40,799 Jeanie Joseph and the executive director of the nonprofit the 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,359 Human Animal Connection. I have a wonderful guest with me today. 13 00:00:44,439 --> 00:00:48,240 I have Charlene Hammond and she is a professional speaker 14 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,399 and author of several books, including four about her dog, 15 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,119 whose name is Toby. And he has a really just 16 00:00:56,159 --> 00:00:58,759 such a fun story because he was kind of, in 17 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,439 her words, a destructive dog, and he became an incredible 18 00:01:02,479 --> 00:01:05,840 therapy dog. So becoming a therapy dog was not only 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,760 a therapy for him and finding his true purpose, but 20 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:12,000 amazing help with other people. So Charmains, thank you so 21 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,280 much for being a guest on our show. Thank you 22 00:01:14,439 --> 00:01:17,760 so much. I am really looking forward to today's conversation. 23 00:01:18,239 --> 00:01:21,200 Oh great, So tell us Toby started out. He wasn't 24 00:01:21,239 --> 00:01:24,120 what maybe what some people would call good dog. He 25 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,680 had some behaviors that weren't so good. Tell us about 26 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:29,200 those behaviors and then we'll hear about his transformation. 27 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,079 Speaker 3: He did. He had some behaviors, that's an understatement. We 28 00:01:33,159 --> 00:01:36,040 adopted Toby when he's five. He was five, and he's 29 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:39,640 a chesabeat Bay Retriever and he came to us a 30 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:43,200 little bit overweight and loved with food, so we had 31 00:01:43,239 --> 00:01:47,959 some behavioral issues to work through. We discovered fairly soon 32 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:53,000 into Toby joining our family that he had a terrible 33 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:56,920 fear of noises, certain noises like the one that the 34 00:01:56,959 --> 00:01:59,920 garbage truck makes when it backs up, that beepy noise. 35 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,359 And we discovered that the first time the garbage truck 36 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,159 came after he came to our house and we were 37 00:02:05,159 --> 00:02:08,479 out doing groceries or something came back and in twenty 38 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:14,319 minutes our house was destroyed. There was stuff everywhere, and 39 00:02:14,879 --> 00:02:18,159 we hadn't figured out what happened. It took quite a while, 40 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,560 but gee, he had a lot of destructive behaviors and 41 00:02:22,599 --> 00:02:25,759 we had to get it. Bring in Maggie, the behavioral 42 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,759 therapist to help us figure out what was going on 43 00:02:28,879 --> 00:02:29,360 with Toby. 44 00:02:29,879 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 2: Mm hmmm, yeah, that can be quite a mystery, really confusing, 45 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,000 really upsetting. I know you're not the only one who 46 00:02:36,039 --> 00:02:39,080 has a story like that, and sometimes, you know, we're 47 00:02:39,199 --> 00:02:41,240 lucky if we can get some good help. But it 48 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,560 can be a little bit of a detective case because 49 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,319 it isn't always obvious, because of course the dog can't say, well, honey, 50 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,680 while you were out, the garbage truck came and made 51 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,599 all these terrible noises. So you know, we it's a 52 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:57,199 process and so okay, so you helped understand what it was. 53 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,879 How did you get from being destructive? You had some 54 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,639 behavioral help. How did you notice think about doing therapy 55 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:05,159 dog work? 56 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, well I hadn't even thought of it. 57 00:03:07,159 --> 00:03:08,759 Speaker 2: I won't take any credit for that. 58 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,240 Speaker 3: It was Maggie, the behaviorist who came in and she 59 00:03:12,319 --> 00:03:15,039 spent some time with us in our home on an evening, 60 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:19,120 and she asked us to give us give dinner to 61 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,120 Toby while she was there. So we planned around that 62 00:03:23,199 --> 00:03:26,280 and we gave Toby the dinner and he had some kibble, 63 00:03:26,719 --> 00:03:29,000 and what was really interesting, we just thought, this is 64 00:03:29,039 --> 00:03:30,919 the way Toby eat say his food, and she was 65 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,599 fascinated by the fact that he would take a kibble 66 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,520 and then he would walk around the whole house, check 67 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,919 on certain things, check his toys, come back, take another 68 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,560 mouthful or a few kibble, and so it took him 69 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,599 forever to eat his dinner because there was this behavior 70 00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:49,080 going on. And she said, ah, he's policing your house. 71 00:03:49,159 --> 00:03:53,800 He's making sure that everything's okay, everything's where it should be. 72 00:03:54,159 --> 00:03:56,800 He knows where everything is. And I just thought that's 73 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,520 how Toby ate his food. So that was the first sign. 74 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,439 And then she asked questions like, what does he do 75 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:06,000 when you go to do the laundry and I sill, 76 00:04:06,439 --> 00:04:09,039 He's like right there, and she said, so he seems 77 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,120 to want to help. So she created these exercises when 78 00:04:12,159 --> 00:04:14,360 I would go down to the laundry, I would hide 79 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,959 his toy and then it would take him forever to 80 00:04:17,040 --> 00:04:20,439 find it. And so she started really watching his behaviors. 81 00:04:20,439 --> 00:04:24,480 But one of the things that she noticed was on 82 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,800 the first night was he was a dog who needed 83 00:04:26,879 --> 00:04:30,199 a job and a purpise. I honestly never knew that 84 00:04:30,319 --> 00:04:33,920 about dogs, and so she said, I think that he 85 00:04:33,959 --> 00:04:37,120 would be the perfect therapy dog. So honestly, I'm sitting 86 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,560 there with my mouth open, saying, eh, he just broke 87 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,879 our twelve toilet and here he would wrap himself in 88 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:47,920 the bathroom and knocks the toilet tank lid off and 89 00:04:47,959 --> 00:04:50,399 it would smash into pieces. So by this time we 90 00:04:50,519 --> 00:04:53,839 had replaced I think about ten or twelve toilet tank lids. 91 00:04:54,319 --> 00:04:57,680 So I could not imagine how a dog who you know, 92 00:04:57,759 --> 00:05:01,600 wrecked our house with noises broke our toilet tanklets. How 93 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,439 would he ever be welcomed into a public institution like 94 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,120 a hospital. So she said, I'm just going to get 95 00:05:08,199 --> 00:05:11,800 him tested. She arranged to get him tested at the 96 00:05:11,879 --> 00:05:17,800 animal assisted therapy organizations, and he passed with flying colors, 97 00:05:17,839 --> 00:05:21,480 except for one thing. Okay, barked yeah, yeah, So they 98 00:05:21,519 --> 00:05:26,720 disqualified him. She went to the second organization, similar tests. 99 00:05:26,759 --> 00:05:29,600 We're doing all the tests, they're making noises like that 100 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:34,120 would mimic a hospital noise like him. They threw cookie 101 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,319 sheets on the floor and they created sort of these 102 00:05:38,439 --> 00:05:41,319 groups at the doorway where there's five or six people 103 00:05:41,399 --> 00:05:44,480 calling his name. He passed and he did a little 104 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:48,360 bark on that one, and the assessor said, that's perfect. 105 00:05:48,439 --> 00:05:50,879 We need a dog with a little bit of a voice, 106 00:05:51,439 --> 00:05:53,199 because a lot of the people he's going to be 107 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,079 working with are people who are not getting out of bed, 108 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:02,959 who are not engaging, and sossed wonderful, and then we 109 00:06:03,079 --> 00:06:03,920 became a team. 110 00:06:04,439 --> 00:06:07,480 Speaker 2: Mm hmm, that's wonderful. I love that story, especially because 111 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:10,680 I had a wild feral dog that I adopted from 112 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:13,959 this shelter that I was hoping was going to be 113 00:06:13,959 --> 00:06:16,879 a therapy dog. She failed the test. Was it two 114 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,959 or three times? I forget now. And then I went 115 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,720 to another organization and they got it right away. She 116 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,319 passed the first time, and she's been had a ten 117 00:06:24,399 --> 00:06:26,120 year career as a therapy dog. 118 00:06:26,319 --> 00:06:26,519 Speaker 4: You know. 119 00:06:27,079 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 2: But it's interesting because, yeah, so anyway, if you're out 120 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:34,480 there listening and you failed the therapy dog test, retrain retest, 121 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,759 go to another organization. Sometimes it isn't the right fit 122 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,160 for the you know. It's beautiful. 123 00:06:40,199 --> 00:06:41,040 Speaker 5: I love it. 124 00:06:41,079 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 2: And one of the people at the new organization said 125 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:46,519 to me, all dogs will have something that's sort of like, 126 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,639 you know, maybe questionable in terms of the therapy dog test, 127 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:52,639 but it doesn't mean that they're not capable of really 128 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,680 growing into the job. So I'm so glad that Toby 129 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,519 was able to you, and Toby found the right job. 130 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:01,480 And there are some dogs that really do need a job. 131 00:07:01,639 --> 00:07:04,040 You know that not all dogs do, but some do. 132 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,360 Maybe about twenty percent is of what been my experience. 133 00:07:07,439 --> 00:07:09,720 So that's wonderful. So how did you get started and 134 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,519 what work did you do? 135 00:07:11,319 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 3: So he got placed in a psychiatric facility in the 136 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:17,920 community that we lived in at the time, and so 137 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:20,199 many of the people in the unit that he was 138 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,160 in had been there for a long time. They had 139 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,240 been there repeated times, and for some of them this 140 00:07:26,439 --> 00:07:29,600 was actually their home where they would thrive and do 141 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,279 well was in the facility, and so there was all 142 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,600 kinds of different mental health issues. There was a team 143 00:07:37,079 --> 00:07:41,040 that we so our contact was with the recreational coordinator 144 00:07:41,639 --> 00:07:44,519 and she was incredible to work with. And I'll never 145 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:47,439 forget the first day of work. He had his little 146 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,639 vest on, his little red therapy dog Best and I 147 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,519 had a nap back with all essentials at it, and 148 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,000 I was nervous and he was excited. Oh and he 149 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,600 just it was almost like he knew what was happening. 150 00:07:59,639 --> 00:08:02,199 And I'm thinking of all the things that could go wrong. 151 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,600 What if he has an accident, what if a noise 152 00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:08,240 sets him off? All these things, and you know, Maggie 153 00:08:08,319 --> 00:08:11,519 just said trust him, and you know, let and be 154 00:08:11,639 --> 00:08:14,439 clear with your communications, Charmaine, because he's gonna want to 155 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:17,319 follow your lead. So I didn't really know a lot 156 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,839 what that meant, but it was exactly what happened. And 157 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:23,680 so he had to go down and get his little 158 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:29,560 security badge printed. He had everyone in stitches because he 159 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:33,320 learned with twice after he didn't pose right that there 160 00:08:33,399 --> 00:08:37,360 was treats involved, so he was doing fake poses for 161 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,799 the extra treat So then finally we got him to 162 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,399 get the little security badge and it was like the 163 00:08:42,519 --> 00:08:45,679 badge went on his little red vest and he was 164 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,679 at work. Something happened. 165 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 2: I can't explain it. Yes, they know, they know when 166 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:54,159 that when that vest or that badge goes on, they know. 167 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 3: I was blown away by this, and I you know. 168 00:08:58,519 --> 00:09:01,240 And then we walked up to the unit. There's a 169 00:09:01,279 --> 00:09:04,840 doorbell for the unit, and Terry came to meet us, 170 00:09:04,879 --> 00:09:08,600 and Toby barked quietly like I'm here, two little barks 171 00:09:08,639 --> 00:09:12,320 like I'm here, and he went into the unit and 172 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,440 without having met people, Terry just kind of walked him 173 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:19,080 around and introduced him to people, and he knew who 174 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,840 needed him most in that moment. Yeah, And it happened 175 00:09:22,879 --> 00:09:25,080 to be a gentleman sitting on an armchair that was 176 00:09:25,159 --> 00:09:30,159 kind of looking past Toby and had not been doing 177 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:33,799 well emotionally, and Toby just walked up and looked at 178 00:09:33,879 --> 00:09:35,879 him and looked at him, and then all of a sudden, 179 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:40,039 the patient said Hi, Toby, and they just sat there 180 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,960 for about ten minutes together, nothing, you know, not doing anything. 181 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,960 And I just thought, Wow, something really magical and beautiful 182 00:09:47,039 --> 00:09:50,240 is happening here that you can't I can't even describe 183 00:09:50,279 --> 00:09:54,639 this to someone, but there was such an intense connection 184 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,039 and I thought, Wow, this is what the animal human 185 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,879 bond is, and this is what I'm conditional acceptances. 186 00:10:02,159 --> 00:10:05,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so beautiful because the animals don't see, oh, 187 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,600 you have a diagnosis, or you have a condition, or 188 00:10:08,679 --> 00:10:11,200 you this, or you that. They just see right to 189 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:15,159 your essence and being seen. You know, that's what we 190 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,039 all crave, you know, it's not in this world. I mean, 191 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,240 who goes around, Wow, I see your essence. You know, 192 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,600 you're such angel. You know, we don't get that too much. 193 00:10:23,639 --> 00:10:28,440 So the animals, the great therapy. Animals can see beyond 194 00:10:28,519 --> 00:10:32,120 all of the presentation, you know, whatever the injuries inside 195 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:34,720 are out, and they just want to love you, you know, 196 00:10:34,879 --> 00:10:38,879 And and that connection that love is is so healing. 197 00:10:38,919 --> 00:10:42,279 It's I think every place where there's more, where there's 198 00:10:42,399 --> 00:10:44,519 at least one person should have a therapy, don't you. 199 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 4: Know. 200 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:48,320 Speaker 2: It's just it's such beautiful work. 201 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:51,519 Speaker 3: Yeah. Well, and you know, people started to look forward 202 00:10:51,639 --> 00:10:55,279 to that day that he would go in and we 203 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,039 had a little knapsack and his little best and you know, 204 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,639 I know animals know how to tell time because sobey 205 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,120 when the routines would happen. But how did he know 206 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,600 what day of the week it was to go and 207 00:11:06,639 --> 00:11:11,080 get his toys and be waiting. I have no idea 208 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,679 how this happened, but he, you know, for four years 209 00:11:14,720 --> 00:11:18,919 he volunteered there every week. He inspired the patients to 210 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,320 start learning how to make dog treats. Oh you know, 211 00:11:22,399 --> 00:11:25,759 they would do all they called them popcakes and all 212 00:11:25,879 --> 00:11:28,759 kinds of little treats. So he kind of brought together 213 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,559 a feeling of community. But I honestly believe as much 214 00:11:32,639 --> 00:11:35,879 as he gave, he got just as much back from 215 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:39,120 the PAGEO. I love that and I was being transformed 216 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:40,399 in the process. 217 00:11:40,039 --> 00:11:42,519 Speaker 2: Of all of this. I love that, you know, that's 218 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:44,879 a big principle in the human animal connection. We do 219 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,279 therapy dog work, we work with therapy donkeys, but are 220 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,600 one of our principles is that it needs to be 221 00:11:50,639 --> 00:11:53,519 as good for the animals for the person serving. We 222 00:11:53,519 --> 00:11:55,919 don't want animals to be tools of healing, you know, 223 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,120 because that is really unfair and that perpetuates kind of 224 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,120 the old Master's slay thing, is it, And so we 225 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,200 really like to make sure that we pay attention to 226 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,600 when is enough for the animal, what do they like 227 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:12,600 to do, Because different animals will respond to different situations, 228 00:12:12,639 --> 00:12:15,399 some like the young kids, some like the older folks, 229 00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,519 some like mental illness, some like physical illness, some like trauma. 230 00:12:18,639 --> 00:12:21,559 So it's our as humans we need to be very 231 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,720 observant to see what the animal prefers. 232 00:12:25,399 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, And it was interesting because different patients had 233 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,639 different needs. So there was one particular patient and this 234 00:12:32,799 --> 00:12:36,039 was a gentleman in the armchair that he just connected with. 235 00:12:36,360 --> 00:12:40,720 And this particular patient liked to be outside, didn't really 236 00:12:40,799 --> 00:12:43,679 want to converse a lot with the people on the unit, 237 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:47,360 but with Toby, he would have these long conversations, and 238 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:52,120 Toby loved to play fetch, and so the patient and 239 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:55,480 Toby would just have this exchange of he would throw 240 00:12:55,519 --> 00:12:58,279 the toy, Toby would get it, Toby would wait for 241 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,039 whatever he was going to share verbal, then the toy 242 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,320 would go out, and so that other patients didn't want 243 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:06,240 to throw the toy. They wanted to just sit and 244 00:13:06,279 --> 00:13:10,240 stroke Toby. Another patient loved to play soccer and would 245 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,679 kind of have his soccer ball in the visiting room 246 00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:15,279 and he would just push it to Toby and Toby 247 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:19,120 would push it back with his nose. No communication, but 248 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,240 they were communicating. And then you know, another patient was 249 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:28,000 really experiencing intense depression and not wanting to get out 250 00:13:28,039 --> 00:13:31,480 of bed a lot, and so Toby would come down 251 00:13:32,039 --> 00:13:34,080 and he would just kind of go in the room 252 00:13:34,159 --> 00:13:36,320 and wait for her to acknowledge him, and then he 253 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:38,759 would just sit beside the bed and it was so 254 00:13:38,919 --> 00:13:42,559 comical because he would just nudge her arm with his nose. 255 00:13:42,759 --> 00:13:45,200 Come on, come on at a bed, come on, and 256 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:47,519 then she get out. But when she was struggling, she 257 00:13:47,679 --> 00:13:50,360 asked the nurses for a picture of Toby. So we 258 00:13:50,799 --> 00:13:56,399 learned that he became this inspiration for her. He loved 259 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,679 going there, he loved to the happiness on his space 260 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,759 when you would get out of bed. You know, he 261 00:14:01,919 --> 00:14:05,000 was just come on, let's go, let's help be something. 262 00:14:05,600 --> 00:14:09,000 So I know that there was so much reciprocity happening 263 00:14:09,159 --> 00:14:11,600 between him and the patient since you know, it was 264 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,440 changing me. I was a perfectionist before we got Toby, 265 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,919 and you can't be a perfectionist with a dog like Toby. 266 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,559 So do you actually kind of rescued me in the process. 267 00:14:21,879 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 2: Yes, mutual healing, mutual rescue. Yeah, we're going to take 268 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:27,120 a short little break. When we come back, I want 269 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:29,360 to hear more of the fun stories of how Toby 270 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:30,159 healed people. 271 00:14:30,879 --> 00:14:38,159 Speaker 3: We'll be back in just a moment, real people, real stories. 272 00:14:38,279 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 5: Our little dog caveloped this lump problem at the chemotherapy 273 00:14:41,559 --> 00:14:45,159 lasted for six months, started developing more lymph nose, so 274 00:14:45,279 --> 00:14:47,960 I thought I'd just try carnivore. The lymph nose started 275 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:49,879 to go down. Then I took him into the vet 276 00:14:49,879 --> 00:14:52,039 to him checked out and there was no signs at all. 277 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,919 Inside My god had issues that developed into height. And 278 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,480 three months later my ven airing said this, go ahead 279 00:14:57,519 --> 00:14:58,320 and remove the eye. 280 00:14:58,399 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 3: I heard the Carnivore on advertise then, so I said, you. 281 00:15:01,159 --> 00:15:02,759 Speaker 1: Know what, I'm going to order this product. 282 00:15:02,759 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 5: They did the procedure, they did all the death and 283 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,679 they said, I don't know what you did this product. 284 00:15:07,799 --> 00:15:10,320 They had died. I've got a labrador. 285 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: You could hardly lift yourself up off the door. 286 00:15:13,039 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 5: The treatment was chemotherapy. That's when I said this could 287 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,799 be the ticket. About three weeks you could tell she 288 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,559 was very alert. She was going on buy my lock 289 00:15:21,679 --> 00:15:23,720 and she has just like crime again. 290 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,279 Speaker 3: Well eight six six eight three six eight seven three five. 291 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,679 That's eight six six eight three six eight seven three five. 292 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:32,879 Or visit carnivore dot com. 293 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,480 Speaker 5: That's c A r N I. 294 00:15:34,639 --> 00:15:36,200 Speaker 2: V O r A dot com. 295 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:40,399 Speaker 3: Use promo code pet Life at checkout for fifteen percent 296 00:15:40,519 --> 00:15:43,840 off your order at carnivora dot com. 297 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:46,279 Speaker 1: Hey friends, If you like what you're hearing and want 298 00:15:46,320 --> 00:15:50,159 to learn more, check out doctor Joseph's book The Human 299 00:15:50,399 --> 00:15:56,559 Animal Connection, Deepening Relationships with Animals and Ourselves, or visit 300 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:02,399 the website The Humananimalconnection dot com to book an online consultation. 301 00:16:03,159 --> 00:16:07,080 Thank you for loving animals. Now back to the show. 302 00:16:08,759 --> 00:16:18,639 Speaker 4: Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com. 303 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,440 Speaker 2: Welcome back to the human animal connection. I'm your host, 304 00:16:21,559 --> 00:16:24,759 Genie Joseph. I'm speaking with Charmain Hammond, and we're hearing 305 00:16:24,799 --> 00:16:28,960 about the wonderful adventures of Toby, her therapy doc. So 306 00:16:29,159 --> 00:16:31,440 this is just so much fun. I know you also 307 00:16:31,559 --> 00:16:35,639 took Toby to schools. Tell us about taking Toby's schools. 308 00:16:35,679 --> 00:16:36,240 What happened? 309 00:16:36,559 --> 00:16:38,799 Speaker 3: Well, I wrote a book about actually a couple of 310 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:41,919 books about Toby. First, we're publishing Chicken Soup for the 311 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,279 Soul and which was all about volunteering from the heart, 312 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:48,320 and then that inspired some books that I wrote about Toby, 313 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,720 and so we started going into schools to read Toby's 314 00:16:51,759 --> 00:16:54,799 books and to bring Toby into classrooms to talk about 315 00:16:54,879 --> 00:16:58,360 the animal human connection and to educate kids about what 316 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:03,000 animal assistant therapy was and to really promote kindness to animals, 317 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,720 which was the underlying essence of his books. And so 318 00:17:07,200 --> 00:17:10,440 I was never you know, I was surprised and never 319 00:17:10,519 --> 00:17:13,039 surprised at the same time. Toby would just be in 320 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,200 an audience of say two hundred little children in in 321 00:17:16,319 --> 00:17:20,119 elementary school, and his eyes would lock on a particular 322 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,440 child and he would really fixate on that child, like 323 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,200 you know, certainly engaged with everybody, but I would notice 324 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:31,799 them watching a particular child, and when the presentation would 325 00:17:31,839 --> 00:17:35,000 be over, Toby would want to pull me towards where 326 00:17:35,039 --> 00:17:37,240 that child was. And one hundred percent of the time 327 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,559 it was that child who needed to be seen, to 328 00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:44,839 be heard, to be recognized. And in one case, there 329 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:48,640 was a young boy who was in the principal's office 330 00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:50,759 when we came in because we walked past there and 331 00:17:50,839 --> 00:17:54,720 Toby saw him. Toby saw him in the audience, and 332 00:17:55,359 --> 00:17:57,440 the little boy at the end, Toby went right up 333 00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,599 to him and just wouldn't leave his side, like he 334 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,000 actually wasn't following my directions very clearly that we needed 335 00:18:03,039 --> 00:18:05,519 to get moving, but Toby was at work in his 336 00:18:05,599 --> 00:18:09,440 opinion and the little boy's response. And I get emotional 337 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,000 every time I say this, but he said, Toby likes 338 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:13,960 me for who I am, and so. 339 00:18:13,880 --> 00:18:14,960 Speaker 1: We you know. 340 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,319 Speaker 3: I talked to the principal later and she said, Charmaine, 341 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,039 this little guy is so bullied and so picked on. 342 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,559 He just can't seem to find that place with the 343 00:18:25,559 --> 00:18:29,160 students where he feels accepted. And Toby just help with that. 344 00:18:29,359 --> 00:18:32,640 And so that you know, that story has stuck with 345 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:35,640 me forever. And we saw this theme thing play out 346 00:18:35,759 --> 00:18:39,119 in different presentations that we did, in different visits to 347 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,720 schools and to groups like boys and girls clubs where 348 00:18:42,799 --> 00:18:44,559 we were invited to bring Toby in. 349 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,519 Speaker 2: That's just wonderful. I mean, I love that I've seen 350 00:18:47,559 --> 00:18:49,799 that many times with my therapy dogs, that they will 351 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,559 just pick the one child that needs something special and 352 00:18:53,599 --> 00:18:57,400 it just changes everything. You know, It's literally can be 353 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:01,079 life changing to have to be really seen in my dog. 354 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:02,519 Do we picked out of a group, you know, for 355 00:19:02,559 --> 00:19:06,200 a young child, especially one who's isolated or bullied. And yeah, 356 00:19:06,319 --> 00:19:10,440 so that's just awesome. And I know you also, back 357 00:19:10,559 --> 00:19:13,799 working with in the psychiatric word, you had a doctor 358 00:19:14,279 --> 00:19:16,559 ask you to come and see a particular patient. Tell 359 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:17,279 us that story. 360 00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:20,680 Speaker 3: Well, there was a patient in the hospital and the 361 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:25,200 patient was in late stages of cancer and so he 362 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:30,200 was dying and he was talking a lot about his dog, 363 00:19:30,759 --> 00:19:32,960 and I believe the dog's name was Skippy, and so 364 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:36,240 talking a lot about this dog, and a psychiatrist asked 365 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,960 if we would go and visit this gentleman. We'd not 366 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:41,839 ever worked with him, he was on a different unit, 367 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:44,680 and we you know, I said we would, but if 368 00:19:44,759 --> 00:19:47,319 Toby was not comfortable with this. If he was giving 369 00:19:47,359 --> 00:19:49,799 me signs that he didn't want to be there, I 370 00:19:49,799 --> 00:19:52,400 would need to respect that. And so we went in 371 00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:57,640 and the gentleman said, Skippy, you're here, and Toby went 372 00:19:57,759 --> 00:19:59,640 right up to him and just put his head on 373 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:03,200 the edge the bed and just sat there. I'm saying, 374 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,000 just sat there, and now I'm just sat there with 375 00:20:07,279 --> 00:20:10,440 feelings like it only just anything there is sitting there exactly. 376 00:20:10,839 --> 00:20:14,480 It was incredible. He was just present with the gentleman, 377 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:18,000 and the gentleman eventually kind of the doctor helped move 378 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,799 his hand towards Toby so that he touched Toby. And 379 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:23,720 we were there. You know, I don't even know how 380 00:20:23,759 --> 00:20:25,559 long we were there. I kind of lost track of time, 381 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,039 to be honest, and I didn't do anything. I just 382 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,680 was there. And then Toby let me know when he 383 00:20:30,759 --> 00:20:33,720 was ready to leave and to go home, and so 384 00:20:33,759 --> 00:20:36,279 he just kind of nudged the gentleman and then came 385 00:20:36,319 --> 00:20:40,119 over to me, and that's my clue that Toby's finished 386 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:42,880 his work there. And so we left and that was 387 00:20:43,039 --> 00:20:46,160 just you know, I remembered on the first day of 388 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,640 going in and we were told, you know, Toby and 389 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,960 you need to communicate, and you need to pay attention 390 00:20:52,039 --> 00:20:55,119 to Toby's cues just as you want him. And I thought, 391 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,559 that's what this means. Now, Toby's letting me know that 392 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:00,440 his time is done. There with that gentleman. 393 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's beautiful, really beautiful. And then I know you 394 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,319 had Toby inspired a young boy to write a book. 395 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,039 Speaker 3: Tell us that Stark. This was at a school presentation, 396 00:21:10,359 --> 00:21:12,759 and there was there I love this story because there 397 00:21:12,799 --> 00:21:15,279 was a little guy in this bright orange T shirt 398 00:21:15,519 --> 00:21:17,920 and he had this piece of paper that he would 399 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,519 kind of slide. As I was talking and presenting to 400 00:21:20,559 --> 00:21:22,920 the kids and reading the story, I'd see his hand, 401 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,920 his little hand pushed this piece of paper along the 402 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,720 gym floor, and then when I would catch his eye, 403 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,880 he would slowly pull that paper back, and I kept thinking, 404 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,200 I want to know what's on that piece of paper. 405 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:36,400 It's like he's trying to share something with me, but 406 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:39,559 he's pulling it back. Toby's eyes had locked on this kid, 407 00:21:39,599 --> 00:21:42,000 probably because of the movement back and forth, and all 408 00:21:42,039 --> 00:21:44,799 the other kids are sitting still. So at the end, 409 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:47,960 you know, he talked to the teacher, asked if he 410 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,440 could come up and talk to Toby and I, And 411 00:21:50,599 --> 00:21:52,599 he knew in advance there was going to be an 412 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,240 author coming to present to the school and it was 413 00:21:55,279 --> 00:21:58,039 about the dog Toby, so he knew that. And so 414 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:00,559 he came up and the paper, I thought it was 415 00:22:00,599 --> 00:22:03,119 a paper. It was a little stack of papers that 416 00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,640 he was sliding and he said, do you and Toby 417 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:08,759 want to read my book? It's about an alien family 418 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,960 and their holiday. And of course his name happened to 419 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,000 be the same name as one of the alien children 420 00:22:14,079 --> 00:22:16,680 of the book. So he read this book and he's 421 00:22:16,799 --> 00:22:19,559 and he said it was because you know, Toby had 422 00:22:19,559 --> 00:22:21,839 a book about him that he was inspired to write 423 00:22:21,839 --> 00:22:24,440 his own book. And he had an incredible teacher. That 424 00:22:24,559 --> 00:22:27,279 teacher talked to the parents and said, you know, he 425 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,720 is really passionate about storytelling. Let's nurture this how And 426 00:22:31,759 --> 00:22:33,960 they even brought him into the bookstore, one of the 427 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:37,160 Barnes and Nobles, to talk to the bookstore staff about 428 00:22:37,519 --> 00:22:40,400 how books become a book and what happens and how 429 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,440 they get a bookstores. And so he had said to 430 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,640 me at the event, he said, you know, just so 431 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:48,759 you know, one of these days I'll be turning this 432 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,200 into a movie. And you'll be watching it on TV. 433 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,920 And I thought, well, that's incredible. Let me know. So, yeah, 434 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:57,119 I also did anything with his passion, But it was 435 00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:00,440 just so cool to see the eyes light up. Yeah, 436 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:04,559 it's just so wonderful how therapy dogs gifted. Therapy dogs 437 00:23:04,599 --> 00:23:08,039 can really sense who you know, they see each one 438 00:23:08,039 --> 00:23:11,319 as an individual. What does this person need right now? 439 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:14,640 And the ability you know, when we're we do this work. 440 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,519 You know, we've been doing it for years, both of us. 441 00:23:16,839 --> 00:23:18,759 It's easy to just think, ah, yeah, you just sat 442 00:23:18,799 --> 00:23:21,480 there because that's what it looks like. But there's so 443 00:23:21,599 --> 00:23:24,200 much more going on. There's so much more than meets 444 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,880 the eye. You know, there's some energetic heart connections, some 445 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,880 deep healing that kind of defies. 446 00:23:31,039 --> 00:23:34,200 Speaker 2: The medical models or whatever. But I mean, it's just 447 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,880 such a great, beautiful thing to see. Thank you for 448 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,519 doing this great work. Tell us the names of your 449 00:23:39,559 --> 00:23:42,759 books about Toby. Well, we have On Toby's Terms, which 450 00:23:42,839 --> 00:23:45,839 was the first book that was inspired from the story 451 00:23:46,359 --> 00:23:48,880 Volunteering for the Heart from the Heart, which was in 452 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,480 Chicken Suits for the Soul. So that's a memoir really, 453 00:23:52,519 --> 00:23:55,599 it's a story about my life and Toby's influence on 454 00:23:55,759 --> 00:23:58,319 how you know, I thought we were rescuing him, but 455 00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:01,839 I think he actually rescued us. So that's for teenagers 456 00:24:01,839 --> 00:24:05,000 and adults. And then that book and doing all these 457 00:24:05,039 --> 00:24:09,759 presentations to schools about literacy and being an author. And 458 00:24:10,279 --> 00:24:12,440 one of the kids in the audience said, how come 459 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:14,279 you don't have a kid's book, because here I am 460 00:24:14,319 --> 00:24:16,319 with a big, a big memoir book. 461 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,079 Speaker 3: H you know, not a kids book. That's a great question. 462 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:20,039 Speaker 2: Oh. 463 00:24:20,079 --> 00:24:23,680 Speaker 3: I wrote the first story, Toby the Pet Therapy Dog 464 00:24:23,759 --> 00:24:26,319 and his Hospital Friends, and it was we took some 465 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:28,720 of the stories. You know, the work Toby did was 466 00:24:28,759 --> 00:24:31,240 with adults, so we took those and put what that 467 00:24:31,279 --> 00:24:33,920 would look like if if these adults were kids, And 468 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:37,079 so that book, and then there was another book that 469 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:40,240 followed that called Toby the Pet Therapy Dog Says Be 470 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:42,799 a Buddy, not a Bully, and of course that was 471 00:24:42,839 --> 00:24:46,279 all about friendship, kindness and bully prevention. And the third 472 00:24:46,279 --> 00:24:49,359 one that's just coming out is called Toby the Pet 473 00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,119 Therapy Dog and his Forever Family, and it's kind of 474 00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,000 taking everything right back to the beginning about how he 475 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:57,440 became our forever dog. 476 00:24:58,039 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 2: Wonderful, well, beautiful story, very beautiful work. Charmain. How can 477 00:25:02,039 --> 00:25:04,680 people get hold of you if they want to connect more? 478 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:08,160 I know you you do some coaching and some teaching 479 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:10,119 for people. How can people find you? 480 00:25:10,759 --> 00:25:14,319 Speaker 3: Best place to find me is Charmain at Charmainhammond dot com, 481 00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:18,119 our website, and I'm all over social media and it's 482 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,160 me who answers, so not one of our teams. So 483 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:25,200 I love connecting with people however they find us, and 484 00:25:25,599 --> 00:25:27,680 website or social media is the best place. 485 00:25:28,319 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 2: Well, thank you so much for being with us, Charmain Hammoning, 486 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,640 and I'm so glad you've been with us here at 487 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,759 the Human Animal Connection. We'll see you it on the 488 00:25:36,799 --> 00:25:37,720 next episode. 489 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:40,279 Speaker 1: Bye for now. Thank you for tuning in to The 490 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:46,599 Human Animal Connection Show. Please visit our website, Thehumananimalconnection dot org. 491 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,680 There you can sign up for our free email newsletter, 492 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:53,519 book a consultation, or check out our blogs and resources. 493 00:25:53,839 --> 00:25:57,519 Our best selling book, The Human Animal Connection is available 494 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:01,200 on Amazon and your donation of any amount keeps our 495 00:26:01,279 --> 00:26:04,759 nonprofit organization providing life changing services. 496 00:26:05,519 --> 00:26:10,160 Speaker 4: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on Petlife 497 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:24,440 Radio dot com.