Creature Comforts: No Bonz about It, Service Dog Toby Hammond is giving readers Something Good to Growl About!

Online, September 27, 2010 (Newswire.com) - dmonton-Alberta, -- When On Toby's Terms author Charmaine Hammond and her husband Chris were almost killed in a sailboat accident, they instinctively knew that their priorities needed to shift and when their beloved German Shepherd, Dooks passed on, they knew the right thing to do was to rescue a dog and give it a loving home. Little did Chris and Charmaine know how much their lives would change with the arrival of what they thought was a well behaved Chesapeake Bay Retriever named Toby.

At first things were going well, but soon after he entered their lives, Toby started acting up, destroying their home, knocking over knife blocks, mangling the handle of the toilet and breaking the lids... Things got so bad that Chris said "I was on a first name basis with everyone at the local Home Depot"...such begins the enchanting story of Toby Hammond.

" My Eureka moment came when I discovered (from an animal behaviorist) that everyone, including DOGS needs a purpose," says author Charmaine Hammond "I immediately signed Toby up for school, training him to become a service dog and he now does extensive charity work. Toby instinctively knows when it's time to go to work and there is determination in his step and enthusiasm in his eyes."

Charmaine's new book, On Toby's Terms is her memoir of the poignant (but not always easy) journey she embarked on with Toby, helping him change his behavior from incorrigible to incredible. The book illuminates many valuable lessons that Charmaine learned along the way, including the importance of leadership, patience, remaining calm, creating purpose, and most importantly...love conquers all! They say the teacher appears when the student is ready; what Charmaine ultimately learned from Toby is that ironically she was the student...and not the teacher!

IMPACT Motion Pictures has recently confirmed that award-winning veteran film maker Steve Hudis will direct ON TOBY'S TERMS, the movie based on Charmaines touching memoir.