“It’s always a highlight to find people who are so interested in dogs and other animals,” Rob said on his return to Toronto. “What’s really encouraging is not only that they’re interested, but they also want to do their part to help.”
The trip included a range of events from a keynote speech at the Critteraid I Heart Animals Banquet in Penticton, BC to elementary school and library talks in Surrey and Sidney BC to a book launch in Winnipeg’s McNally Robinson bookstore.
“I try to vary my talks to keep them fresh, interesting and current,” Rob said. Fortunately, this series of very diverse events allowed him plenty of variety. One stop that earned him a fair amount of media attention was Winnipeg, where the Winnipeg Humane Society borrowed a term from No Shelter Here and awarded the first Dog Champion of the Year award to eight-year-old Christina Sudoma at Rob’s McNally-Robinson launch. Later, Rob was one of five speakers at “An Evening of Compassion, Advocating for Animals” in Winnipeg’s Park Theatre.
“It was a great event and an ethusiastic crowd,” Rob said. “I think the evening entertained, stimulated and empowered a lot of people and, for me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Now that he is home again, Rob is back at work at Zoocheck, the animal protection agency he founded. He plans to go on tour again in the fall when the paperback edition of No Shelter Here is released.