Snout greetings Jasper! Welcome to my second interview for kids and pets who support people with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and other kinds of chronic illness. Jasper’s parents are famous because his mom and dad make nice things for fibro humans at someplace called Etsy. His mom makes these pretty spoons that all the fibro humans seem to like. I don’t get what you would need a spoon for though, silly humans!
Please tell us what type of animal you are, your age, and where you live.
Howdy FibroDog! I’m not sure cause I’m not what the humans call a papered dog or a shop dog as some are called, I guess, but my doctor at the smelly stainless steel place says I am a hybrid Lubrador Retrievers, meaning I get things back for my mom and dad. I turned 5 years old today! It’s my birthday. My mom and dad made a huge fuss about that, which was fun cause I got way more to eat than usual, and this really strange chewy ball that they stick treats in and I get to figure out how to get them out. I live on an Island on the beach. I love the beach! I think they call it Shone island.
Tell us about the humans you support: Do you know approximately how old they are? What do you call them? Mom and Dad? Dude and Lady? Or do you call them by their human names? I know different families have different preferences and I want to be “poriticurry currect.” (Mom told me to say that.)
Mom and dad are almost 59. Dad’s Birthday is not very long after mine cause we celebrate mine than all of a sudden we celebrate his! Mom’s seems a long time later when its very cold out. I have always called them Mom and Dad but I have heard some other humans call Dad Phred and Mom Sindy.
What is their “Diagonal-orosis”. (Mom says that’s “diagnosis” but I can never say it right.)
Mom says Dad has kidabeatees, which has something to do with his blood sugar and he got it when he was a kid. He has things not work right because he has had the kidabeatees for many many years and it has hurt his body. His tummy doesn’t work right anymore so he throws up a lot. Mom has this fibro thing and she hurts a lot and sleeps a lot sometimes or is awake all night too. She also has this thing making her hair fall out which makes her crazy upset. She calls it hypotroid. I know they both have too many things wrong so I try to be very calm.
What kinds of things do you do to help your humans when they’re feeling sore or tired or sad?
When dad is sick and his tummy hurts really bad I put my head in his lap and lay very still for hours to keep him company so he doesn’t feel alone. On our walks when I take him out if he gets sick I wait quietly while he is sick and then get him moving again when he is done so he does not get too sad. For mom I warm her spot in the bed until 3:30am when she can come lay down in the bed for a few hours at night. If I am not dreaming too deep I move quietly when she comes in to the bottom of the bed and her spot is all nice and warm when she crawls in. During the day I put my head in her lap while she is sitting in her big chair and smile at her to make her laugh. She has a really big laugh. It almost scares me sometimes!
What kinds of things do you try to avoid doing so your humans don’t feel worse? Like not jumping on your Mom when she’s hurting? Or not chewing up your Dad’s insulin pump?
The biggest thing my mom and dad says I do is to not react when I am laying in the middle if the room and they step over me. This keeps them from tripping because I don’t get startled and move. I guess the last dog that lived here moved a lot and they fell down a few times. I also try really hard to not hit mom with my happy tail. I have hit her before when I get really excited and she gets tears in her eyes which makes me really sad. So when I get really happy now and my tail can’t stay still I run to the other side of the room and stay away from her with it till it quits being so excited. When I wrestle with dad I had to learn how to not get my paws tangled up in his plumbing he calls it that is attached to his tummy. I accidentally pulled these wires out a few times making dad have to go through a bunch of work to reattach all these things to himself and stick a huge needle in his belly again! It scared me so bad I ran and hid in the closet. Never again! Very careful with dad now!
Is there anything else you or your humans would like to say to our FibroFans out there about what they can do to be more supportive of fibromyalgia and other chronic illness?
Try to recognize and support those who have invisible illnesses. Just because someone does not look sick does not mean they are not suffering. Also be aware that their canine companions that wear jackets are working and make sure you ask permission before you try to pet or offer a treat. Thank you for letting me chat with you today FibroDog! You are wuffingly awesome!
Thank you so much for answering my furry interview questions Jasper, you’re wuffingly awesome too! And now you’re officially part of my FibroDog Posse along with Lily the Corgi! That’s three of us so far, and more to come. I’m supposed to interview Ghost the Siamese Cat soon but my mom hasn’t sent my interview questions to Ghost yet. I sure wish I didn’t need her to type for me! I’ll also have to get my mom to hunt down that support hedgehog, I’m REALLY curious about that one!
Warm fuzzy snuzzles to you and your humans…..
……..Snout Out
