FiveSibes Blog Tourists Stop Here!

Please and thank you?

Happy Thorsday!  If you’re new here, Thorsday is a very important day around here.  We ALWAYS blog on Thorsday, because it honors the memory of the departed giant gentledog, Thor.   Never mind that little detail about Mama and the tradition of Dogs on Thursday…  it’s all about Thor, and maybe Mama will babble more about that on her blog…

Anyway, it’s our great privilege to host the FiveSibes Blog Tour today.   We   I – Gretchen – take being a hostess very seriously, so if you’re looking for fur-girl cuteness, again, click over to Mama’s blog and/or scroll down to our previous posts, because this one is all about the book and the blog tour to promote it.

For starters, if you don’t have your own copy of What’s Wrong with Gibson, get one.  Heck, get two and give one to a friend or your vet or…

Ooopsie.  Mama says I’m getting ahead of myself.   And pardon me…  I am Gretchen Greer, the voice and paws behind this blog.  It is – of course – Queen Sissy DIVA’s blog, but Queenie’s big ol’ paws don’t type well and there’s a good chance she has ADD because she won’t stick with a project…

But back to the tour.  We had a few questions for the FiveSibes and their mom, and I bet you’ll find them interesting too.

• About that seizure-monster…  We know that the medicine for such has to be rather precisely administered.  Does the time change affect Gibson at all?  For instance, Mama juggles Sissy’s eye drop within an hour’s window, so even with the time change, she has Sissy back on schedule within one day.

Yes, Gibson’s dosages are pretty exactly timed. I do plan for the Standard Time change and do the same as your Mama, I move Gib’s dose on the time change day by a half hour to keep him pretty steady and by the next day we are back on track also.

• Do any of the Sibes seem to sense when Gibson isn’t well?  If so, what do they do to alert the humans?

Thankfully, Gibson’s seizures are being controlled by his meds, so they haven’t had to experience that since he first started having them three years ago. However, there are days when he is feeling lethargic or has a stomach upset (sometimes from the meds, sometimes from the heat – like we’ve been recently having an unusual heat wave here in the northeast with temps up about 30 degrees higher than normal and that had an affect on him and he had some vomiting issues). The other Huskies sense when he is not well and they do not leave his side. His love, Harley, is always right by him. And his brother Wolf will lay up close to him. Chloe and Bandit stick pretty close to him too. It’s like his very own get well committee.

• When is the next book coming out?  We really enjoyed this one!

I am so glad you enjoyed What’s Wrong With Gibson?!!!! I am currently working on the second book of the series now! It is scheduled for late spring/summer. And there is also a Christmas book in the works, too!

• To humor Mama, and because we’re curious – how did you decide on the target age group/audience for your format?  We liked that there were still quite a few words to go with the pictures.

I was the founder and volunteer editor of an elementary school newspaper when my daughter was in elementary school, so I worked with young children from grades kindergarten through fifth for five years and saw first hand from my daughter and her classmates just how much they loved animals and enjoyed reading or being read to, and learning new things…and how they especially liked to learn about how to help, whether it’s animals or humans. When I was putting the concept for this book together, I knew I wanted it to be the first of several “tales” and I wanted to do it in a rhyming format. I also envisioned having the illustrations depict my Huskies in a fun, child-friendly form, and my illustrator, Michelle Littler, did a wonderful job! I really wanted to target that elementary age bracket and hopefully help children understand about Canine Epilepsy, and Epilepsy in general, and to remove some of the fear that goes along with seeing someone you love, whether a family member, pet, or friend, go through a seizure. And sprinkled throughout the tale are true hints that can help a seizing dog, such as getting ice packs (or in this case frozen peas. When Gibson had his first seizure, I did not have any ice packs, so I used a bag of frozen peas and a frozen loaf of bread!) If children can walk away from this book with a little less fear and, if they ever have to witness a seizure, if they remember to get a bag of frozen veggies, they not only feel good about being helpful, but they have actually assisted in applying first aid to the pet. I also think it’s a nice addition for any Siberian Husky lover’s book collection!

• How can we help you share your book?  Do you have a marketing plan to encourage vets to display the book in their waiting rooms, or to offer the books to patients new to canine epilepsy, perhaps especially those with little humans?

Sharing is wonderful! Thank you! I believe awareness and education is key with Canine Epilepsy. My veterinarian team play such an important role in Gibson’s healthcare and together we came up with a medicine, vitamin, and diet regiment specifically tailored for Gib. I believe it is important for folks, not just children, to know that with the proper care, dogs can lead a happy, healthy life. That’s why it was so important for me to get Gibson’s story out there. Plus, I will be donating a percentage of proceeds to a the wonderful non-profit Canine Epilepsy Resources center. They offer Epi-dog parents worldwide valuable resources, information, and support. So it’s important on two levels.

The book is currently at our vet’s office, and some readers have also notified their vet’s. I would love to have it in veterinary offices and hospitals all over! I think it is a great book for for patients, especially those with children. I am marketing the book myself at this point, so all the help I can get in getting out the word is most welcomed! I have been invited to read the book in some schools in my area, and think that is another great place to share this story. The Blog Book Tour is the first big step of our marketing journey and it’s wonderful how our pet community has joined in to share our book and Gibson’s story on their blogs. And just recently, we were interviewed on Mushing Radio by Dog Works Media out of Alaska with co-hosts Robert and Michele Forto. It was so much fun! I would love to do more shows like that, too, to continue to bring Gibson’s story and awareness about Canine Epilepsy to a wider audience. I will also hopefully be expanding into pet supply and specialty stores, and book stores, but right now it’s all by word of mouth. I want to sincerely thank you for joining us in our Canine Epilepsy Awareness campaign, and for being part of our Blog Book Tour!

Thanks for stopping by, and we hope you’ll consider adding What’s Wrong with Gibson to your library.  Do come visit us again soon too, and please leave a comment so we can return the favor.