Jacob Does Doggone Crazy!

Chester’s Pet Shoppe Fundraiser for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy

Hi, I am Wendy Gould the owner of Chester’s Pet Shoppe and the aunt of Jacob Gould.   Today I reach out to the community to introduce Jacob and the fight against Muscular Dystrophy.   At this time there is no cure for Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy.   More research has to been done to find a cure.   With the current medical research, kids with Muscular Dystrophy are living longer.    I am running a fundraiser for all the Jacobs that have this disease where 15% of the sales for Doggone Crazy Game will go to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.  All you have to do is enter coupon code Jacob at checkout.   I will e-mail you with the amount we raised and post on the blog.  Promotion runs to the end of March, 2010.   Hope you enjoy our video!

Why Parents Project Muscular Dystrophy?   Parents Project started in 1994 by parents and grandparents wanting to speed up the research, to educate and help families.   100% of all the funds raised through fundraisers go into research!   That is awesome!  Please go to Parents Project  website for all the details on the disease, research and more. 

What does it mean to have Muscular Dystrophy?  There are about 30 Muscular Dystrophy diseases, but for this blog I am focusing on Duchenne and Becker.    Muscular Dystrophy affects all the muscles in the body where Duchenne moves through the body faster than Becker.  As the disease progresses, the muscles swell and joints become restricted.   The holding of a fork or turning over becomes very difficult.   Later stages their heart and breathing muscles begin to fail.

I remember Mike and Kim wondering why Jacob never turned over or walked like their other kids and kept asking the doctors, but no answer until they moved to Maine.   When Jacob had his physical exam for school, it was at that time he was diagnosed as having Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.    Jacob kept on playing sports until his legs would not take him anymore.    When he had to use the wheelchair, the team always let him hit the ball with the bat.  Scooby, a Siberian Husky, would pull Jacob into town when the family went for a walk.   Now that Jacob has an electric wheel chair, Scooby walks with him.  Today, he is in a wheelchair with limited movements in his arms and legs.   He goes to school, plays his video games and knows his sports!   I guarantee you that he can beat the best of you when it comes to his sports knowledge!  He is smart as a whip and always smiles, as you can see in the video.  He was excited about doing the video with me and his mom.  Jacob is looking forward to hearing from you on the blog!  Drop him a line!  Ask him his thoughts on the Super Bowl.  I am sure he has something to say about the winner and loser!

You ask me why Doggone Crazy Game?   I want all pets and kids to be safe.   For families that have kids, it is important for all of us to know what the dog is telling us.  That includes “Being a Tree”.  Jacob has to do a modified version of Being a Tree, for he is in a wheelchair and his arm movements are limited.  He is a smart kid and knows “how to speak dog” from the game and his family.   I suggest that for any family that has a child that is disabled, to have a behaviorist trainer in your area work with you and your family on a modified version of “Being a Tree”.   Doggonesafe.com has a list of behaviorist trainers by state.

Jacob and I would like to hear from you!   I will see him next weekend and I will work with him to answer any questions about sports or whatever questions you have.