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THE THEO PROJECT
A global registry and community for dogs diagnosed with MUE and related meningitis conditions - built by owners, for owners, to create the data that doesn't yet exist. Because "unknown" is not good enough.
Most people have never heard of MUE/MUO - a devastating form of meningitis in dogs - until it happens to them. Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Etiology/Origin is an inflammatory neurological condition that can strike dogs of any breed or age, often without warning. The diagnosis is terrifying. The information available is scarce. And the "unknown" in its name is not just a medical term - it is the reality that thousands of families are left living with every single day.
When our seven month old Cavapoo, Theo, was diagnosed with MUE on Christmas Eve 2025, the neurologist referenced a study to explain his prognosis. It had been conducted on a very small number of dogs. For a condition affecting dogs all over the world, that was the best available data. That is not good enough.
MUE - Meningoencephalitis of Unknown Etiology - is a devastating neurological condition. "Unknown" is literally in its name. Yet there is no centralised registry. No compiled outcomes data. No way for the countless families who have lived through this to contribute what they know. Every dog's journey is recorded in a single vet's filing system and goes no further.
The Theo Project exists to change that. We are building the registry that should already exist - collecting the stories, the diagnoses, the treatment protocols and the outcomes of every dog with MUE whose family is willing to share them. We are not scientists. We are dog owners who refused to accept that the answer to "will he recover?" is "we don't know."
The Theo Project was founded by Crystal Costa, a former professional ballet dancer turned stager and coach based in Vancouver, Canada. It is run entirely in her spare time, self-funded, and built from scratch by a dog owner who simply refused to accept that there was nothing she could do.
If you have been through this, your dog's story belongs here.
*The Theo Project is run by dog owners, not veterinary professionals. Nothing on this site constitutes medical advice.
Our Mission
MUE is a disease whose name tells you everything about how little we understand it. The Theo Project exists to change that.
By collecting real data from real dogs - their breeds, their symptoms, their treatments, their outcomes - we hope to build the resource that researchers, vets and families desperately need. Every submission brings us closer to turning unknown into known.
The data we collect will be shared publicly so that any family, vet or researcher in the world can access it. We will publish regular findings on this website as the registry grows. We will share our data directly with veterinary researchers and universities who are working to better understand this disease. And ultimately we hope that what we build here will make the case for more formal research, more funding, and a future where no family is told "we don't know" without anything to back that up.
We are not scientists. We are dog owners. But we believe that what we build here - one story at a time - can change the future of how MUE is understood, treated and survived.
How Can I Help?
Help us change the unknown to known.
The data that could change how MUE is treated, understood and survived already exists. It lives in the stories of every dog who has ever been diagnosed. We just need you to share it.
If you have ever known a dog touched by MUE - your own, a friend's, a dog you heard about - that story belongs here. The Theo Project is only as powerful as the data behind it, and that data can only exist if people like you choose to share it. We don't just need to know about the diagnosis. We need to know what happened next. And after that. And after that. How long did your dog live? Did they relapse? Did they thrive? Every update, every milestone, every outcome - good or bad - makes the picture clearer for the thousands of families who will come after you.
Filling out the registry form takes around ten minutes. It could change the future of how this disease is understood, treated and survived. Your dog's story deserves to be part of that. Help us make history - for them, and for every dog that comes after them.
*Data collected by The Theo Project is crowd sourced from dog owners and has not been independently verified by veterinary professionals.
Thank you for being part of
THE THEO PROJECT 🐾
MUE has no easy answers - but together, we can start to find them. As awareness of this devastating disease grows, so does our hope that one day no family will have to face it alone, armed with nothing but uncertainty. This space exists to change that. To build a community of support, shared knowledge and real data that turns the unknown into the known.
Please help spread the word. Share The Theo Project with anyone who has ever loved a dog.
