Cupcake’s Story

Age at diagnosis: 7 years

Breed: Mixed

Cupcake is a beloved and loving dog who is thoughtful, patient, and greatly enjoys belly rubs. Looking at her now, it’s hard to imagine that she was a critical patient at the emergency vet and her brain was swelling due to meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE). There weren’t any clear signs before one day in October 2025 when she suddenly struggled to breathe. Honestly, Cupcake’s symptoms set in so fast within the span of 1 week. I did notice that she seemed a little zoned out but I chalked it up to her being tired. Then, the breathing troubles started before she lost her ability to balance and couldn’t walk more than a few steps. We scheduled an appointment with our primary vet who then referred us to a neurologist.

Cupcake’s swelling is localized to her brainstem, which controls functions like respiration and swallowing. She started on steroid therapy but did not respond, so our neurologist immediately started her on Cytosar (chemotherapy). Two months later, she stopped responding to Cytosar as well and we switched to a different immunosuppressant (cyclosporine), which has continued to keep her stable as of now. Our neurologist did mention that Cupcake seems unusually medicine-resistant, so hopefully other doggos with MUE won’t need to switch meds. Her medications now consist of just cyclosporine daily and she has gone a few months without the steroids. Cupcake did not have any seizures throughout so she is not taking any medication for that.

To say this experience has been hard would be an understatement. At the beginning of her diagnosis, Cupcake needed around-the-clock care for a few days. She lost control of her bladder, could not rotate or sit up on her own, could not control her drool, and couldn’t open her mouth or eat solid foods. She was unable to sleep peacefully or walk around. One neurologist we met felt that Cupcake was deteriorating and asked us “what kind of life is this for a dog?” We were told that there is a 1/3 survival rate maintaining their eating functions, 1/3 of dogs survive but need a feeding tube, and 1/3 of dogs do not survive. They thought Cupcake wouldn’t get better, but they let her be discharged because she could luckily take her liquid steroids and drink water.

She, we are very fortunate that the treatment gradually started taking effect. Any improvement we noticed was not immediate, and there were numerous side effects from the medications. We had many sleepless, restless nights where the steroids kept her up. She also developed a very intense hunger, transforming from a dog who never would bark at us for food to howling at us when we would eat anything. The steroids also led to her becoming rather chonky and gaining what our neurologist fondly called a “pot belly.”

Now, nearly 1 year, the dog she could be before MUE shines through more often. The side effects are subsiding. She is playing with toys again (including her favorite Lamby), able to walk up and down stairs steadily, and even runs around the backyard. Don’t get me wrong, she does have off days where it’s clear to us that she is suffering from headaches, becomes unsteady when walking, and needs to lie down more. She isn’t entirely the same dog as before, much like how chronic illnesses leave humans changed as well. But she is bouncy again and able to physically participate in ways she loves to, whether that’s following us into the kitchen in hopes of food falling or running to greet us when we’re home. Her tail wags all the time and she’s back to rolling over for belly rubs.

We're not sure what her prognosis will look like. Our neurologist shared that 70% of dogs with MUE live a normal lifespan and 50% need to be on medication for the rest of their life. Cupcake is going strong now but I know too well the ups and downs of this condition. Still, I hope she can continue getting better and stick around as long as possible. When I wasn’t sure if she would pull through, I would endlessly scroll through stories posted online to learn anything about this autoimmune condition. For anyone else and their dogs who are going through this, we are with you and sending love.

Cupcake is part of The Theo Project's canine meningitis registry - a growing global collection of MUE, MUO and SRMA stories shared to help families facing this diagnosis.