Mickey’s Story

Age at diagnosis: 12 years

Breed: Short Haired Chihuahua

In 2023 Mickey slowly began losing the use of his back legs and becoming unstable. We thought this was due to his subluxating patella and he went to our local vet's pain clinic every fortnight for Librela injections and acupuncture. As his mobility worsened, I got him a Walkin Wheels wheelchair which he loved and he enjoyed zooming down hills. I even set up his own Facebook page to help others looking into wheels for their pets.

In July 2025 he suddenly developed weakness in his front left leg. Our vet was very concerned and made an urgent referral to the Small Animal Hospital in Glasgow, who offered us an appointment the next day. The neurology team assessed him and Ana, the neurologist, explained she suspected spinal lesions. His MRI and lumbar puncture confirmed two lesions caused by MUO - one responsible for his paraplegia and another causing the new front leg weakness.

Ana showed us the scans and drew diagrams to help us understand. As he was 12, the prognosis wasn't great, but she saw the spark in Mickey and offered Cytarabine infusions and steroids. He responded well to the first round and had 6 rounds in total. Although the lower lesion couldn't be helped, he quickly regained use of his front leg.

The nursing team showed us how to express his bladder as it was large and atonic, and advised us on diet as they wanted him to lose around 2kg. He gets regular UTIs, so sometimes his Cytarabine was delayed, and they did bladder washouts to help. His liver markers were up early on so he was on liver protectant tablets, but as the steroids reduced he came off these. When scanning his liver they found a stomach mass, but it doesn't bother him so they continued to focus on the MUO. When he was admitted for his 7th Cytarabine infusion the vet who was on was concerned about his skin masses so it didn't go ahead. They had planned for 8-10 infusions but money was also dwindling and would only take me up to the 8th infusion. As money was getting low, his neurologist decided it was best to keep what was left as a backup in case he needed treatment for his skin masses or stomach mass. He continues on half a steroid tablet every second day until the end of August when the neurologist decides the next move.

At times his neurologist was away and other team members took over Mickey's care. They were not as positive as Ana and several times I was told to consider putting Mickey to sleep, but thankfully Ana came back and continued to advocate for him. For a chihuahua, Mickey is one tough little guy who faces everything with very little complaint. Mickey continues to win hearts everywhere he goes, and with his ongoing treatment we hope he'll keep doing so for a long time. He likes to reassure the other animals in the vet's waiting room when he is there, although most of them have never seen a dog in wheels and don't know what to make of him. He shares his story on Facebook and Instagram in the hope of helping others with MUO or disabilities.

I personally feel guilty that it was never picked up back in 2023, but there never was any suggestion from my vet that something else was at play and I just did everything I could think of to keep him moving and keeping him happy and pain free.

Mickey 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.