Mosley’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 8 months
Breed: Bernese Mountain Dog
Mosley was a sweet, energetic puppy who one day became incredibly ill. I will never forget the 24 hours when he first showed symptoms. I sat with him all through the night thinking something was wrong, but our vet the day prior told us he was just uncomfortable from his hotspot. He ended up passing out after 24 hours of standing up and not sleeping, and that's when I rushed him into our emergency room (VEG) where we contacted his breeder and got news that his siblings were also having symptoms of SRMA meningitis — one had just been diagnosed the night prior. We were scared and tossed around from vet to vet until we landed with an amazing team who truly cared. After months and months of prednisone he was finally cleared off of it and has lived a pretty normal life since. Though we have missed out on dog shows, normal dog activity like hiking in more populated areas, or traveling we still are giving him as normal of a life as we can while he will never be vaccinated again.
Mosley 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.
Prudy’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1 year 3 months
Breed: Pomeranian
Briefly, we got Prudy for my daughter, who had wanted a Pom for many years. Ironically, she's had significant immune illness and had had years of prednisone and immune suppression in her life. We got Prudy from a friend and she was everything my daughter had wished for. Then at 6 months, jumping off the couch, she broke bones in her foot — she had to have them pinned, and we felt terrible. She seemed to recover, though it was a long process, and was given Simparica flea treatment slightly over her weight, as was given for the few weeks earlier when she was over 2kg. Within 2 weeks, which also coincided with Bonfire Night, she lost her sight. She was diagnosed with optic neuritis from the flea treatment and had some improvement with steroids over the next 6 months, with variations in behaviour. She then developed pyometra and had to be spayed, which she never seemed to recover from — her behaviour became more erratic and spinning increased. The vets said it was the stress from the surgery with her compromised eyesight, but it continued to get worse. She was finally referred for an MRI but was deteriorating so quickly, with significant nystagmus, we called and had it booked straight away, only to find she had a significant lesion suggesting MUE.
Prudy 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.
Sonny’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1 year 8 months
Breed: Labrador
When Sonny was about 22 months we noticed he had a slight head tilt. Initially I wasn't too worried, took him to the vet and they weren't either. Then he started to have seizures on walks, which did scare me, so took him back to the vets again - they didn't seem overly worried but said he was also suffering with his eyes not focusing. They gave us the option of being referred to a neurologist, which we took, and had to wait a week. Weirdly enough, in that week his seizures completely stopped so I became less worried. However, after meeting the neurologist they recommended an MRI. This showed one side of his brain was quite badly inflamed and, following the CSF, he had a high white blood cell count too. We were advised to start steroids but also warned it may not work. Fortunately he responded almost right away, with his symptoms improving in the first week. We followed his taper schedule and all his symptoms disappeared by the end. 6 months later, so we were advised to trial him without steroids. Unfortunately, a couple of months later he started showing early signs with a slight head tilt, eye twitch and reduced hearing. We took him back and were advised to go back on the steroids and, this time, when he gets to a low dose, trial keeping him on that. Luckily he's responded great again with his symptoms almost gone again. Weirdly, the second time the steroids did really upset his stomach and we've since put him on Royal Canin GA, but other than this he's a happy, healthy dog. He has continued his vaccines and flea and worm following the advice of my neurologist.
Sonny 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.
Theo’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1 year
Breed: American Corgi
Theo went to bed as a happy one year old corgi, full of life and excitement. Little did we know our next morning would forever alter our lives. I woke up — the house was silent. No barking Theo at our cats, which is abnormal for him. Walking to his crate I realized something was wrong. He was on his side, unable to stand, unable to move, having what I thought was seizures. Upon arrival to our ER they knew this was something that they could not treat and sent us right away to a specialist 1 hour away. Once there, everyone was baffled. He was not presenting as pups with meningitis do, but rather distemper (which are words you'd never want to hear). Within 12 hours Theo went completely blind — tremors every couple of seconds, laying horizontal, unable to move. Meningitis was so low on our diagnosis list. However, as Theo was getting worse, we knew quick decisions had to be made. The medications that were once working were slowly starting to become ineffective. We performed the spinal tap and the results shocked us — MUE. Theo presented completely differently, especially with no warning signs before and his myoclonus. Theo was released after 5 days in the ICU, completely blind. We did not expect vision to return — if it did, it would be limited. This boy knows how to fight, let me tell you!! Within 1 month — full vision restored. He defied the odds and continues to do so. His vet calls him a medical miracle — because no one — not the neurologist, criticalist, or emergency room vets — thought he would be leaving those doors alive.
Theo 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.
Naomi’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 3 years
Breed: Golden Retriever
On March 22nd I just noticed she didn't seem herself. In short terms, she was walking - still even took a walk that day - but something didn't seem right. By that night I was at an ER. After looking into several things they ended up saying that she was positive for Lyme, and that could be the reason that she was acting this way. They started her on doxycycline for a month and was told to give the medicine time. By Sunday I seen some things get worse and I told myself I'm just gonna call the vet on Monday that we normally go to, to see what they think and see if I can get another appointment. Long story short, they suggested that I wait and give it time because Lyme can affect dogs differently, and I told myself I was just being overreactive because she's our entire world… By Tuesday night I had another nudge that this is not right. I knew I need to call somewhere else, so I made a call to a very good vet two hours from my house, and by Wednesday morning we had her checked again, to come to find out she didn't even have active Lyme and this was MUO. She spent 5 nights in the ICU and is now home and stable. ❤️🩹 We caught this very soon but once it hit her, it hit her fast. We checked in Wednesday night, only blind in one eye, and by Thursday morning she was blind in the other eye, despite prednisone being started. They seen small amount of improvement in her right eye but said it's still highly likely she will regain vision, which devastates us so much. She has a follow up appointment on May 8th and between now and then we want to do everything we can to support her at all.
Naomi 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.
Maribel’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1.5 years
Breed: Miniature Pinscher
Maribel came to me from California after being pulled from a high kill shelter she found herself in at just 8 months old. Since the day I got her she has always had some sort of health issue that we had to battle, but the MUO diagnosis was and still is the most difficult thing she has been through. With over 20 vet visits in less than 2 years, she's been such a fighter through it all, allowing the health professionals to do what they need to do. At only 3 years old, she is tired and slowing down and I can tell it is taking a toll on her. Quality of life is very important at this stage and we make sure she is as comfortable as possible, soaking up all the love she can get from her family.
Maribel 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.
Wrigley’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1 year 2 months
Breed: Chihuahua
Wrigley is my heart dog. We have fought so hard. There is no one size fits all treatment. Having a holistic vet was a huge help and crucial to him still being here. Supplements. Acupuncture. Laser treatment. Homemade diet. Wrigley turned 9 last month. Where 9 years is something to celebrate, I am terrified of what 8 years of prednisone has done to his little body.
Wrigley 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.
Kayleigh’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 6.5 years
Breed: Miniature Pinscher
Kayleigh was my heart dog. I got her as a foster when she was estimated to be 3 years old. She was very shy and shut down — afraid of everyone and every household noise. My other dog at the time didn't really care for dog company, but for whatever reason, the two girls meshed very well. Watching Kayleigh come out of her shell over time was very rewarding, and I knew she was not going to leave. She was my constant shadow. She loved food and would go crazy for snacks, barking and spinning. When she had a massive seizure overnight in August 2015, I knew something was wrong. I'd already said to my mom that her head and body posture looked off for the weeks prior, but she otherwise seemed okay. Initially misdiagnosed with IVDD by a general vet, we landed at UGA's ER late on a Friday. They watched her deteriorate overnight, and quite honestly, I don't think the neurologist expected her to make it — let alone recover like she did. I found physical therapy exercises for paralysed pups and did them with her multiple times a day while crying and telling her she could not die. Five days later, she was starting to walk a bit but was still not completely steady on her feet. Ten days later, I sent a video to the neurologist who saw her, where she was barking at me and snatching treats off the ground.
She was initially on prednisone because they wanted to see if she would even respond. Other immunosuppressants were tried but ultimately failed due to side effects, until a new general vet agreed to try her on leflunomide. UGA refused to do so because they were not familiar with the medication. That was a game changer. She was able to come off prednisone in June 2016 and leflunomide in 2017. She was completely fine for several years. She started to relapse in 2020. I caught it early, and she did okay for a while. However, she began to lose weight and have seizures starting in November 2022. At first, we all thought they were related to the diagnosis and increased meds but saw no change. Keppra was finally added, and while it reduced their frequency, they still occurred at least once a month. During one of her vet visits, the vet noticed something off with one of her eyes that made her think brain tumour instead of encephalitis, and that explained why the immunosuppressant meds weren't helping. She passed the day after Christmas in 2023 from seizures and congestive heart failure. I told her she had to hold on until after Christmas, and she did that much. That last day was so hard for me because she didn't come out of the post-seizure paralysis that time. There will never be another dog like her. I have a Chihuahua who is trying her best, but I'm still not over the loss of my sweet Kayleigh.
Kayleigh 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.
Hoodsie’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 7 months
Breed: Boston Terrier
Hoodsie, my Boston Terrier, developed MUE at seven months old. He presented with lethargy, reduced appetite, neck/shoulder pain, and seizures. He only had neck and shoulder pain for one day before, but was otherwise normal. The next day, he had severe grand mal seizures and was hospitalised. He went to an ER without a neurologist on the first night, so they were only able to control his grand mal seizures but not perform an MRI. The next day he was transferred to a hospital with a neurologist. By that time he was experiencing blindness and tried to snap at the veterinarian, which is extremely abnormal behaviour for him. He received an MRI and CSF tap which confirmed MUE. He was put on prednisone, antibiotics, midazolam, Keppra and phenobarbital. He spent six days in the ICU before being released.
His recovery was slow at first — around a month before starting to become more like himself. He didn't experience any more seizures. After a month, Atopica was added so that he could begin his prednisone taper. He was also taken off Keppra and had zonisamide added for seizures.
He did well throughout his taper and remained seizure free until he got surgery to remove an obstruction in his stomach. A couple of weeks after the surgery he had a seizure. The seizures then became more frequent until he developed clusters. At first his neurologist suspected a relapse of MUE, adding high dose prednisone at 10mg twice per day. After being hospitalised, they leaned more toward the surgery having lowered his seizure threshold. Potassium bromide was added and Keppra was added back. He has since been seizure free and we are tapering his prednisone again.
Hoodsie 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.
Growlithe’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 4.5 months
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer x Toy Poodle
Growlithe was diagnosed at 4 months. He started off being uncomfortable trying to sit or lie down. We went to the vets and he also had a high temperature. He had some painkillers that helped for the first day but the symptoms came back worse and he didn't have full control over his back legs. The day vets I went to weren't great, but one out of hours vet thought he might have SRMA, so referred us to a specialist for a spinal tap and MRI that confirmed SRMA. We were prescribed steroids and tapered slowly. After about a week he wasn't in pain anymore but was very hungry and a bit grumpy while on them. Growlithe relapsed a month after we had finished tapering, so we had to restart at the beginning and tapered even slower. Since then everything has been fine. He was neutered 3 years later and didn't relapse. I did vaccinate him a little while after we had come off the steroids but I haven't done so since.
Since SRMA he has been a reasonably healthy dog apart from being a bit itchy. He loves training and does scentwork and agility, and has displayed at Crufts. He is now 10 years old and fingers crossed still going strong. There is hope to fully recover and live a great life.
Growlithe 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.
Lucy’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 1.5 years
Breed: Mixed
She got sick at the age of one and a half. The onset of the disease was very sudden - she was unable to stand, had lost her vision and had a high fever. Our general veterinarian quickly made a diagnosis and started treatment. After a few days we were able to have an MRI done and see a neurologist, who added cyclosporine to her therapy. She benefited immensely from Emmett treatments, lots of rest and carefully dosed physical activity. Now, two years on, we are planning to remove prednisone - she is currently on 1mg every other day. She is doing so much better, but we know we were also very lucky.
Lucy 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.
Layla’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 10 months
Breed: Boxer
Layla was a playful, energetic Boxer pup. One day I noticed she was just lying around, couldn't get off the couch or walk up the stairs, so I rushed her to an emergency vet who couldn't figure out the problem. I was then sent to my regular vet who referred me to a neurologist right away. She spent the night at the animal hospital and started having head tremors. She responded within a couple of days of being on prednisone, but then she started having bladder problems -we battled a bladder infection for three months as well as a false pregnancy. She did very well on the prednisone so we started tapering her in July, driving two hours to see the neurologist once a month. She had to be spayed at the neurologist's hospital as my regular vet didn't want to perform the procedure while she was on medication.
As of December 14th she has been off prednisone and is doing very well. I am so proud - I got her to the vet as soon as I noticed something was wrong and I truly believe our quick response made all the difference. Almost five months now and no relapse.
Layla 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.
GloryBe!’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 10 years
Breed: Shiloh Shepherd
GloryBe! is a true ambassador for the Shiloh Shepherd breed - calm, loving, playful and very nosy. She will be 11 on May 25th and has enjoyed obedience training, agility, nose work, acting classes as well as play dates with dogs of all sizes. When my husband's PTSD service dog, Abby, passed, Glory stepped up in many of the functions Abby performed. She is truly the most loving dog I have ever lived with. She faced all the pain and tests of having IMPA with grace and enjoyed two years free of this. She is handling her MUE with the same grace. We are looking forward to her 11th year being in remission.
GloryBe! 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.
Tyson’s Story
Age at diagnosis: 2 years 2 months
Breed: Chihuahua
My special little boy Tyson. Where do I start - he stole our hearts from the moment we brought him home. I may be biased but he was the best looking Chihuahua I've ever seen. Typical Chihuahua personality, endless energy for a tiny guy, loved his family obsessively and hated the poor postman with a passion!
One day I noticed I had a couple of bites on my legs so bought over the counter spot-on flea treatment for him. He began randomly acting out of character - unsettled and not himself, circling and restless. The following days more and more symptoms came. I took him to the vet and they advised me to give him a flea tablet treatment instead of the spot-on, as the circling was most probably down to him being itchy. I don't actually know if he even had fleas but I just took the vet's advice as it made sense and gave him the flea tablet.
These symptoms never stopped and progressively got worse. I knew there was something wrong and so did other people who knew him - people were asking why he was acting so old and saying he'd lost his spark. Tyson was aging rapidly each day.
I took him back to the vet and they agreed it was probably neurological issues rather than itching from fleas as I was first told. They prescribed him prednisone and advised he be scanned to find out exactly what was causing the neurological issues. One day Tyson began crying because he couldn't climb the stairs, and when I touched him he yelped. I took him back to the vet and they sent him for an emergency scan.
He was diagnosed with MUO four days ago. Since the scan I've seen no improvement - he's spaced out on the amount of medication he is now on, so he seems to sleep and relax a bit more than he did without meds.
Tyson 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.