Rainier’s Story

Age at diagnosis: 11 months

Breed: Golden Retriever

Rainier went to doggy daycare one day and played rough with the other high energy dogs. We were told her back paw fell into a little hole while playing and she was limping a bit, but we thought nothing much of it - maybe a pulled muscle or something. We took her to the vet on a Friday and the vet agreed, saying to come back if she gets worse. By Sunday she couldn't bend her neck down to eat, wouldn't drink water, and just wasn't herself. I took her back to the vet - I had seen a few videos of SRMA and showed the vet, thinking this is what she had. She agreed and was able to get us in to see a veterinary neurologist the next morning. We drove the two hours that night to stay before our early morning appointment.

Unfortunately Rainier had a seizure while going to the toilet at 3am and we rushed her to the vet - thankfully the animal hospital was where our appointment was later that morning. She was okay once we got there and they allowed us to wait until our appointment. The neurologist believed SRMA was the culprit but did a spinal tap and MRI just in case. The neurologist started Rainier on prednisone, gabapentin and omeprazole while we waited on results. Within hours of starting the meds, Rainier was starting to perk up. The vet called and confirmed it was SRMA.

They started Rainier on a high dosage of prednisone with a plan to taper over the next 6-8 months, tapering every 30 days. This plan went pretty flawlessly - Rainier took to the meds with very little issue! We kept her home and around known dogs that were vaccinated, and went at her pace. She was diagnosed April 24, 2024 and was in remission by November 2024.

We welcomed her human sister and are so happy they get to grow up together! Rainier gets vaccines and flea/tick medication on schedule as of November 2025, knowing her onset likely wasn't related to vaccines or tick medication. She is a thriving almost 3 year old dog!

Rainier 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.