My dog got meningitis - please help! Advice needed

violet3 · Mar 3, 2017

I have an 8 month old cavalier king charles spaniel, and a rescue dog Rhonda, who is a 6 year old shepherd mix. On Sunday night, Rhonda was admitted to the hospital at U Penn Veterinary because she lost the use of all 4 of her legs suddenly. They did an MRI of her brain and a spinal tap and said she had meningitis, and that it was autoimmune. The spinal tap showed a white blood cell count over 400, when it should be under 5 - her body was basically attacking itself, and she was (more or less) paralyzed and in a lot of pain. For the record, meningitis in a dog seems to be an umbrella term, that refers to any inflammation or infection in the brain and spinal fluid, as opposed to the bacterial type that is often contracted in humans.

Her amazing neurologist at Penn Vet treated her with chemotherapy and heavy steroids, and she finally regained the use of her legs yesterday. She is wobbly, but she can walk!

She will be on the steroids for a month and then they will wean her off of them - at that time, she may relapse or she may be fine. I am looking to be the most proactive I can be in helping her stay mobile and healthy. My Cavalier's breeder recommended feeding her raw food instead of kibble, because the inflammation in her brain was what caused the paralysis, and kibble often has grain in it, which can add to inflammation. The vets also say she can never have vaccines again (besides rabies, which is required by law) because they stimulate the immune system and hers can't handle it.

I've posted this on Face book, and I'm trying here also. If anyone has experience with this type of disease in a dog and has advice for us, we would greatly appreciate it. If you don't have experience, but know of a place I should or could look for advice, I welcome that also. I realize that since I had literally never heard of this condition, most of you probably haven't also, but I'm trying every avenue I can think of to help my girl.

Here's a picture of our sweet baby Brodie (blenheim cavalier - 8 months old) and his best girl, Rhonda (Shepherd mix - 6 years old).

MJ_Mac · Mar 3, 2017

Oh Violet, I am so sorry you and your beloved Rhonda are going through this. You have been through so much within such a short time. I have not been through anything like this but I know what it's like to have a dog with severe health issues. Hugs across the miles to you! I hope Rhonda gets stronger with each passing day. I'm sure the love of her mama and papa and her beloved brother Brodie will go a long way to help her in her recovery. You can tell from the pictures Rhonda knows she is loved.

junebug17 · Mar 3, 2017

Violet, I don't have any experience with this condition or advice to offer, I wish I did…but I'm sending lots of healing dust and many good thoughts to your sweet Rhonda as she continues to recover. I'm so glad she has shown improvement and is walking now, that is very encouraging and I wish her the best on her road to recovery. I hope she feels better with each day that passes. Big hugs to you, I'm sure this has been beyond stressful for you and you've already been through so much. ((((hugs)))))

Puppmom · Mar 3, 2017

Violet, no experience either but sending lots of healing dust your way. I didn't even know this was possible.

Here's to a speedy recovery for your sweet pup.

jaaron · Mar 3, 2017

Violet, I'm so sorry your sweet dog is going through this. I do know someone whose dog had something similar. She never regained the use of her back legs (even in the hospital), but has continued to live a long and happy life nonetheless. I do raw feed my dogs, so would be happy to answer any questions on that.

Full and quick recovery wishes to your household.

violet3 · Mar 3, 2017

Poodles4me|1488567178|4136037 said:
Oh Violet, I am so sorry you and your beloved Rhonda are going through this. You have been through so much within such a short time. I have not been through anything like this but I know what it's like to have a dog with severe health issues. Hugs across the miles to you! I hope Rhonda gets stronger with each passing day. I'm sure the love of her mama and papa and her beloved brother Brodie will go a long way to help her in her recovery. You can tell from the pictures Rhonda knows she is loved.

Thank you for your kind thoughts - she's the sweetest girl, and we all love her to pieces (especially Brodie)! I've never had a dog get hospitalized before - it was really scary. I'm just so grateful that we made it to such an exceptional facility in time and that they were able to save her life. She looks like a drunken puppy when she walks, but heck, she's walking!!!

NewEnglandLady · Mar 3, 2017

violet, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know how scary it can be. Our first newfoundland, Byron, was diagnosed with Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) when he was 5 and he lived to be 11. GME is basically an autoimmune disease where the spinal cord attacks itself. One day Byron was perfectly fine, the next day he was a bit wobbly, so I scheduled an appointment for the following day with his regular vet. By day 3 he was not able to use his rear legs and we were rushing him to the neurologist where a spinal tap was done. It took about 3 weeks for all the titers to come in (in the meantime he was on a heavy dose of steroids + chemo drugs) and ultimately he was diagnosed with GME. Are you still getting results back from the spinal tap?

I do want to briefly warn you about switching to a raw diet while your pup is on immunosuppresant drugs. I'm a raw food enthusiast (as was our breeder), but feeding raw food when your dog has no ability to fight any infection (because his immune system is suppressed) is dangerous. Raw food contains bacteria--bacteria your dog could absolutely fight when he's healthy. But even a very small infection can become systemic when your dog's immune system isn't able to fight anything. This happened to Byron. He developed a bladder infection that became systemic within hours and was admitted into ICU for days...it was the closest we ever came to losing him. Our neurologist took a sample of his urine in order to determine exactly what type of bacteria was causing the issue--it was a specific bacteria that is only found in raw beef (what we were feeding him). What's worse is that because of the paralysis, Byron could not fully express his bladder, so the bladder infection was chronic and we would have to rotate antibiotics when it would flare up (because the bacteria would become resistant to the antibiotic over time). There are so many grain-free foods. We fed Byron Orijen and a few other brands for his remaining years, we also took our other newfie off of his raw diet so Byron wasn't around that bacteria.

UPenn is obviously a fantastic hospital, but I would strongly recommend talking with Dr. Sisson at Angell in Boston. He is considered the leading vet in treating GME, Necrotizing Encephalitis, Corticosteroid-Responsive or Neutrophilic Meningitis, Eosinophilic Meningoencephalomyelitis, Idiopathic Tremor Syndrome, Cerebellitis, Pyogranulomatous Meningoencephalitis and generic Meningoencephalomyelitis (where the source can't be determined). His treatment is very aggressive, but I can attest to how effective it is (Dr. Sisson was not the first neurologist we saw, but once we found him, Byron improved and stayed in remission for 6 years). He has an international following and there is even a forum dedicated to him. I can go on and on about him, but I will say he's the most dedicated human being I've ever met. You can read about his treatment here if you want to compare to your current treatment:
https://www.facebook.com/FightGME/posts/632969693421178

Thinking of you tons, I know how hard this is! And scary. While Byron did eventually pass from his auto-immune disease, I am forever thankful for the 6 additional years we had with him. He never regained full use of his legs (once the damage to the spinal cord was done, we couldn't fix it), but he was able to get around and he was happy.

redwood66 · Mar 3, 2017

Best wishes for your cute pup!

E B · Mar 3, 2017

No advice, but I'm so glad it was caught in time! Hugs to you and Rhonda (and Brodie!).

Calliecake · Mar 3, 2017

Violet, I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I also don't have any advice regarding Rhonda's illness. It sounds like you are getting her the best possible care. I can tell from your posts that your furbabies are your babies and know this is killing you to see her go through this ordeal. I'm sending much dust and love to you and Rhonda. Hugs Sweetie.

You can have Rhonda tested to see if she has the rabies vaccine is still in her system. Our vet has said they don't want our dog having another rabies shot due to how her body reacted to them in the past. She said there is a test they can give the dog. The vet sends a letter to the state I believe and they don't give the vaccine. You may want to check with your vet if you are concerned with giving Rhonda the vaccine. Others here on Pricescope also know about this as Kristie has talked to me about this several times. I'm sorry Kristie that I don't remember what the test was called.

lovedogs · Mar 3, 2017

Calliecake|1488569688|4136070 said:
Violet, I'm so sorry. I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I also don't have any advice regarding Rhonda's illness. It sounds like you are getting her the best possible care. I can tell from your posts that your furbabies are your babies and know this is killing you to see her go through this ordeal. I'm sending much dust and love to you and Rhonda. Hugs Sweetie.

Ditto this. I'm so sorry, Violet

Sending healing vibes to you and Rhonda, fingers crossed for a super speedy recovery!

violet3 · Mar 3, 2017

NewEnglandLady|1488568675|4136057 said:
violet, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know how scary it can be. Our first newfoundland, Byron, was diagnosed with Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) when he was 5 and he lived to be 11. GME is basically an autoimmune disease where the spinal cord attacks itself. One day Byron was perfectly fine, the next day he was a bit wobbly, so I scheduled an appointment for the following day with his regular vet. By day 3 he was not able to use his rear legs and we were rushing him to the neurologist where a spinal tap was done. It took about 3 weeks for all the titers to come in (in the meantime he was on a heavy dose of steroids + chemo drugs) and ultimately he was diagnosed with GME. Are you still getting results back from the spinal tap?

I do want to briefly warn you about switching to a raw diet while your pup is on immunosuppresant drugs. I'm a raw food enthusiast (as was our breeder), but feeding raw food when your dog has no ability to fight any infection (because his immune system is suppressed) is dangerous. Raw food contains bacteria--bacteria your dog could absolutely fight when he's healthy. But even a very small infection can become systemic when your dog's immune system isn't able to fight anything. This happened to Byron. He developed a bladder infection that became systemic within hours and was admitted into ICU for days...it was the closest we ever came to losing him. Our neurologist took a sample of his urine in order to determine exactly what type of bacteria was causing the issue--it was a specific bacteria that is only found in raw beef (what we were feeding him). What's worse is that because of the paralysis, Byron could not fully express his bladder, so the bladder infection was chronic and we would have to rotate antibiotics when it would flare up (because the bacteria would become resistant to the antibiotic over time). There are so many grain-free foods. We fed Byron Orijen and a few other brands for his remaining years, we also took our other newfie off of his raw diet so Byron wasn't around that bacteria.

UPenn is obviously a fantastic hospital, but I would strongly recommend talking with Dr. Sisson at Angell in Boston. He is considered the leading vet in treating GME, Necrotizing Encephalitis, Corticosteroid-Responsive or Neutrophilic Meningitis, Eosinophilic Meningoencephalomyelitis, Idiopathic Tremor Syndrome, Cerebellitis, Pyogranulomatous Meningoencephalitis and generic Meningoencephalomyelitis (where the source can't be determined). His treatment is very aggressive, but I can attest to how effective it is (Dr. Sisson was not the first neurologist we saw, but once we found him, Byron improved and stayed in remission for 6 years). He has an international following and there is even a forum dedicated to him. I can go on and on about him, but I will say he's the most dedicated human being I've ever met. You can read about his treatment here if you want to compare to your current treatment:
https://www.facebook.com/FightGME/posts/632969693421178

Thinking of you tons, I know how hard this is! And scary. While Byron did eventually pass from his auto-immune disease, I am forever thankful for the 6 additional years we had with him. He never regained full use of his legs (once the damage to the spinal cord was done, we couldn't fix it), but he was able to get around and he was happy.

THANK YOU New England Lady!!! This is really helpful! I posted figuring it was a shot in the dark that anyone would have experience with this, so I'm really grateful (and also sad for you) that you can help me with some advice. I remember Byron - was he the beauty in your wedding photos? I'm so glad to hear he had a nice long life after being diagnosed, and I'm happy to hear he was mobile and happy even if he didn't regain full use of his legs. How was he able to get around - did he have wheels?

That's so helpful about the raw food diet - thank you for that. I certainly wasn't thinking of her suppressed immune system and bacteria that she could come in contact with, but that makes total sense. Maybe after she's well again, we will revisit the idea. For now, I'll look into grain free kibble for her.

Thanks for the recommendation on doctor Sisson - I will certainly look him up! I was actually kind of shocked at how many cases of this they see. I'd never heard of it before, but the dog in the kennel right next to her at Penn had exactly the same thing. Did they have any ideas what could cause it? Rhonda's spinal tap (we're not waiting for any more results on that) showed nothing bacterial, which is why the classified it as autoimmune. I struggle with the fact that if I can't figure out what caused it, I can't stop it from happening again.

violet3 · Mar 3, 2017

jaaron|1488568425|4136053 said:
Violet, I'm so sorry your sweet dog is going through this. I do know someone whose dog had something similar. She never regained the use of her back legs (even in the hospital), but has continued to live a long and happy life nonetheless. I do raw feed my dogs, so would be happy to answer any questions on that.

Full and quick recovery wishes to your household.

Hello!

Can you tell me why you raw feed and what you feed them?

mary poppins · Mar 3, 2017

Awww, your pups are so cute. So sorry to hear you and Rhonda are going through such a scary time. I don't have any input in response to your questions but wanted to send lots of healing dust to Rhonda, and strength dust to you, Brodie and the rest of your family. I hope Rhonda fully recovers and remains healthy.

violet3 · Mar 4, 2017

NewEnglandLady|1488568675|4136057 said:
violet, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know how scary it can be. Our first newfoundland, Byron, was diagnosed with Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) when he was 5 and he lived to be 11. GME is basically an autoimmune disease where the spinal cord attacks itself. One day Byron was perfectly fine, the next day he was a bit wobbly, so I scheduled an appointment for the following day with his regular vet. By day 3 he was not able to use his rear legs and we were rushing him to the neurologist where a spinal tap was done. It took about 3 weeks for all the titers to come in (in the meantime he was on a heavy dose of steroids + chemo drugs) and ultimately he was diagnosed with GME. Are you still getting results back from the spinal tap?

I do want to briefly warn you about switching to a raw diet while your pup is on immunosuppresant drugs. I'm a raw food enthusiast (as was our breeder), but feeding raw food when your dog has no ability to fight any infection (because his immune system is suppressed) is dangerous. Raw food contains bacteria--bacteria your dog could absolutely fight when he's healthy. But even a very small infection can become systemic when your dog's immune system isn't able to fight anything. This happened to Byron. He developed a bladder infection that became systemic within hours and was admitted into ICU for days...it was the closest we ever came to losing him. Our neurologist took a sample of his urine in order to determine exactly what type of bacteria was causing the issue--it was a specific bacteria that is only found in raw beef (what we were feeding him). What's worse is that because of the paralysis, Byron could not fully express his bladder, so the bladder infection was chronic and we would have to rotate antibiotics when it would flare up (because the bacteria would become resistant to the antibiotic over time). There are so many grain-free foods. We fed Byron Orijen and a few other brands for his remaining years, we also took our other newfie off of his raw diet so Byron wasn't around that bacteria.

UPenn is obviously a fantastic hospital, but I would strongly recommend talking with Dr. Sisson at Angell in Boston. He is considered the leading vet in treating GME, Necrotizing Encephalitis, Corticosteroid-Responsive or Neutrophilic Meningitis, Eosinophilic Meningoencephalomyelitis, Idiopathic Tremor Syndrome, Cerebellitis, Pyogranulomatous Meningoencephalitis and generic Meningoencephalomyelitis (where the source can't be determined). His treatment is very aggressive, but I can attest to how effective it is (Dr. Sisson was not the first neurologist we saw, but once we found him, Byron improved and stayed in remission for 6 years). He has an international following and there is even a forum dedicated to him. I can go on and on about him, but I will say he's the most dedicated human being I've ever met. You can read about his treatment here if you want to compare to your current treatment:
https://www.facebook.com/FightGME/posts/632969693421178

Thinking of you tons, I know how hard this is! And scary. While Byron did eventually pass from his auto-immune disease, I am forever thankful for the 6 additional years we had with him. He never regained full use of his legs (once the damage to the spinal cord was done, we couldn't fix it), but he was able to get around and he was happy.

Hi again NEL!

The more I'm reading about this, the more it looks like it was likely that my Rhonda's episode was caused by her vaccinations. I find this terrifying honestly - did anyone ever talk to you about Byron's vaccines and whether they had anything to do with his paralysis? Did he have vaccines after you discovered his autoimmune disease (I'm assuming no)? Do you vaccinate your other dogs after him? Sorry for all the questions, but a lot of info turned up in the last 24 hours and I'm feeling unsure of what to do with my other dog, Brodie, in terms of vaccinations....

Queenie60 · Mar 4, 2017

Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way for a full recovery. Doggie dust.....

violet3 · Mar 4, 2017

Thank you Queenie, and thanks to everyone on here who sent good wishes and prayers for us and our girl Rhonda - I appreciate EVERY SINGLE ONE.

So far, she's continued to improve every day - she still has a wobbly gate, and once in a while she spins out to the right by accident and it scares her, but overall she's doing great! She is able to walk down the street and back and go potty by herself, so we're light years ahead of where we were on Tuesday.

Any more information and/or prayers are welcome as we continue to recover! It looks like her vaccines may have caused this autoimmune disease, and that scares me to death. She can't ever have vaccines again, but I am left wondering what to do with my puppy now going forward. A friend sent this to me, and it really opened my eyes - it's a vet who is testifying that the vaccines that are recommended are literally killing dogs. If you have a dog, you should most definitely watch this:

https://www.facebook.com/PlanetPaws.ca/videos/1404799696261575/?autoplay_reason=all_page_organic_allowed&video_container_type=0&video_creator_product_type=2&app_id=2392950137&live_video_guests=0

OreoRosies86 · Mar 4, 2017

I'm so sorry, I gasped when I read this thread title. Luckily your quick thinking and vet care saved your dog's life. I don't have any firsthand advice or experience but I am sending healing vibes to your home!

Scandinavian · Mar 4, 2017

Tons of hugs from Furbaby and me!

missy · Mar 5, 2017

Oh no Violet, I am so sorry! Sending you and your sweet pup bucket loads of healing ***DUST*** and lots of hugs and good thoughts. Praying for a complete recovery for Rhonda!!!

jaaron · Mar 5, 2017

violet3|1488580511|4136163 said:
jaaron|1488568425|4136053 said:

Violet, I'm so sorry your sweet dog is going through this. I do know someone whose dog had something similar. She never regained the use of her back legs (even in the hospital), but has continued to live a long and happy life nonetheless. I do raw feed my dogs, so would be happy to answer any questions on that.

Full and quick recovery wishes to your household.

Click to expand...

Hello! Can you tell me why you raw feed and what you feed them?

Hi Violet,

We started raw feeding when it turned out that our dog had what seemed to be some form of IBS. By the time he was eight months old, we'd been through endless rounds of stool sampling, antibiotics, probiotics, elimination diets, hypoallergenic and sensitivity foods, etc. When the vet started to talk about possibly looking at a lifetime of steroids, we decided to give it a try first, and, literally, within a week the symptoms had disappeared and have never returned (despite the fact that he has frequently been known to help himself to things not technically included on the diet, including but not limited to, croissants, used kleenex, blocks of cheddar and parmesan cheese, baked potatoes, mud, Oreos, jelly beans and entire roast chickens).

We feed a mix of raw meat, organ meat, ground up vegetables, sometimes quinoa (cooked) or oats (uncooked, added raw), olive oil or coconut oil, and supplement with omega 3, a multi-vitamin and a joint supplement. They also get a non-weight-bearing raw bone every night that they eat completely (often a pork rib or a lamb bone that I get from my butcher). There are now also companies here in the UK that make a complete (the bone is mixed in) raw food that comes frozen.

I should stress that I never feed anything that isn't something I would eat myself in terms of quality and that I set it up with the help of a holistic vet who specialises in raw diets. That said, if you're thinking about going this route, please make sure it's ok in conjunction with the immunosuppressants. As far as vaccinating goes, our vet does titre to see if it's necessary or not, but we have and do vaccinate when necessary. Speaking as a person with an autoimmune condition, I've looked into this for myself, and the consensus has seemed to be that the upset of a vaccination to the immune system is less than the upset of the illness. I'm not sure how this translates to dogs, but has work out ok for me, so far anyway.

Really good thoughts to you and your cutie pie.

violet3 · Mar 5, 2017

Thanks for your reply about the raw feeding Jaaron! I am hesitant to start her on raw food while her immune system is being suppressed, but I might start cooking for her or find her a good canned food or kibble that is grain free, since inflammation is her issue.

I got a new harness to help her walking and she's doing really well with it. It's helping her keep her center of gravity a little better than when the leash is attached to her collar - she seems to have a problem differentiating her front from her hind legs. With her new harness she can walk down the street and back without any falling, and today when my dad came to visit, she jumped up and stood on her hind legs to paw him without even thinking about it. She's on the mend for sure!

Thanks everyone for your kind thoughts and advice for us and for Rhonda - we appreciate it! Here's some updated photos since she got home - baby Brodie has not left her side, so we can't take her away again

She's taking it pretty easy, and snuggling with her wine pillow (she loves that pillow and she gets mad when I use it), and I included a picture of her standing by herself in her new harness!