
Tuck and his dad
When I met Tuck he was laying on his side, with no attempt to move. After our exam, we suspected he had granulomeningoencephalitis (GME) which is an immune mediated type of encephalitis that can affect dogs causing varied but sometimes widespread neurological signs. It was recommended that he be seen by a neurologist for an MRI and CSF tap.
Unfortunately, those advanced tests were too costly. We counseled the owner to consider treatment for GME even though we couldn’t be 100% certain that’s what he had without a CSF tap. He needed immunosuppressant therapy that could get quite costly over time. The owner consented knowing that if this didn’t work, they would have to put Tuck to sleep.

Tuck standing and eating!
We persuaded them to wait for at least the medications to have enough time to see their full effect. We would even take care of his physical therapy/supportive care during the day while they were at work.
We just had a feeling Tuck wanted to get better. After a few more days, one back leg was working better. On Sunday we received the post showing Tuck standing on his own with his head in his bowl. We were elated to see that Tuck was continuing to improve.
Tuck has been a great, great dog to work with. He never says a word with anything we have to do to him and he’s always a willing participant in his therapy. We are all working for him to get him back to function again, but he’s working the hardest.
Keep up the good work Tuck! We are all cheering you on!
by Dr. King