You may not remember this sweet pup we rescued two years ago named Boone. He was abandoned down a dirt road so emaciated he could barely walk. He had large decubitus ulcers that required months of surgery and ICU care before they finally healed. We did his heartworm treatments and then found him a wonderful home.
Life was great for Boone whom they named Hooch. He had a Family that loved him, dogs and kids to play with and was surrounded by Love. His Life changed about a month ago. Hooch started to have Neurological symptoms and was not his normal sweet, loving self. He became aggressive with the other dog in the household, the Grandkids were afraid of him, and the Owners were not comfortable with the dog they now had. They took him to a Specialists and could not come up with a solution without extensive testing they could not afford.
Sweet Hooch was brought back to us, and we immediately had him taken to Dr. Jason King, our Neurologist in Savannah, GA. Dr. King recommended an MRI which showed Neurological damage to Hooch's Brain. He recommended a Spinal Tap to get more information and see if he could come up with a definitive diagnosis. Poor Hooch had Spinal Meningitis. The Spinal Tap came back negative for an infection. Unfortunately, Hooch had been on an antibiotic prior to us getting him, and that is probably the reason for a negative result in the spinal fluid.
We have had Hooch for two weeks and have observed lots of Neurological issues that seem to come and go. We have not observed any signs of aggression toward us or the other dogs we have around him. If anything, he is overly affectionate. Dr. King feels the changes Hooch has are consistent with GME Granulomatous Meningoencephalomyelitis. GME is an idiopathic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system (CNS) in dogs. We have had Hooch on Steroids and have just returned from having Dr. King give Hooch an eight-hour Cytosar (Chemotherapy) Infusion.
We have had several dogs with GME and have used the Infusion with great results. We are hopeful dear Hooch will continue to improve after his treatment today. Please, Keep this dear boy in your prayers that he recovers from this or that he at least does not deteriorate further.
Hooch was given back because the Owners could not afford to take care of him. Hooch's Tests to find out what he had cost us close to $6000. We are making progress because we now have results that are pointing us in the right direction. We could keep doing more tests, but Dr. King thinks our money is better spent now treating what we know which is why we did the Cytosar Infusion. Please, Donate whatever you can so we can keep treating Hooch and give him the same chance every dog we have gets. Hooch had come so far from when we first rescued him. He was a healthy, loving dog up until he developed Spinal Meningitis. Please, Help Us, Help him by Donating. We are all he has, and we are not going to put him down without doing everything in our power to save him. Thanks for caring.
