Woof! Humans will tell ya, us dogs have quite the life; we eat, sleep, play, repeat. Ah yes, quite the life indeed, that is until some bad dude comes to invade our body, when that happens being a dog is not so fun. Furiends, do you know what granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) is? With Mom’s help, I was able to figure out it is inflammation of our brain. What her and I both didn’t know, how dangerous this is for us dogs! Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) in dogs will threaten our central nervous system and our lives.
Arf! Furiends, we have amongst us a furiend in need, Benson. Benson didn’t know what was happening, he first lost his one eye, shortly he began shaking all over. I believe humans name this shaking, seizures; my sister, Betty Boop had this a lot. Let me bark this, they are scary! Benson is fighting for his life and trying to stop his body from shaking. Lone Star Shih Tzu and Lhasa Apso rescue group has been providing pawsome care for Benson, they need our help though.
Grrr, this bad dude can come on very quickly, without any scent, sound or smell; both us and our humans are not given any warning. GME has three types:
- Focal: this just affects one area of our central nervous system
- Multifocal: this will be in more than one area
- Ophthalmic: Yep, you guessed it, our eyes; will leave us blind; this is the one that comes on all of sudden.
How are our parents to know if we may have GME? We will have blindness, drowsiness, circling, seizures, behavior changes, and weakness in our hind legs or all four legs depending on where the lesion is located. Another symptom we may show head pressing, we may press our head into a wall, furniture all the time. Also, we will have head pain, which is why the heading pressing; for humans that have migraine pain, this is what we are feeling.
Woof! Do not panic if you are doing one of these symptoms, however, talk to your vet immediately. Doc will be able to help your parents determine what is causing the symptoms and what the next steps are.
Back to Benson, Benson needs our help for recovery; would you be so kind to help with a few pieces of kibble? Furiends, I totally understand if unable to share your kibble; however, would you be so kind in sharing this article far and wide? All together, we can help Benson! Woof!