Pug Dog Encephalitis PDE

Oh! That is good news!
We would like to follow his progress, please update regularly.

Hi Maryann

So sorry to hear what you and your precious baby are going through right now. I sent you a PM, I am on Long Island and was wondering how close you were.

I lost my Angel Pugweiser to PDE on 4/1/07, just shy of him turning 4yrs old. Im pretty sure more than 50% of the Pug Addicts here watched my Angel grow up through the happy stories and pics.........but all the friends I had made through the forum also cried and lived my worst nightmare battling PDE right with me. Its amazing how much the supportive people here can give you strength through it all. Please keep us all updated, this is one of the greatest support groups/family you can possibly have.............

I know I have been M.I.A. lately (having some personal issues) but I truly love and appreciate all of the friends I have here <3

Love & Hugs
Renee, Pugweiser (My Angel), Junior, Frito, Elliot, & Squirt

My 4 year old Pug has been diagnosed with Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE) this week. After exhaustive tests to rule out everything under the sun from Addison's Disease to Cushings to spinal cord injury, the brain MRI finally revealed mild third ventricular enlargement associated with inflammtory brain disease. And the CSF revealed eosinophilic menengitis/meningoencephalitis. We proceeded to rule out fungal and viral causes such as toxoplasmosis, tick borne diseases, west nile virus, cryptococcus, etc...refusing to accept a PDE diagnosis, but are now pretty much left with no other options. I have read every piece of information online about PDE that I could get my hands on, but now I am trying to reach out to other Pug parents that might have suffered through this disease, I would like to hear about your experiences with this devastating disease. Also, I am looking for anyone who can recommend a good doggy neurologist in Florida, I want my Corkey to have the best chance at beating this disease. Please help.

I am so very sorry you have this diagnosis. It sounds like you have done, and WILL do, everything for your precious baby. I urge you to start another thread asking for help as sometimes important posts and requests can get lost when they are added in old threads. The best person in the U.S. to ask for advice is Dr Kimberly Greer. She is dedicating her career to finding answers to this horrible disease. Her contact details are as follows....

Kimberly A. Greer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Indiana University East
2325 Chester Blvd.
Richmond, IN 47374
Office: 765-973-8445
Fax: 765-973-8430

I will "spell" out her email address so it is not picked up by spambots - kagreer @ iue . edu

She is incredibly helpful and compassionate. She is a Pug-lover and owner.

As I suggested, please start a new thread. We are an incredibly compassionate bunch around here and there is a wealth of knowledge about Pugs. Welcome. I wish it were under happier circumstances.

I am so very sorry that you've been given this diagnosis. I'm not in Florida so can't help you with a neurologist.

This is such a hard diagnosis to come to grips with. There are several people on this board who have dealt with PDE and can give you some advice or direct you to sites that may be useful.

Unless things have changed dramatically with PDE, at this point, it can't be beaten. It is universally terminal. I hope and pray that I'm wrong and that something has changed, but I don't think it has.

Focus on having Corkey have quality of life and try not to think about the quantity. Very hard to do for us humans who think in terms of linear time--but dogs live in the moment.

Again, I'm sorry that you are confronting this. Blessings to you and to Corkey

Thanks for your replies Aussie Witch and Northern Witch. I have sent an e-mail to Dr. Greer. I will let you know if she responds. I hear you ladies about quality and not quantity. I am all about quality of life, I would rather have him for only 1 year, happy, healthy, bouncy, etc... than try to keep him around for 5 or 6 years pumped up full of drugs and feeling sick and puny all the time. I also don't want to do anything so aggressive that might send the PDE into remission but end up breaking another organ down such as the liver or the pancreas and have him end up dying anyway. I have an appointment for him next week with a DVM that specializes in TCVM. I believe in western medicine, but if what he has is terminal and western medicine has not been shown to cure it, then I would rather take an approach that balances both eastern and western medicinal practices and see how he does. I am still on the look-out for a doggy neurologist though because I want the honest, no kidding, prognosis for this disease. My analytical brain knows that everything I have read so far is doom and gloom, but my heart tells me to hold on to hope and to find a way to kick this PDE in the gut.

Maryann, you have gotten some great advice from folks here who are far more knowledgeable than I am. All I can say is that you and your boy will be in my prayers, and please keep us posted.

He's very lucky to have you as his mum. Yes, the prognosis is grim, but even when you accept the inevitable, the love we have for our babies means we never give up. Dr Greer is usually very good about responding. We're here for you.