my 11 month old black and tan boy toto just diagnosed with severe onset syringomyelia

[Karlin]

Thanks so much for the update! That's quite a lot to take in. I am glad he will have an MRI as that will give you a lot more information.

[milly]

Thanks so much for the update! That's quite a lot to take in. I am glad he will have an MRI as that will give you a lot more information.

Just to update you on Toto. Toto had his mri last week on wednesday 14th of March in UCD. I received his results on tuesday of this week. Unfortunately Toto does have SM with many malformations of the spine skull and brain. The vet who called me with the results said that Toto is the worst case of syringomyelia that she has ever come across... obviously very upset but not surprised as he was displaying all the symptoms. The options are decompression surgery or medication. The vet from UCD felt that surgery might be too radical an option as Toto is so advanced in the disease already and that it might only put him through a lot of suffering for little results; Hence we are going with the medication route for now and UCD are forwarding their recommendations to my vet so we will see what happens. In the meantime despite everything Toto is still in good form, out for walks, running around the place- its actually hard to believe sometimes that he is so badly affected. He is such a happy friendly little fellow to all he meets both canine and human.

[sins]

So sorry to hear this news,we were all keeping fingers crossed for a better result for him.
It's good that he's still in good form and that the team in UCD are fixing up a plan for medication.
When it comes to surgery,there's no clear yes or no answer,many dogs can do well on medication for a very long time and I'm sure your vets will do everything possible for him.
Sins

[Karlin]

Do you want to give me a call when you feel ready in the next few days? I am happy to talk more about this -- PM me and let me know.

[Margaret C]

In the meantime despite everything Toto is still in good form, out for walks, running around the place- its actually hard to believe sometimes that he is so badly affected. He is such a happy friendly little fellow to all he meets both canine and human.

Bless his little heart, this is so typical of a cavalier. Give him a gentle hug from me.

[susandavis1]

Sorry to hear that this was not a better result for you. Keeping you in my thoughts, sending gentle hugs to Toto

[milly]

Thank you all for your kind and comforting words. It has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster over the past few weeks with Toto and I really still can't take it in that he might not be here for a long time. It really is so sad, I'm probably in denial really as I think somehow it will be fine when of course it wont. However, I just have to move on and enjoy him and spoil him for as long as I can.

[mommytoClaire]

Giving you a virtual hug. Please tell us more about Toto, how you got him, what are his favorite things to do, etc. I want to know him.

[cavalover]

So sorry to hear about Toto. Thanks for the updates. I have been reading and thinking about you and Toto over the past month. He sounds like a very special and loving dog.

[milly]

Giving you a virtual hug. Please tell us more about Toto, how you got him, what are his favorite things to do, etc. I want to know him.

Toto is a really funny little character. He has the most adorable little face, he really would melt your heart to look at him. I have two other dogs, Bailey a 5 year old ruby boy and Roxy a japaneze spitz girl. Roxy and Toto are best friends and they spend all day playing together. Their favourite thing to do is sit on the back of my sofa that faces on to the road outside and watch the world passing by. They also love to play fight and spend hours biting each others ears! So funny to watch. They all love to go for a walk and Toto just loves other dogs. He starts whining if he sees another dog as if to say please can I go and say hello and play. He's also very brave and shows no fear of any dog no matter how big. He is also the boss of the other two and sometimes when I feed him he plays this game where he wont eat his food but just sits guarding it and growls at the other two to keep their distance!! but he is a very gentle soul and loves to come for a cuddle when I sit down, although I know that its not very comfortable for him as he is in pain and so twisted, so I try not to pet him too much or if I do I just try to do it very gently so it doesn't make him uncomfortable. As I speak the three of them are lying on the sofa fast asleep and Toto is perching like a little bird on the back of it. Oh to be a dog...