THE BACKGROUND
Our litter of English Springer Spaniel pups arrived March 14, 2017. Our female, Rouge, was two years old and delivering her first litter. She brought forth 8 pups, 6 females and 2 males. All the pups were healthy and alert. Throughout their 12 weeks with us, they were spirited, raucous, curious, and all the characteristics one encounters with healthy puppies.
When weaning time came, we started them on mostly raw food; mince meat, goat’s milk kefir, eggs, and a bit of high quality puppy kibble. We opted not to give them the standard vaccinations, wanting to give the pups’ immune systems time to develop (about 6 months) before challenging them with foreign substances. Nor did we arbitrarily use worming medicines, rather we took stool samples to the vet for analysis, determining to only use them if needed. (BTW, none of the pups ever had worms during the 12 weeks).
Ranger, one of the two male pups, ended up coming back to us because the new owner decided it was too big of a commitment. We decided to keep him and increased our pack to 3 dogs. He was very healthy and thriving.
THE CASE
At about 6 months old we took all 3 dogs afield for our annual bird hunting trip. Shortly after we returned, Ranger began to feel ill. He began to lose his appetite, was losing energy, and looked like he was often in pain. He began to present with some neurological ‘ticks’ like turning his head down, and to the right side when he yawned. He had a gray/green mucous discharge constantly forming in his eyes. Soon we started noticing his muscle mass deteriorating; particularly throughout his facial and head muscles, but his hips started to lose muscle also. He began to have tremors where he would twitch and wobble even sitting down. At his worst he would barely be able to stand, and could not chew food very well.
We started in with veterinarian visits and various lab tests right away but nothing ever showed up as positive. We employed regular vets, chiropractic/acupuncture vets, holistic vets, specialty vet clinics, etc. We also began to study on the internet and searched veterinarian websites earnestly. I actually suspected Ranger perhaps had masticatory muscle myositis (MMM) or the related polymyositis and mentioned it early on during the testing. Eventually after exhausting many test options our vets decided to test for MMM. The test came back positive; above the borderline levels. Our vet told us there was little hope for recovery. Ranger by this time had become quite emaciated and weak. At the advice of both our regular and holistic vet we began a regimen of steroids; prednisolone. We needed to get Ranger’s immune system to stop attacking his musculature and give his body a rest from the constant immune response he’d been dealing with.
The prognosis wasn’t very good according to the vets. Ranger may have to live his life on steroids they told us. Unwilling to accept that we again sought treatment advice online; looking for a natural healing remedy. That’s how we found McDowell’s Herbal.
THE TREATMENT
I immediately contacted McDowell’s with info about Ranger’s condition. They were extremely helpful and suggested a protocol tailored specifically towards MMM. We purchased the tinctures and began a correspondence with them; keeping them updated regarding Ranger’s condition. Even before the tinctures arrived, we began to implement the diet portion of the protocol, adding the suggested supplements to Ranger’s meals.
The prednisolone initially was a life changer for Ranger. Within 24 hours he began to improve. His puppy energy levels began to return, his appetite increased, and his pain began to recede. We kept him on the steroid for about 2 ½ months; working with our holistic vet intending to begin tapering down his dose as his conditions improved. And his conditions did improve!
Ranger slowly began to regain his strength. His playfulness and energy returned, the discharge in his eyes stopped, his neurologic ticks disappeared, and his facial and hip musculature began to regrow. We tapered him off the prednisolone slowly; watching for any signs of potential relapse, but saw none. After 2 ½ months he was off pred entirely.
THE UPDATE
We kept up the correspondence with McDowell’s and Ranger stayed on the MMM protocol for about 8 months. We eventually weaned him off the protocol tinctures, but continued the dietary regimen they suggested. Ranger today is vigorous and vibrantly healthy; larger than both his mom and dad. He is amazingly fast and can outpace almost any dog. Contrary to what our standard vet had told us would not happen, Ranger’s damaged musculature actually did return to normal! Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the professionals who helped with Ranger’s recovery and especially to the McDowell’s staff!
Bob & Jyneal Tucker
