This is a picture of our sweet Shiloh, an 8 month old female Golden/Great Pyrenees mix who was found in a small shelter in Tennessee. We brought her into our program and very shortly after she was adopted. Then she started limping and showing signs of a neurological problem. Vets in Alabama, where her family lived, were unable to diagnose what Shiloh’s problem was so we brought her back to us to better diagnose her situation – she seemed in pain and even after a few days staying quiet at the vet, she was no better. She went to GVS here in Atlanta where a neurologist could examine her and give her the necessary diagnostic tests. Sadly we were not able to save her. An exam by the vet showed she had a definite neurological impairment. Although the MRI was normal, the spinal fluid showed a massive infection to the spinal column caused by Toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is very rare in dogs and it is even rarer to be in the spinal fluid. Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the presence of a parasite known as Toxompasma gondii. The parasite can infect a dog when raw meat is consumed that contains toxoplasma cysts. Dogs that have a weak immune system are more likely to develop the disease. Shiloh was a stray and then went to a terrible shelter. We assume she became infected while she was a stray and because of the poor conditions in the shelter was not able to fight off the progression of the disease. Once the source of the infection was identified Shiloh was treated very aggressively with steroids and antibiotics however, despite those efforts, she continued to decline and today was not able to walk at all without assistance and had lost control of both her bowels and bladder. Since there was no hope for recovery she was euthanized this afternoon. As always, our mission is to always, regardless of cost, do what is best for the dogs in our program, the healthy and the sick. When we cannot restore a dog to health or at least provide a reasonable quality of life, we honor our commitment by providing a safe, loving and gentle passage from this life… and that is what we did for Shiloh.