SPINAL ARACHNOID CYSTS IN 2 SHIH-TZU LITTERMATES

Progressive ataxia and quadriparesis in two shih tzu littermates was f ound to be caused by almost identical, cranial cervical, spinal arachn oid cysts. The cysts were treated surgically by dural marsupialisation via a dorsal laminectomy, One pup recovered uneventfully and remains clinically normal more than a year after surgery. The second pup made a slow and incomplete recovery before the signs worsened, necessitatin g euthanasia. Postmortem examination showed no evidence of the re-form ation of the cyst.