My little dog, Buddy, was in the hospital a week ago. He spent the weekend in the "Animal ER". On Friday night, I was out in the yard with the dogs and I heard Buddy start "screaming". I ran over to him thinking he had encountered a snake or something. He cried and could not stand up. His back legs were totally useless. Buddy is quite heavy for a Jack Russell, (24 pounds) and I could hardly pick him up. I took him to the only vet open on nights & weekends. They kept him til Sunday, he was on pain meds and steroids. The Doc said that he might have just pulled his back out or have spinal stenosis. He x-rayed Buddy's back and showed me a disk that may be the problem. He said that he could not tell for sure without and MRI. (I didn't know that there was an MRI for pets!) Anyway, my bill was already up to $1200., so I opted not to have an MRI. I took Buddy home and have been treating him with meds including steroids. He is progressively better each day. He can walk now, but was falling down for a while until he adjusted. He is still listing to one side. Buddy is 11 years old, so I don't expect that he will return to "puppy status" but I just want him to be comfortable. So add to my jobs, DOG NURSE! Really, I complain, but it is a pleasure to care for such a good little patient. As a mom, I just consider him one of my fur kids!