Our bestest man at our wedding yesterday- Jake- our Superdoggy

Haven't posted in so long because I was planning my wedding, which was yesterday and it was GREAT! The best news is Jake is doing well and he made it to the wedding and was able to be one of the groomsmen (see above). When we first set our wedding date and then found out Jake's diagnosis we wondered if he would make it. We're SO grateful he is OK and was able to be part of our most special day.

To recap the past month:

Steroid taper:  Memorial Day weekend we attempted to taper again and he reacted the same way, had a really hard time getting up, started throwing up and having urinary accidents in the house. Dr Joseph put him on an antibiotic (even tho bloodwork showed no issues), reverted back up on his steroid dose and he was good as new! With the wedding coming we didn't want to risk him taking a downturn so we didn't initiate another taper but will starting tomorrow. This time we will not let him skip a day of steroid and will try going from 1 full pill, 1/2 pill, 1 pill, 1/2 pill.... to 1/2 pill, 1/2 pill, 1/2 pill, 1 pill and then repeat. We've learned how senisitive he is and that skipping a day of meds is torture for him. A slower taper is better than no taper.

Other updates: The gag/cough thing he was doing is only 1-2 times per day now (best ever), he's willing to go on longer walks but is still slow. He's wagging his tail a lot showing he's happy and wants to spend more time bein in the middle of the family action again rather than going off in the hallway by himself. When family comes over he greets them and wags his tail. He now even barks at the tv again when animals are on- I think either his vision has improved or he is less dizzy so he's able to see the tv more clearly again. He walks more straight, leans on the wall less often but his back end does still drift at times. He's able to stand stronger and pee without us holding him so he doesn't fall over.

Back legs: Jake still doesn't seem to have proper strength or control over his back legs. He won't go up stairs but there are times when he tries. He has started to put his front paws up on the 1st step of the staircase but then stops. A few times I've been able to encourage him strongly to try and he goes up a few steps but seems to be dragging his undercarriage. However 2 days ago he came back from the groomer and was strong enough to walk up 2 flights of stairs completely by himself- totally weird and don't know why. Another reason we know there's a problem with his back legs is because he used to do agility and could jump up very high and he would jump up during dinner time to ask for his carrots. Now he tries to jump but can only lift his front legs and his back legs stay firmly planted on the ground like they're glued down- very weird.

Overall, Jake is a blessing and we are grateful for every moment we have with him. As long as he continues to have more days than not when he's wagging his tail, smiling, happy to see us and eating and drinking well it is a great day!