Enjoying a nap

Jax is hanging out with his snowman buddy taking a nap!  Jax is doing well.  He has been eating his food and taking some walks, playing with the kids and enjoying the great outdoors!!!  He could sit outside and people watch all day... everyday!  That is his favorite pastime.  I am so thankful this holiday season to say that he is well.  He is still really weak and the ice has been rough but he is our trooper!!  Happy Holidays!  

 

Yummy!  Jax is eating his peanutbutter Kong!!! Notice that he has peanutbutter all over his whiskers, and in his arm pit! Ha! LOL.  He was a licking machine!  Jax has been doing okay.  His back legs are definitely stiff which makes him slow to stand up.  He definitely has been enjoying the cooler weather.  He would stay outside all day/night if he could he just loves seeing everyone walk by!  He has his friends that always stop by to say hi and play for a few minutes.  He enjoys rolling around on the ground licking them!  He still has a glow in his eyes when I say his name his ears perk up and his tail starts to flap.  I just love him!  He always makes me smile!

Happy Monday!  Jax has had a great week.  He has been going for short walks around the block (sometimes it takes a while) but he tries.  He was so excited when I said walk last night that he actually tried to run!  There was some hopping involved.  It made my heart happy to see him get so excited.  He has been eating fairly well so I think we have kept his weight stable for a month or so now!  Yippie small victories to celebrate.  Time for some snuggles with the fur ball.

 

Jax had an adventure this weekend!  He went to Sugarloaf ski mountain with us for a night!  No snow yet but the foliage is amazing!  Jax was so excited to be there his nose was going crazy with all the smells!  We took a little walk down the mountain near the condo where we were staying and he had to lay down!  He loves being outside but the walk was really difficult for him.  We didn't go far from the condo at all and took our time outside letting him just rest in the grass!  I wanted to cry!  It is tearing my heart out watching him try to do something and then fall, trip or lay down because its too much.  I think back to this time last year and he was chasing the kids in the leaves!  Here are some pictures of his trip.

Jax had a rough time last night at the field.  I took him in the car to see my sons flag football game.  He was so excited to go!  He was so happy!  When we got there we took a slow short walk around the field.   He fell down a few times so I had to help him get to a standing position.  Poor pup!  He was so happy to see all the kids and be out with everyone.  Today he got to rest and lay on his bed!! He ate well yesterday and today...yippee!  I feel so glad when he eats his food.  He has gotten so skinny!  He looks so snugly in this picture!  I think I need some cuddle time!

Jax had a good weekend.  He ate most of his food (mixed with yummy chicken) and played with the kids.  He has been laying in his spot by the tree outside all morning.  He enjoys all the walkers and other dog friends that pass by.  He hasn't eaten his breakfast yet today but I am hoping he will in a bit!  Good day so far and the sun is shinning!  Hope to get in a little walk!

I wanted to start from the beginning... this is JAX this is his first week (April 2013) with us and he was just 10 weeks old!!!  Just look at that face, our hearts all melted!  He was so little.  Jax is the 5th member of our family.  He loves to play with the boys!!!  He was a normal little puppy, biting, chewing, napping, running....
He grew so fast!  We had noticed early on that he tended to be "clutsy" but we just figured he was a growing puppy and just hadn't quite figured out how to be coordinated.  By the end of the summer he was already almost 60 pounds! This is a picture of him this past January 2014.  Yes he is pulling my son on his sled around the block.  He loved every minute!!!  

Toward the end of winter around March and April 2014  we started to wonder if something was wrong with his back legs.  He had fallen a lot more then usual and he seemed to limp and seem lame, he wasn't running around like he had been and seemed "lazy."  By May 2014 he  was having a hard time standing up from a down position and when he would play with other dogs he would just lay down and play on the ground.
In June 2014 we took him to to our veterinarian for a check up and asked about his back legs.  He had now turned 1year old and he was starting to act like an old man.  The Vet thought that he might have hip dysplasia which is common in larger breed dogs.  We scheduled an x-ray to see what was really going on.  The x-ray showed that his back hips were loosely in his sockets and could easily pop in and out of place.  She thought he would need some physical therapy and maybe even surgery.  We were devastated by that diagnosis, but somehow I just didn't feel that it was the right diagnosis.  He had been deteriorating so quickly.  He wasn't running, having problems standing, tripping and falling often, not eating well, and had seemed to develop a wheezing when he was out walking.  We followed the vets instructions though and set up an appointment with a specialist for some physical therapy.  When I called the office I talked to the receptionist about the appointment and then asked if we could see the neurologist that day as well.  I had been doing some reading online and his symptoms seemed to be more neurological.  Long story short... it was a long day at the specialist and within 5 minutes the PT doctor agreed that we should see the neurologist that same day.  Well it wasn't good news... They took Jax for some quick neurological exams and within 30 minutes they sat us down and told us he had degenerative nerve disease which is similar to ALS.  There is no cure or treatment.  I thought I was in a bad dream.  He is only 1!!!  He is a puppy!  He can't have ALS?!!!  He was just running around with the kids 3 months ago.   It has been a couple months since the diagnosis and we have had some time to come to terms with it.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about his condition.  I have a knot in my stomach all the time.  I am launching this blog site to help myself through this painful process of acceptance.  I want to remember Jax and all of the amazing things he has brought to our family in such a short amount of time.

This is Jax in September 2014.  He has lost about 10 pounds, has trouble standing up, but is still very lovable!  He just loves everyone!  Right now we are feeding him anything he wants (for the most part) exercising him with short walks and giving him tons of love.  

Right now he is looking at me wanting to snuggle and play!!!