Chai got her Help Em Up Harness through FedEx today. It goes around the shoulders and the hips and has handles so you can pick your dog up when need be. We'll just leave it on all day, so I can grab it when she's trying to stand up, or when we go outside, which involves steps.
I wish I had followed my suspicion last year that Chai had DM and gotten her diagnosed. Then we would have had more time to do rehab exercises and stretches, to keep her strong and mobile. Just in the weeks that I've had a broken foot, and then the flu, the DM has progressed and her walking has gotten less steady.
By the way, I got Chai diagnosed by sending a blood sample to a research study at the University of Missouri. They found a DNA marker saying she is at risk/affected. It's not a definitive diagnosis, but with the gene marker, and showing the symptoms of DM, dragging her foot, muscle weakness in the rear legs, etc., she gets the diagnosis.
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