Boston's back legs giving out, falling down

by donna small
(conway,arkansas)

can anyone help me? My 9 year old boston terrier Kobe since December 2009 started falling down, be walking and his back legs giving out, when he goes outside he no longer can raise his leg to relieve himself he has to squat and when he is going #2 he falls over.

in December when it really started to be real noticeable. at first i thought my baby boy was getting old. i took him to the vet 4 weeks ago and he thinks that his brain and nerve endings are not communicating to his back legs. the vet put him on steroids and said that there was nothing he could do - he would have to see a specialist to check his spinal fluid and a cat scan to see if they can find anything else out.

Kobe is now having difficulty breathing like he has a severe cold from his chest and can not breathe thru his nose at all. It is just breaking my heart to see my baby like this. I never could have children so my puppy dogs are my kids. I have always loved animals ans especially dogs. my favorite breed is the Boston Terrier.
if anyone has had the same experience please tell me or if you know what this is - i'm desperate. -Donna Small 2/15/10