Help Dexter with his new life

Hi. My name is Jean and this is my little dog Dexter, who many of you in my community know or know of. A rather feisty, (occasionally bad) 8 year old terrier cross. He came to me last May after I lost my little Emmie. He has been healthy, active and has had no injuries. But On Sunday night/Monday morning (Feb9/10) he suddenly developed a very sore back. He was walking but obviously in some pain. It was felt at the vet clinic that he had strained his back somehow and hopefully it would ease in time if he was kept calm and fairly inactive for a bit. That was the hope. Over the following 2 days it went from very sore, to hard to walk, to not walking at all . Somehow this beautiful, loyal little dog had become paralyzed in his back end. No injury, no trauma, just gone. I am in shock. To figure out next steps I will likely have to take him down to Victoria to a specialty hospital for an exam and MRI. Then maybe some kind of surgery - or a life that is utterly changed and probably outfitting him with a set of wheels. For sure there are specialists to visit and tests to be done and these are very expensive. So here I am - reaching out to the community for help with doing the best for Dexter!! Thank you.