ROCKY Page 2   For Christmas we had photo cards made up with the following pictures wishing everyone happy holidays! !)   For New Year's Eve we went to a private party and the boys just hung out at midnight.   In January, I noticed that Rocky had a skin tag growing on his left upper eyelid and a tumor-looking thing growing in the corner of the same eye. Back to the vet we go and bless his heart, he had to have surgery to have them removed. Lucky for him, they were both benign and the surgery was a total success and absolutely no scarring is apparent. While he was under the knife, so to speak, I had his teeth cleaned of which he lost one, but boy are they nice and white now!! Rocky loves to chase his tail and is very active. It is such a joy to watch this happy, happy Chow Chow enjoy life! Come March, Chance and Rocky were playing as they do,  when Rocky slipped on a throw rug and started limping. Off to the vet we go again!!! He comes home on rest for two weeks to see if there is any improvement. The two weeks go by and there really isn't any significant improvement. Took him in for x-rays and the news couldn't be worse. . .Rocky has a 'blown knee' meaning he has torn his cruciate ligament and must have surgery.   In the photo of Rocky's knee, he has quite a bit of arthritis compared to the normal knee. He has now been placed on glucosamine.       Of course being the trooper he is, he came through the surgery with flying colors and a lovely blue soft cast on his leg.     Now the long trek to rehabilitation begins as he must be crated for the next 6-8 weeks. No weight bearing for at least the first 2 weeks but since I live in a stilted home, instead of using the sling under his belly to lift his rear end off the ground to minimize the use of the affected leg, I just carry his 57 pound self up and down the stairs. Chance doesn't understand why Rocky has to be crated as he would prefer them together so they can play. It looks like he is asking Rocky, "What did you do to deserve this?" Rocky is doing absolutely great. When we went back to the vet for a follow-up, the vet was impressed with his progress. And the good news is he only needs to be crated for a couple more weeks. The cast is off and the incision is clean, dry and intact. Since Rocky cannot tolerate a cone around his neck to prevent him from getting to his incision, the vet suggested I take a long sleeve t-shirt and place both hind legs in the sleeves and attach the shirt to his harness, but I would have to remove it every time I took Rocky to potty. I thought to myself there has got to be a better way, so I took a tube sock, cut the toe out of it and poked a couple of holes in the top, then took a soft cord and put it through the holes, slipped the sock up and over his incision and tied it up around his back. He never once messed with his leg. After 7 days I removed the stitches, but kept the sock on to insure proper healing. Considering everything Rocky has been through, he has the heart of a true Champion. He and Chance love hanging together and thank you for visiting. I thank you for taking the time to visit, too.