Oops, Rocket's Birthday

I could have sworn I already posted about this but that must have been on some other forum.

Rocket turned 11 last week, on the 21st. He had a nice breakfast of lamb and rice kibble with some "country stew" on top, followed by his usually walk through the woods to Uncle Butch's house where he spent the day, also as usual. A couple days earlier the morning was cool for August so we and Luna, of course, took a long walk down to Mud Lake where everyone had a dip and Rocket could also have a little fun walking through the big culvert under the road. He is an avid spelunker and has often squeezed his large frame into 15 inch diameter culverts. I try to persuade him not to do that because I fear he'll get stuck one day but he insists. So far, so good.

I also took him to the vet last week to have his blood and urine checked. He is on arthritis medication and it can cause liver and kidney damage. The vet says he's "tolerating the drug well".
I am glad as it's made a new dog out of him. Unfortunately, though it eases the pain, it can't fix his age. I'm afraid his right rear leg is going to give out on him eventually. Even now of it drags over a root or other ground obstruction it will collapse under him. He simply gets up and keeps going.

He's a wonderful dog.