SHERYL CROW - ARMSTRONG'S DOG ON THE MEND AFTER HEART SURGERY

A dog SHERYL CROW bought for her fiance LANCE ARMSTRONG is returning to good health, after undergoing an operation to correct a heart problem.

Armstrong's dog REX - a nine-month-old yellow Labrador - had been born with a leaky heart valve, which would inevitably have proved fatal.

So Armstrong had Rex flown to Colorado State University for open-heart surgery on 31 August (05), a procedure lasting more than four hours, and costing over $10,000 (GBP5,500).

The seven-time Tour De France champ says, "He's our family dog. I didn't want to sit down with the kids and say, 'He's only going to live three more months.' I was prepared to do whatever it took; I just wanted (Rex) to live."

Rex is now taking blood thinners and recuperating at both Armstrong's Texas ranch and Crow's California home.

Armstrong adds, "He's going great. It's wild how dogs and kids recover fast."