There were a few nice events since returning to Toronto: Eugene Onegin directed by Robert Carsen performed by the Canadian Opera Company for example. Even, I am more and more bored by love stories - as they are so predictable - this was a well done interpretation. Then I am also working on a book chapter on the “One Belt, One Road Initiative in a Multipolar world”. Good, I did not start earlier, because the mid term global trade scenarios are changing swiftly. Well, that’s about Trump - not exactly a love story, but also predictable. I am not Stormy Daniels, if you catch my drift. But the biggest heartbreak I had, was Eddie, the dog, making a big jump down the stair case and hurting himself quite seriously. At the emergency vet in Scarborough, it did not look like a fracture, as he put weight on the left paw. So he (33 kg) got 300 mg Gabapentin, a sedating pain killer three times daily, and Metacam, an anti-inflammatory, at the highest dose possible, every 24 hours. Australian shepherds are very active dogs and here this is not helpful. It was the left paw in question, and even I did not feel any swelling, when I saw no improvement the next few days I thought bandaging it to support an immobilize would be a good idea. A friend from the Netherlands, whose wife is a vet, indicated that I did it the wrong way and I also did not see any improvement, so I took it off after a day. Time to see a vet again and determine what is actually happening. My neighbor suggested to see the Shoreview Vet Clinic in Scarborough. I got an appointment immediately and saw Dr. Janice Wozniak and team. Great experience: super organized, competent and friendly. I first was confused that I had to sign a document, not to harass them. Why would anybody harass them ever? But they must have their reasons. After a thorough examination, Janice suspected it must be the left shoulder, not the leg. It reminded me of a friend who was a doctor on an emergency helicopter in Germany for some time in his career and had the ability to understand the condition of a body without any imaging diagnostics: just sit down, use your hands and feel with what’s going on (he told me, I had two broken ribs once, but that’s a different story). So, Eddie, the dog, was up for x-ray pictures to see what’s going on in the shoulder. For that, they need to turn the leg into weird positions, and that needs anesthesia. Honestly, I was quite hesitating. Eddie has a genetic mutation called MDR -/- and a wrong deworming medication by the breeder, nearly killed him when he was 8 weeks old (again, that’s a different story). But here they were aware of that and the technician suggested that I give him a preparation drug 2 hours before sedation. We scheduled for 8:30 in the morning, but I was early to be sure I won’t get stuck in the traffic and find parking. All went well, pictures taken, and I got a call around 11:00, that Eddie is up and I can get him home. He was very shaky and miserable, I think he had a hang over. We doubled the Gabapentin dose to 600 mg x 3 daily. But I did not give him any that day, so he has a chance to get everything else (what ever it was) out of the system first. The result was good: no fracture and also no indication that a surgery is needed. Suggestion: continue the medication and rest. Trying to keep an Australian Shepherd rested, is not that easy though. Only very short walks, okay. But then there is the staircase. And when I come back, this guy dashes down to greet me, ouch! So I block the staircase. Still, when I come back, he jumps up to greet me, ouch! This is actually a very smart dog, and I am puzzled, he has no memory of what will happen when he does that. Anyway, I guess, here we are back to Stormy Daniels, and how the world is strange but predictable.