We started this site for us. To help us grieve and remember. But also because Binky touched a lot of people. As I write this, it’s Saturday. Four days after we said our goodbyes to our bestest boy.
Binky had a lot of vet appointments the past few years. We first found out he was sick when we brought him in for his regular every-six-months check-up. The vet felt his lymph nodes and you could just see her expression change.
We hadn’t noticed the swollen nodes. They were under his collar and just in a place we didn’t normally pet or scratch him. He hadn’t shown a single symptom or given us any indication he wasn’t feeling well. I don’t remember what the vet said, but it was something like “Oh, crap.”
The rest of Binky’s cancer journey is a story for another day. I want to honor the amazing work Dr. Megan Breit and her team at Blue Pearl did with Binky appropriately, and I don’t feel quite able to do that yet.
Today, I want to talk about another of Binky’s care team. Her name is Constance, and she works at Green Lake Animal Hospital as a Cold Laser Therapy technician.
Cold Laser Therapy is a common treatment for feline and canine arthritis (human arthritis and pain too). It’s non-invasive and usually causes no ill effects. Basically, the tech just moves the cold laser wand over the joints. There are no needles. It generally causes the animal no pain at all and from what we understand, actually feels pretty good to them. Maybe a gentle warmth if anything.
Anyway…
Constance always made sure to tell us all about Binky’s visit when she brought him back out to us. We only started Cold Laser Therapy after the onset of COVID, so we’ve actually never been inside Green Lake’s offices. But Constance would come out and collect Binky, carry him inside (he never needed a carrier because he was just THAT chill), give him his treatment, and then bring him back out to us.
She and Binky had a special bond. More than once, she told us she loved him. And not just in the “He’s such a great cat” way. Not in the “I love him like I love all of my cute feline patients” way. The way she said it? The way she treated him? How she talked to him?
She loved him.
Constance diagnosed his eye ulcers. She was concerned because his eye looked a little swollen, pulled in the doctor, and got him treated. The last time she saw him, only 3 days before he passed, she cleaned out his ears. No charge. Just saw his ears were dirty and cleaned them.
I have absolutely zero doubt that she loved him.
Today, we brought Constance and the rest of the staff at Green Lake Animal Hospital pastries. We called the front desk and asked if Constance had a few minutes to come out, and she was outside almost before we got out of the car.
And for the first time in over a year, I hugged someone I don’t live with. She didn’t care. I didn’t care. (Yes, we were both wearing masks, and John and I had our first vaccine dose just the other day.)
She knew already. The vet who came out to help ease Binky’s passing let them know because Green Lake is where his ashes are going. But still, of all the people who’ve treated Binky over the years, she was the one I knew loved him the most. Sharing a hug with her, it was possibly what I needed most in this world today.
Constance knew Binky had a big heart and a big soul. That he was simply…more. And today, we got to honor that with her for a few minutes. We will never forget what she did for our boy and how much she loved him.