Mr. Bynx

I have known Mr. Bynx for a number of years. Recently his Mom gave me permission to share his story so that others could see how well our animals can handle certain ordeals.

Last April, we received a phone call informing us that his left eye wasn’t looking quite right. During the physical exam, his left eye was enlarged and painful. He was sent into the CARE Centre for an examination with one of their eye specialists. It turned out that he had glaucoma (an inherited disorder causing increased pressure in the eye). There was significant damage to the optic nerve causing blindness in that eye.

Another issue was found as well. Both eyes had retinal degeneration (aka progressive retinal atrophy) and it was slowly causing blindness. Unfortunately there is no treatment for this disorder but it is non-painful.

At this point, the best option for Bynx was to have his left eye enucleated (removed) so he would not have to endure the pain associated with glaucoma. There are medications to control pain in the short term but it is difficult to control medically in the long term. His Mom called to ask my opinion on the surgery. I fully supported it and told her that once the hair has grown in, he would still look adorable.

She later told me that part of the problem with making the decision to have the surgery done was that she couldn’t picture how he could possible look normal. Well, as you can see from the picture, this is one cute, happy boy. He still has sight in his right eye and walks with his Mom all the time.