Kookie: now 2 years old, was diagnosed with SM/CM at just 4 months old
A lack of screening means more and more Cavaliers are falling victims to heart problems and another painful condition caused when the dog’s skull is too small to accommodate its brain causing fluid-filled cavities that destroy the spinal cord.
Cavalier lovers, including Revel Horwood and his partner Damon Scott, TV presenter Lisa Riley, Made In Chelsea star Binky Felstead, Dr Dawn Harper from This Morning, magician Paul Daniels, dancer Robin Windsor, Pixie Lott, Deborah Meaden, Linda Robson, Fern Britton, Michele Collins, Annabel Giles and Mark Evans, the TV vet are among over 3,000 backing an online petition.
They claim the Kennel Club is not doing enough to ensure that Cavaliers are screened for Mitral Valve Disease and Syringomyelia before they are bred from.
Craig and Damon were told recently their Cavalier Sophie, who has MVD, has months to live. “She is the most beautiful little girl. We need to make sure all Cavaliers are MRI scanned and heart tested before breeding,” says Revel Horwood.
“We should be breeding for health, not creating awful problems for our loved pets,” insists Deborah Meaden, a well-known animal lover.
Has the KC learnt nothing?
Despite labelling itself “the UK’s largest organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting the health and welfare of all dogs”, campaigners say the Kennel Club has failed to take a strong stance, despite outrage after the TV documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed that showed Cavaliers screaming in pain. This resulted in the BBC ditching its coverage of Crufts in 2008.
“The Cavalier is in serious trouble and the Kennel Club needs to do much more. Mandatory testing for both these conditions is the bare minimum,” says Jemima Harrison, the documentary’s director.
“How many more scientists need to raise the alarm before something is done? How many more Cavaliers have to suffer before we see real action to save this breed?”
A “Cavalier” attitude to health and welfare
“Many people wrongly believed losing the BBC’s Crufts’ coverage was a watershed but most breeders continue to mate Cavaliers that are untested. Even puppy farmers are able to register their litters with the Kennel Club,” reveals Margaret Carter, petition organiser and Cavalier campaigner.
“There is a voluntary MRI screening scheme for CM/SM but most of the small number of breeders who do scan don’t submit their results to it,” concedes Carter. The need for an official scheme for MVD was agreed in 2008 but nothing has materialised, showing there is no genuine will for reform.”
The Signatories
Catherine Farnsworth bought two-year-old Kookie started showing severe symptoms of CM/SM at just four months. “He was KC registered but his parents were not tested,” she says. “On bad days, he is very vocal. It’s distressing to watch and the vets are running out of options to keep him comfortable.”
Mother-of-three Charlotte Mackaness says her family was distraught when their first Cavalier died of MVD. “Just months later our two-year-old, Beebee, was diagnosed with CM/SM. Like many with SM, much of Beebee’s pain is around the head and neck so my children can’t play with her like before.
“Beebee’s breeders have won several Crufts’ Best of Breed titles and came highly recommended from a Cavalier Club puppy coordinator but we’ve since learnt their health record is far from ideal. While they collect trophies, all our darling dog has to look forward to is a life of pain.”
WHAT IS MITRAL VALVE DISEASE?
MVD is a degenerative disease of the heart valves that leads to congestive heart failure. In 2009 a report by a leading veterinary cardiologist stated that 50 per cent of Cavaliers develop MVD heart murmurs by their fifth birthday. It is the biggest killer of Cavaliers under 10.
WHAT IS CM/SM?
Syringomyelia is a painful neurological condition most often seen in Cavaliers, although other breeds like their close relations the Brussels Griffon are also seriously affected. It is often attributed to Chiari-like malformation (CM) of the skull. Put in lay man’s terms, the skull is too small for the brain causing severe pain and forming fluid-filled that cavities that destroy the spinal cord.
View the petition at https://www.change.org/p/the-uk-kennel-club-stop-registerin-g-cavalier-king-charles-spaniel-puppies-unless-their-parents-are-mri-scanned-and-heart-tested
For more information, please contact Margaret Carter at mareve047@gmail.com or call 01707 262035.
I have lost a Cav to MVD and now my ex puppy farm rescue has MVD. She is on medication twice a day but at grade 5 we don’t know how long she has with us. After all she has been through this is so cruel. Please everyone help these beautiful dogs. They don’t deserve this just because of mans greed.