How You Can Help

Cavaliers

Winston the Cavalier

Funding for Cavalier Health Research

Visit For the Love of Ollie website and purchase a copy of ‘For the Love of Ollie’ by Sandy Smith. All proceeds from the sale of this book will be directed towards the Syringomyelia Cavalier genome research fund.

Donate to Rupert’s Fund an intiative by Cavalier pet owners to raise money to fund the MRI scanning of older Cavaliers for the final phase of the DNA research.

Cavalier MattersDonate to Cavalier Matters (registered charity no. 1141674)  –  see www.cavaliermatters.org and  www.cavalier-gift-shop.org

Cavalier Matters charity was founded by Tania Ledger in 2010 to raise awareness of  genetic health issues and provide information to pet owners.  Money raised is donated for research into the health issues of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels; Cavalier rescue and welfare; and campaigning for the reform of dog breeding.

Join the Companion Cavalier Club: www.companioncavalierclub.co.uk

A club for Cavalier owners to share experiences; help and support each other; hold fundraising and social events; link with other Cavalier clubs, the Kennel Club and welfare organisations.

The Cavalier Collection Scheme

An initiative by Margaret Carter to provide Cavalier postmortem tissue for research into genetic diseases suffered by the Cavalier breed. Details below.

Monty the CavalierA dying dog can give hope for the future.

However sad the thought makes us, all our dogs will die at some time.

There are some owners who would like to know that something positive could come out of their loss, and that their sick cavalier could help unravel some of the mysteries of the health problems that beset this lovely breed.

It is possible to donate cell tissue, the basic material needed in the study of cavalierhealth problems, when your cavalier dies. The cavalier can be any age and death can be from any cause.

Tissue is collected to aid research in various important health studies including:-Syringomyelia Genetic Studies at Montreal University in Canada (Dr Zoha Kibar & Dr Clare Rusbridge ) Mitral Valve Disease in Edinburgh (Dr Brendan Corcoran) and Chronic pancreatitis and diabetes mellitus in dogs at Cambridge Veterinary School (pathologist Penny Watson).

On dying, one little dog can give such a gift of life.

The Collection Scheme will help owners donate cavalier bodies by paying for:-

Collection & delivery to the nearest suitable veterinary centre with a pathology department

  • The post-mortem
  • The fee for individual cremation
  • Return of the ashes to the owner
  • Cost of sending the donated tissue to the Universities.

All Cavalier owners are different, some will find themselves uncomfortable at the thought of donating their pet’s body for post-mortem, preferring to bury them in a favourite spot in the garden. There are other owners, however, who would feel positive about volunteering their dog for post-mortem examination, as long as they know they will have their pets’ ashes back and they can decide on their last resting place.

The death of a much loved cavalier is a very emotional occasion and decisions made on the spur of the moment may later be regretted.
Participation in this scheme is something that is best thought through carefully before the loss of the pet occurs.

Any cavalier owner wanting more details are invited to contact:-

Margaret Carter, Tel: 01707 262035 or Email: mareve-ckcs@nullntlworld.com
Tania Ledger, Mobile: 07887 637383 or Email: tania@nullcavaliermatters.org

Participating in the Kennel Club’s Estimated Breeding Values Project by having your dog MRI scanned under the BVA/KC CMSM Scheme

The results of the MRI screening will be automatically sent to the Kennel Club and matched with their pedigree database. The information will be collected until there is sufficient data to provide accurate EBVs.

Campaigning for reform

If you would like to help in campaigning for the reform of dog breeding, you can do the following:

Puppy Farming