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Why you chose a Cavalier,your opinions please...

*Pauline*

Well-known member
I'd love to hear your stories about why you chose a Cavalier and how happy they make you. :flwr:
 
I got a cavalier after my cocker spaniel died I wanted a dog with a tail and use to see a cavalier with his owner he was a big one and so lovely The first cavalier I got came from a puppy farm which I did not know until later he was a beautitful brown and white and was very much love I took him to my vet and find that he had got a bad heart there was no way he was going back to that place I then had Rocky who until about 3 mouths before he died had no problem with his heart so I have had loads of good times but also some sad times Aileen
 
When my dog died, Xena (see In Memoriam), she was 9 years old and it tore me to pieces. I cried so much it made me physically sick. I told Avi how much she loved me, and I loved her too, and I was just heart broken. Avi thought that was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard in his entire life - someone crying over a "stupid" animal.

I told him that I was going to go and find him the most lovey dovey animal on the face of the planet that he would have absolutely no choice but to fall in love with. He of course said "yeah, right.. .. " I was looking into a pug for months because I had a few as a kid and I remember them being so sweet and snorting all the time. I thought it was adorable, but the down-side to a pug was their intelligence. I don't know about ALL pugs, but mine were stupid. All 3 of them. And my granny's too. I was researching breeds online for a few months and I couldn't seem to come up with anything other than a pug.

Then we went to dinner one night with Avi's friend. We left the Pickle Barrel and walked past the pet store where I seen the most ADORABLE little red and white dog I'd ever seen in my entire life. There was also a black and white one, but there was something about the little red and white one. Avi's friend said "oh look at that how cute is he?" ANd I said yeah he is! So he ran into the store full fledged and asked if he could hold him . . I rolled my eyes of course, but when this little red and white monster was in Marc's arms it was the cutest little thing. It chewed the button off of his jacket and when he was put on the ground he humped the crap out of Marc's shoes. It was the funniest thing I'de ever seen. Love at first sight I guess you could say.

When I left the store I asked the lady what kind of dog this was and she said "Cavalier King Charles Spaniel." I was like, a what?! That was the longest name I'de ever seen!! It took me about a week to remember the name in full. WHen I got home that night I went online and took out my little piece of paper and googled the CKCs. It was the most adorable dog I'd ever laid my eyes on. When I read about their intelligence, personality, and enthusiasm for life I knew that was definately the dog for me. I wanted something I could hold onto and cuddle with at all hours of the day or night. The breed seemed like a perfect fit.

Over the next few weeks I researched as much as I could about the breed and contacted every single breeder that lived within a few hours distance. There were a few that had litters coming up, and a few who had some puppies at the time. I got pictures of them all, I even went and seen one, but this little red and white one just kept hopping back into my mind. The one that I seen seemed very subdued and laid back, and I was looking for something a little more fiesty. ;) I spoke to one of the breeders about wanting to rescue, and then about the dog I had seen in the store. She had told me that sometimes different people buy them out of stores and place them into rescues so that they have a chance at having a good life. After thinking many long and hard hours about the decision I was making, I finally decided to return to the pet store and rescue the little red and white guy. I felt like I was giving him a second chance at life, taking an unknown future for a dog and spoiling it rotten. I don't know what would have happened to Kosmo had I left him at the store, and if I was a little more well informed on the background of pet stores before I had gotten him I may have made a different decision, but one thing is certian and that is that I do not regret getting him one bit!! He's made my life so wonderful and happy. :) He's the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing I think of before bed at night. (maybe because it co-incides with potty breaks?) hehe :) He's been the best dog I could have ever asked for and I really don't think I'll ever have another breed.. except for maybe another Xena when I get a big yard. :) Avi is the same too. He is always saying "oh Kosmo you're such a good boy." "Kosmo, did you know I love you?" hehe :)

Sorry to be long winded but this question kind of touched me and it's very personal to me. ;)

Here's the little red and white headed monster the day we brought him home.. maybe I should have used this for the sad eyes!! hehe :p

b31225021.jpg
 
I had a cat who was dying of lymphoma (she was 13). The previous year my other 13 year old cat had died from kidney failure. I knew I wanted to have a pet in the house and had decided that now that I work from home a dog would be great. I happened upon a woman who had a Cavalier and I was instantly sold. I researched all smaller breeds and just kept coming back to Cavaliers. I don't regret my decision for one moment. Liked my first so much...I got a second. Love my second so much....I rescue.
 
It was a childhood memory of "The Lady and The Tramp" the Walt Disney tale which always left a fond memory of the delightful little spanial type dog within the story.

Once I owned one when married with a family at 38, I knew I would be hooked for life.

After taking my rescue P/F Cavalier girls, it only confirmed yet again but even stronger that I would have them around me for ever, especially the little rescues.

I had a reading done once...it tied me in with a little Tan & White dog...at that time I had just owned my first Cavalier "Tilly" ....I was told to see through the sadness for they held great joy......how true was that to be.....even after her sad loss and much heartache with following Cavaliers I still gain that great joy. I didn't remember much else only those words, they struck a chord.

They will always be a part of my life, they are part of me.

Alison, Wilts, U.K.
 
I have had dogs my whole life and when my basset hound was ailing (14.5 years old), I knew she didn't have long to live. I started researching different breeds and found websites where you can put in the traits you like in in a dog and your lifestyle and then it will show you which breeds closely match what you are looking for.

So I put in the positive traits of my viszla, basset hound and other dogs I have had and up came the cavalier to the top of each list. I had never heard of them before. So I read up on them and thought that this breed would fit me.

My bassett, named Humphrey, became too ill and I had to have her put down. The same day I found a cavalier breeder where I lived and she had a 5 month old ruby male that she was looking for a home for. I made an appointment to see him the next day.

You know you cannot leave a cavalier puppy, once you see it. So Pippin came home with me and I have been hooked on cavaliers ever since. Pippin helped me get over my lost Humphrey and he was everything a puppy and a dog can be. He was easy to train, he was so loving and he has such a good disposition with friends, family and even children and strangers.

Only cavaliers for me from here on out. No matter how much they cost and how much their health bills are!
 
We've had dogs at home my whole life. I can't remember ever not having one and I love _ALL_ kinds of dogs. I knew the minute we moved into our house this time last year I wanted one all of my own. I also knew I wanted a small, cuddly house dog because my parents were very strict about the dogs living outdoors, much as they loved them!

How I came to pick a cavalier isn't nearly as cute as Sara's Kosmo story (could be a movie! I can picture her in the window). I had seen Charlotte's little cavalier on sex and the city and it had kind of stuck with me, so I began to research the breed and discovered they were everything I wanted - the most lovable, cuddly, intelligent, mischevious and playful companions you could wish for. I was sold straight away. We got our first cavalier, a tricolour called Aggie last December (her birthday is coming up... 16th October!). She sadly passed away in April. This September we got our current blenheim, Rio.
 
This is a great topic - i love reading people's stories!

I had a little maltese mix named Tasha for 14.5 years and she had to be put down due to old age/health problems - I missed her terribly. :cry*ing: After a few months passed, I still missed having a dog in my life, so we started talking about getting one. Hubby wanted a bigger dog, and I wanted a little dog. I brought home library books about choosing the right dog for your family. We took the test in one of the books and came up with CKSC, French bulldog, and Pug. We had never heard of CKSC, so I went back to the library and brought home a book about them, which we loved, only we had never heard of them and did not know where to buy one. We also learned how expensive they are!!!

Different friends were telling us what breeds they thought would be very good for us - Shih Tzu and Havanese. We went to a dog show to get the names of breeders we could contact. It was fate. We watched the ring showing Havanese, then Cavaliers were shown in it, then Shih Tzus. We could not take our eyes off the Cavaliers! Just watching the way they moved with their tails wagging, and how friendly they were to the judge made us laugh, even the judge was amused by them!

We called the author of one of the Cavalier books, after finding her website on the Internet. She didn't have any tricolor female puppies available, but recommended other breeders, and they in turn recommended others until we finally found our breeder who had puppies available! That's how we found India, our first cavvie baby, she is like a firstborn child to me since I do not have children of my own. :lotsaluv:
 
Well we'd just dropped Aggie off at my mothers house while we were going away for a few days. She was holding her in her arms and just after we drove away aggie managed to wriggle her way down and ran out on the road. She made it across but on her way back was hit by a car. My mother was lucky not be hit also as she ran out after her shouting 'stop'. Unfortunately the car didn't stop, knocked our little girl down and drove off. :( :( :(
A sad story I know and a warning to us about keeping our dogs always on a leash. We were utterly devastated, but reading this board helped come to terms with it and now we have our new little blenheim to dote over.
 
We had several different dogs growing up that were lovely house pets..My lab was my first dog on my own and my first registered dog and my first performance dog..as he is getting older I was thinking I wanted another dog to work with but living in a condo I didn't think another large dog would work so started thinking of other breeds and wanted something with the same happy go lucky attitude of the lab..one of the other members of the kennel club I belong to had Cavs and I started to talk to her and watch some other Cavs in the agility ring..she had a litter about 3 years ago where I really tried to "steal" on of the boys she was keeping but she didn't want to give him up..LOL..I had gone to see Robbie's litter where there were only 2 boys (I actually wasn't really planning on getting a pup to the next year) and she was going to keep them for awhile to see how they turned out..when she called me when they were about 8 weeks old and said she was only going to keep one and was I interested in the other I said yes and Robbie came home to be with us
 
I've always liked dogs, and as a child we owned a Border Terrier for a very short period of time. He was killed on the road. Then when I was 11 or so, my parents- after being encouraged by family friends to get me a dog since I was so good with them- got us a Blue Roan Cocker Spaniel. She was 6 months old at the time, and -having been born on Christmas Day- named Holly. Two days after she came home with us she attached herself to me, much to my brother's disgust. We remained close until my family temporarily moved to Oz for 16 months nearly two years later. One month after our arrival home, and one week after I'd seen Holly once again (we left her with my uncle, and since they lived in Co Fermangh and Holly was settled, we decided not to take her away) she was killed on the road. I was devastated- it would almost have been easier if Holly had died whilst we were away.

Fast forward some twelve years, and I was finally in a position to have a dog of my own as I was moving into my own house. Since I would be living alone, a dog was pretty much a necessity- for company and a certain amount of protection. I knew I wanted something small.

My original idea was to return to my first doggy love, and get a Cocker, but then we visited my uncle who had a totally demented Cocker and I realised I had to rethink. I'm not naturally the most active of people, and I knew it would be unfair to have a dog as hyper as a Cocker in a small house, with a small yard, and comparatively limited walks. Back to the drawing board. I researched Bichon Frises and Yorkies, but rejected one on the grounds of its coat, and the other because of their size and yappy reputation. Then I remembered Cavaliers.... did the research, and the rest is history.

I got Holly II exactly three years ago now, and she's grown from a frighteningly fragile, skinny and nervous pup into a happy and healthy adult. Despite the fact that I originally wanted any colour but B/T, I adore her. My family has been cracking jokes about how Holly will be neglected when I get the pup- she won't be! :? :?
 
Oooooh, these stories are just making my heart melt ... :lotsaluv:

I especially love Sarah's story ... so sweet ... it really was love at first sight. :l*v:

For me, I had read about Cavaliers about about 12 years ago while in school. I told myself then ... "I want one!!!" ... It just wasn't the right time for me then ...

When I decided a few months ago that I was ready to get a dog, I'd researched again lots of breeds and again, the obvious choice was the Cavalier ... I too was so taken by their intelligence, friendliness, etc. And, well, they are also SOOOO cute. :)

I didn't know about the potential health problems and how common they were though ... that said, I think I chose a responsible breeder :xfngr: and I just love Lucky so much ... I'll take care of him no matter what (and like many of us, I'll know better what questions to ask next time around ...).

These dogs are soooo great. I ran across a sweet black & tan named "Tootsie" at the pet store today ... I think it was Lucky's first exposure to a Cavalier since I'd gotten him. That dog was every bit as sweet as Lucky. :) I'm so happy that I got a Cavalier and I'm really enjoying being a part of this community and learning all about everyone and their Cavs too. :)
 
St Patrick's Day 1994! hubby and I were watching Crufts on TV and the commentator said " Cavalier King Charles Spaniels make wonderful house pets" I looked in the newspaper and found three or four ads so I decided to call. Now you have to remember here - I knew nothing about dogs. I didn't know about health problems, lozenge (thumb mark) or anything else about Cavaliers. I called a few people and they were telling me about markings etc and finally I spoke to a woman who had two pups left, a boy and a girl, so hubby and I said we would go straight away and have a look. On route we stopped off and bought a very nice wicker basket and bowls etc (just in case) and when we arrived we were brought into the house and there were two tiny little puppies running in and out of the kitchen. The lady introduced us to the Mom and Dad and I think the Grandmother Cavalier was there also.
Anyway, I couldn't make up my mind about the pups; the male was almost all white with just a sprinkling of brown and the female was almost all brown with this big white mark on the top of her head (the Lozenge) .
She was also much smaller. I sat there for a while and then the female came over to me and butted me in the leg with her head. I looked up at my husband and said "that's it! she's coming home with us!"
I sat in the back of the car with this little puppy sitting in my hand and her head resting on my chest all the way home - it was about an hours drive.

When we got home I just let her explore the downstairs part of the house and when I settled her into bed that night I put a teddy in with her and she slept most of the night- no problem. She was eight weeks old so I had to keep her in until she was twelve weeks and could get her shots etc. During those four weeks I toilet trained her and the best part was when I told her that she had to speak if she needed to go outside. I remember showing her the back door and saying "woof!" and then opening the door . I can't recall how long it took but one day we were all in the lounge and we heard the high pitched woof! and we all ran out to the kitchen to see this tiny little titch looking at the back door :wggle:

Her registered name is Daniella's Dream but we call her Rudee AKA Rudeepoohs! Babykins! Deputy! or Duckydoodles ! She has brought tremendous joy to our family and friends. She was crowned Champion Beggar at the Christmas family dinner of 1995 - a title she retains to this day :badgrin: She has graced our home now for twelve years and eight months and P.G she will be with us for many more years.

Love you Rudeepoohs xxx
 
Claire, :flwr:

That had me in tears!

What a wonderful story about your darling Rudee.

Every time I see her picture I always smile, you have a true treasure in her, such a beautiful kind face.

She was obviously meant to be yours, fate smiled kindly upon you that day. I wish you also many happy years with her yet.

Rudee we all love you :lotsaluv:

Alison, Wilts, U.K.
 
Wow, I really enjoy reading all of these stories. It's just wonderful how everybody came to get their cavaliers. :) I love this thread so thanks Pauline for posting it! Also, where's your story?! :)
 
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