Beautiful Cavaliers

Hi all, introducing myself, I have two beautiful Cavalier sisters who are 2 1/2 years old, Molly (tri-colour) and Bonnie (blenheim). Molly is the picture of health, however Bonnie is not so lucky, in her short life she has had one drama after another, she was diagnosed with SM when she was about 8 months old, after having toxoplasmosis at the same time, we thought we might loose her as she couldn't even balance herself sitting let alone walk. However we got through that and have since been treating the SM with prednisolone which has been pretty good apart from the weight gain. Bonnie also had to have her eye removed due to it causing continuous problems and not having any sight in it anyway. She has also been trod on by one of the horses which caused her to lose a toe. In regards to the SM we are now adding Garbapentin (under the guidance of a specialist) into her medication as her condition is starting to deteriorate to the point that her back legs collapse and she is unable to walk, you pick her up and she would scream, had a bad episode the other night when it took an hour before she was back to normal. Who would have thought that one little dog could have so many dramas and still remain happy and loyal.
So thought I would join this website to share similar experiences with other people who have a love of their Cavs.

Paula

Welcome, Paula, and I'm sure you will find lots of help and support on this Forum, where so many of us are also coping with health problems in our beloved Cavs.

Do hope your vet/s can continue to help Bonnie - what a lot of problems for one poor dog and her owner.

Look forward to reading more posts from you

Hello and welcome, poor little Bonnie, she must be made of strong stuff :wggle:
You will find lots of info and support here.

icon_welcome
Poor Bonnie, she's had a time of it alright! We would love to see some pictures if you can post one or two.
This is a great site, you'll be right at home here.

Will post some photos of the girls very soon.

Paula

Welcome Paula, Bonnie and Molly, poor little Bonnie, she certainly has had more than her fair share of problems, bless her. Is Bonnie under a neurologist?
Lots of gentle hugs to you all :hug:

Welcome,

It is so nice to know that this forum unites cavalier owners from all over the World.

Many of us have cavaliers with SM and other health problems, and we all try to help and support each other.

Best wishes,

Hi to all those lovely responses.

Tania, yes she is under a neurologist down at our teaching veterinary hospital in Perth, who initially diagnosed the SM. Now she is monitored by our local vet who consults with Peter regarding her conditon and when any medication needs to be changed.

She never had an MRI to confirm the SM, as at the inital diagnosis when all the dramas started she had a CT scan, spinal fluid analyisis and blood tests, Peter didn't initially think it was SM as her symptoms were loss of Balance, couldn't stand let alone sit, however he did say it was a possibility considering her breed. the CT scan showed abnormality at the base of her skull, but the only MRI machine for small animals was being repaired at the time. Other tests showed up the toxoplasmosis which we treated with a long course of antibiotics and a short course of pred.

Once she recovered from the toxoplasmosis, the SM symptoms became more apparent, screaming when picked up, scratching on one side, bunny hop gait. As the MRI would only confirm diagnosis, but not change the way Peter treated her and her symptoms were pretty clear, we opted not to go down that path.

Like all our Cavs, she is still very happy always tail wagging and off the two dogs she is the more stubborn.


Paula...Bonnie and Molly