HollyDolly

Nemo was my very first Cavalier bought in the middle 70's he was with out a doubt my pride and joy. Purchased from a breeder in Nottinghamshire I had never heard of a dog show but they thought he might do well. 6 months later and armed with a yellow rosette I was hooked. In the next three years, Seb, Merlin and Jake joined my family and what a joy they were. I made many friends in the show world and although today do not show any more I still have many of those friends.
Back to Nemo when he was about 8 he started having screaming fits, he would scream and scream often lasting many minutes. Several visits to the vets where it was thought he had a spinal problem and although steroids helped some what I could tell that there were times when the pain showed in his eyes. It was eventually thought that a more specialised view was needed and we were referred to the small animal hospital in St Helens. There they explained that it may well be a cervical disc so they would perform a myelogram to see which disc was causing the problem and from there it could be removed. On going the next day to talk with the consultant I was told that all discs were fine but they had manipulated his neck and put him in a surgical collar which was to stay on for a minimum of 8 weeks. All was well until the collar came off when the screaming started again. My vet than suggested a low dose of valium and although this also helped Nemo still suffered screaming fits and with a heavy heart he was PTS as no further help could be given. I am writing this because I now strongly suspect he was suffering from SM and if only the knowledge was available then he might have been helped more. I loved him dearly and was bereft when he died especially as we did not know what was wrong. Hearing a dog scream in pain constantly is heartbreaking and my sincere hope is that breeders take a close look at their stock and health scan before they continue to breed.