SM Cavalier in Los Angeles

[Cathy T]

It's so disheartening to go on petfinders.com now. When I first started going on a couple of years ago there were maybe 25 Cavaliers on. Today there were 68!! So very sad. There are still lots of people who are unaware that there are Cavalier rescue groups (I carry my cards in my wallet, in my car, in my leash bag, I always have them on hand!)

Here is a beautiful boy in Los Angeles diagnosed with sm and looking for a home
http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/...?petid=7230994

[Karlin]

I am really shocked at her ad for this dog. First, the misleading and incorrect decsription of SM in her post and the failure to indicate how serious a dog with early onset SM is likely to already be... and I've emailed her to say the same. I sincerely hope this dog finds a home but unless people are willing to spend many thousands getting him the surgery that will give him probably his only chance of any leagth of time, they need to be explaining that this is a dog that is being homed as a hospice case and preferably to someone very familiar with SM or working with dogs who may become very ill. And will take on the resulting medical care.

I am just totally taken aback at the way they are presenting him as having a little bit of scratching sometimes accompanied by 30 seconds of yelping in pain becaue of a little cyst in the skull!! Yet if he already is having his condition also affect his 'funny' walk he is showing some significant signs of neurological deterioration and urgently needs either an MRI or at least, for an adopting family to understand the seriousness of the condition and take that on board.

I'm sorry but this just makes me so mad I could scream to think an unsuspecting person could adopt a dog that probably has only a short term future and one that will involve the frustration of the pain of dealing with severe SM (good god he is only 10 motnhs and showing these signs... that is almost always a severe case).

\ Any rescue needs to be making some serious soul searching about even homing such a dog. This is the point where you need to be working with specialists and making some hard decisions. And this is what will be facing a lot of us in rescue. How will you find homes for SM dogs? And should you? (in some cases, yes; IMHO, but not by implying the family will likely be dealing with a mild case and not even giving a correct explanation of what the condition is and the potential prognosis and costs).

Is there any chance breed rescue, which will likely know experienced owners, could work with these people?

[rory]

Argh... This is sad. i really hope that whoever ends up taking this dog on (if someone does) realizes what they're getting into... They ahve very m uch downplayed it in this listing - althoug they do indicate that he should have an MRI and that an MRI is expensive. And that since he's so young, he might need surgery - but surgery isn't always successful. The listing is actually downplaying it less than most breeders! At least he's coming from a vet, too. So hopefully the vet will help the owner understand what they're getting into.

[Karlin]

yes it is good on those points and credit for that.

Surely the first stops would have been the breed clubs, maybe a neurologist wiklling to at least do a clinical assessment for rescue etc, working thru some of the support lists...

I've crossposted the dog elsewhere and someone has come back to me to say they've now been in touch with the LA breed club so fingers crossed he gets the care and the home he needs.

BTW I do not in any way mean to imply such dogs shouldn't be homed. But a prospective home would need to be very carefully screened and very special and capable -- with a lot of heart --I fear the way this ad is phrased makes it sound like a bargain appeal for some uninformed person to get a purebred cavalier with a few faults that might not ever matter.

I'd have a very hard time knowing what to do with a cavalier like this. But this wouldn't be the way I'd approach it.

Thanks for the original link BTW Cathy; that enabled a few places to be notified which should at least increase his chance of getting homed to the right kind of place.

[Alison_Leighfield]

Karlin,

if it helps any,

when I took the rescue girls and from where they came from I felt it a very high possibility that they would have SM............SM wasn't the issue, it was giving them a HOME that really mattered. Everything else came second to that, and with a rescue you cannot be sure of just what you are taking on board anyway, health or other problems together.

If you want a dog that is 100% perfect then you don't do rescue at all.

With information and some support provided I'm sure that if you found yourself with an SM Cavalier that needed a home you would find one. I would be able to help you with that if you needed it over here.

It's the worry of not knowing about SM that hurts most folk, once it's explained they cope much better.

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

[Karlin]

Alison, I'd love for all SM cavaliers to find homes like yours. Sadly I think that is unlikely and I worry about what happens as more and more come into rescue. Speaking for myself and my rescue, I think I would have serous problems homing any such dogs in Ireland. It is hard enough to find people who want to take on a mild heart murmur even when you explain how common that is with the breed.

Incidentally the woman with this dog has emailed me back indicating it would not be good 'marketing' to fully inform people about this dog's possible prognosis as then it will be hard to home.

[Lisa_T]

Did they provide the link to cavalierhealth before or after you emailed them, Karlin?

And 'good marketing'- good grief, if this dog is rehomed to someone who doesn't realise the seriousness of it's condition, the dog will almost certainly find itself back in rescue in short order, if not worse!

[Karlin]

yes the link was there -- though I wonder if the people read the information on the link as if they had, the post would be more accurate in describing SM and would note the high likelihood of a symptomatic dog at 10 months having the most severe form of SM.

[merlinsmum]

I'm sorry but I find this soooo wrong - I know very little about SM (except for the board - thanks karlin et al) and rescuing but how can you be more bothered about "good marketing" of a rescue than its health!

I agree with you Karlin - this is very maddening

If I was in a position to rescue - I would take the rough with the smooth - all dogs are ill at some point whether they are rescued or bought from a breeder - they were all at some point got from a breeder (although they may not be ethical breeders for some).

[tenby]

I don't often post here but here goes.Cavaliers of the West have been talking with the rescue with the sm dog.The dog was already promised to a couple with another non cavalier rescue,if that doesnot go thru,the dog will go to cavalier rescue.I wish I could foster him,but have a foster already on top of my 4.Lynn