Margaret C
Well-known member
Perahps we all could set up our own web site "HOW NOT TO BUY A CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL FROM BREEDERS WHO DO NOT HEALTH SCAN.
I am deriving a great deal of pleasure in seeing this Cavalier Health website, greatly flawed though it is.
It is put together by breeders, many of them officers & committee members on regional clubs, who only six months ago were denying that syringomyelia existed, disputing the figures, intimidating those who did scan their dogs, rubbishing the research and defaming the researchers who have done so much for our breed.
Well the defamation is still there and they are still trying to ignore the specialists that worked so hard for so many years to bring this problem to light, and whose research underpins the whole of the work now being done........ but just look what the whole site is about:-
An admission that the cavalier breed has a serious neurological problem called syringomyelia
It is a shame they did not say more about the other major health problem & put the actual Mitral Valve Disease protocol on the site as well, instead of just the criteria for admission onto the Cavalier Club over five heart list ( and go look how many top stud dogs are on that ) A little bit of fudging the issue there perhaps?
I am surprised they did not tell the people who are thinking of buying a cavalier just what questions they should ask the breeder & what health certificates they should expect to be shown. A missed opportunity there.
It is heartening to think that all those breeders are now committing themselves to using the lowcost MRI centres ( and submitting their results ) & breeding to the informal Rusbridge guidelines while they wait for the EBVs to come on line.
The world is much more of an open book these days, pet people join web sites like this and talk to each other. I am sure it will eventually come to light if they are only paying lip service to the idea of improving cavalier health.
Interesting to see they also have the list of Cavalier Club list of health initiatives on this web site.
I have been seeing that a lot lately, everybody, including the KC seem to be using it to prove how much money was raised by cavalier clubs & breeders.
I would just like to take a little bit of the credit and say that since 2001 I have been the primary player (and fundraiser, with the great help of my colleague Jeanne Boyd ) in numbers10,11,12,13,15,17,18,19,21,22,
After many years of working to raise awareness of SM & supporting research, it became obvious to me that, despite the small number of wonderful breeders that were doing everything they could to breed healthier dogs, nothing would change while the majority of cavalier breeders refused to test for the known problems in the breed.
I came to the conclusion that only publicity would make things change, hence the film interview.
I believe the Kennel CLub should only register puppies from health tested parents.
If you agree.... please sign the petition. http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/ReformtheKC/
Margaret C
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