Some dog lovers have noticed that the animated character Lady looks like a Cavalier. Actually the original Disney artist, Joe Grant, based his drawings on his Springer Spaniel, named Lady. In the animated movie Lady is brought home as a Cocker Spaniel puppy. But the animated character does not have the look or the size of a Cocker, rather, Lady's ears hang long and her snout is delicate and more pointed than a Cocker's. In my opinion the cartoon drawing is actually closer to a Cavalier. In the 1950's the breed was unknown in the U.S., but has risen in numbers between then and 1996, when it became a recognized breed by the American Kennel Club. This was not without difficulties, as the story follows here, adapted from information at DogTime.com.
Cavaliers are descended from the same toy spaniels depicted in many 16th, 17th, and 18th century paintings by famous artists such as Van Dyck and Gainsborough. The spaniels in those paintings had flat heads, high-set ears, and longish noses. It's said that King Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685, never went anywhere without at least two or three of these little spaniels. He even decreed that the spaniels should be allowed in any public place, including the Houses of Parliament. It's claimed that the decree is still in effect. In 1945, after years of work by the breeders, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was recognized as a separate breed in England.
Nonetheless, the American breeders of the CKC encountered difficulties in getting recognition in the United States from the AKC. In the 1940s, two male Cavaliers were imported into the U.S. from England — Robrull of Veren and Bertie of Rookerynook. It wasn't until 1952, however, that Cavaliers had their true beginnings in the U.S. In that year, Mrs. (Sally) Lyons Brown of Kentucky was given a black and tan bitch puppy named Psyche of Eyeworth by her English friend, Lady Mary Forwood. She fell in love with the breed and imported more. When she found that she couldn't register her dogs with the American Kennel Club, she started contacting people in the U.S. that had Cavaliers. At that time, there were fewer than a dozen. In 1954, she founded the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, USA (CKCSC, USA), the official breed club and only
registering body for Cavaliers in the United States for more than fifty years.
During these years, the members of the CKCSC, USA decided against pushing for full recognition of the breed, feeling that the club's strict code of ethics prevented the breed from being commercially bred. They feared that too much recognition of the breed would lead to it becoming too popular and therefore too attractive for breeders who wouldn't maintain the standards they had established. Mostly, they kept the AKC Miscellaneous status so that members who wanted to show their dogs in obedience could do so.
In 1992, the AKC invited the CKCSC, USA to become the parent club for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The membership said no. A small group of CKCSC, USA members formed the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club (ACKCSC) and applied to the AKC for parent-club status. This was granted, and the AKC officially recognized the breed was in March 1995.
Helen Gant Guillory
How to Pronounce French
www.austincc.edu/hguillor
Cavaliers are descended from the same toy spaniels depicted in many 16th, 17th, and 18th century paintings by famous artists such as Van Dyck and Gainsborough. The spaniels in those paintings had flat heads, high-set ears, and longish noses. It's said that King Charles II, who reigned from 1660 to 1685, never went anywhere without at least two or three of these little spaniels. He even decreed that the spaniels should be allowed in any public place, including the Houses of Parliament. It's claimed that the decree is still in effect. In 1945, after years of work by the breeders, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was recognized as a separate breed in England.
Nonetheless, the American breeders of the CKC encountered difficulties in getting recognition in the United States from the AKC. In the 1940s, two male Cavaliers were imported into the U.S. from England — Robrull of Veren and Bertie of Rookerynook. It wasn't until 1952, however, that Cavaliers had their true beginnings in the U.S. In that year, Mrs. (Sally) Lyons Brown of Kentucky was given a black and tan bitch puppy named Psyche of Eyeworth by her English friend, Lady Mary Forwood. She fell in love with the breed and imported more. When she found that she couldn't register her dogs with the American Kennel Club, she started contacting people in the U.S. that had Cavaliers. At that time, there were fewer than a dozen. In 1954, she founded the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, USA (CKCSC, USA), the official breed club and only
registering body for Cavaliers in the United States for more than fifty years.
During these years, the members of the CKCSC, USA decided against pushing for full recognition of the breed, feeling that the club's strict code of ethics prevented the breed from being commercially bred. They feared that too much recognition of the breed would lead to it becoming too popular and therefore too attractive for breeders who wouldn't maintain the standards they had established. Mostly, they kept the AKC Miscellaneous status so that members who wanted to show their dogs in obedience could do so.
In 1992, the AKC invited the CKCSC, USA to become the parent club for the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The membership said no. A small group of CKCSC, USA members formed the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club (ACKCSC) and applied to the AKC for parent-club status. This was granted, and the AKC officially recognized the breed was in March 1995.
Helen Gant Guillory
How to Pronounce French
www.austincc.edu/hguillor