Lesley&Jim
New member
Hello everybody, we are Lesley and Jim and we live in the south-east corner of England, UK.
We wanted to tell you about our two Cavaliers, Maddie and Megan. From the same litter, they were born on April 26, 2008. Here is an early photo of them:
Megan (L) and Maddie (R)
Although sisters, they were very different in appearance and character. Megan, a Ruby, looked like a cross between Cavalier, a Koala and a Tatty Teddy. She had us in fits of laughter with her antics. Children found her irresistible and she would position herself in their path to be sure of lots of pampering. She could also be an incredibly willful and stubborn young lady! Maddie, a Tri, was quite the opposite. She was full of energy and loved nothing more than a long trip in the countryside, where she would run flat out in a zig-zag manner through shrubs and trees, often leaping over large obstacles. She covered a lot of ground.
From their earliest days they accompanied us on our frequent adventures in Britain and Europe in our RV. Fortunately they had no trouble with long journeys. In Europe they often attracted attention from local dog owners and we were soon picking up doggy-talk in other languages.
The two of them were inseparable but then, in 2016, Megan became unwell. Early in the year she suffered a fit (convulsion). Despite various medications and a lot of visits to the veterinarian she suffered more fits through the year and in November she suffered one so violent that she did not recover. We were devastated and Maddie had lost her lifelong companion. Megan was just eight and a half years old. She is still hugely missed.
And Maddie?
Well, happily Maddie is still with us and, on April 26, 2024, she celebrated her 16th birthday. 'Celebrated' is perhaps not the right word as she is now a rather sedate old lady who sleeps quite a lot. However, she still enjoys a morning walk of a mile or more in the countryside and, after the inevitable stops to investigate a scent, she will sometimes run a short distance to catch up with us. There's still lots of life in her.
Maddie had a clean bill of health until about four years ago when a slight heart murmur was detected which has been treated ever since with daily medication. Then a year ago she was put on a renal diet to help her kidney function. She seems to be coping well. We recently returned from a two month trip in Spain in our RV and, while there, she had a lot of good walks in the sunshine. She also comes with us on our bike rides, towed behind us in her buggy.
Like us, Maddie has silvered with age in recent years and has lost much of her coloring, particularly around her face. She now looks more Bi than Tri and her once magnificent tail is now not so much so. Nevertheless, her fur is still healthy black and she remains an attractive dog. Hopefully we will enjoy her company for a long time yet.
Thank you for allowing us to introduce our two lovely Cavvies.
Lesley and Jim
We wanted to tell you about our two Cavaliers, Maddie and Megan. From the same litter, they were born on April 26, 2008. Here is an early photo of them:
Megan (L) and Maddie (R)
Although sisters, they were very different in appearance and character. Megan, a Ruby, looked like a cross between Cavalier, a Koala and a Tatty Teddy. She had us in fits of laughter with her antics. Children found her irresistible and she would position herself in their path to be sure of lots of pampering. She could also be an incredibly willful and stubborn young lady! Maddie, a Tri, was quite the opposite. She was full of energy and loved nothing more than a long trip in the countryside, where she would run flat out in a zig-zag manner through shrubs and trees, often leaping over large obstacles. She covered a lot of ground.
From their earliest days they accompanied us on our frequent adventures in Britain and Europe in our RV. Fortunately they had no trouble with long journeys. In Europe they often attracted attention from local dog owners and we were soon picking up doggy-talk in other languages.
The two of them were inseparable but then, in 2016, Megan became unwell. Early in the year she suffered a fit (convulsion). Despite various medications and a lot of visits to the veterinarian she suffered more fits through the year and in November she suffered one so violent that she did not recover. We were devastated and Maddie had lost her lifelong companion. Megan was just eight and a half years old. She is still hugely missed.
And Maddie?
Well, happily Maddie is still with us and, on April 26, 2024, she celebrated her 16th birthday. 'Celebrated' is perhaps not the right word as she is now a rather sedate old lady who sleeps quite a lot. However, she still enjoys a morning walk of a mile or more in the countryside and, after the inevitable stops to investigate a scent, she will sometimes run a short distance to catch up with us. There's still lots of life in her.
Maddie had a clean bill of health until about four years ago when a slight heart murmur was detected which has been treated ever since with daily medication. Then a year ago she was put on a renal diet to help her kidney function. She seems to be coping well. We recently returned from a two month trip in Spain in our RV and, while there, she had a lot of good walks in the sunshine. She also comes with us on our bike rides, towed behind us in her buggy.
Like us, Maddie has silvered with age in recent years and has lost much of her coloring, particularly around her face. She now looks more Bi than Tri and her once magnificent tail is now not so much so. Nevertheless, her fur is still healthy black and she remains an attractive dog. Hopefully we will enjoy her company for a long time yet.
Thank you for allowing us to introduce our two lovely Cavvies.
Lesley and Jim
