You Can’t Put a Price on Health

I hate to compare a Cavalier or any dog to an item since it is a living breathing animal but I am going to just this once.



There is a car that everybody wants, however it is extremely expensive because of the parts that go into it to make it the car that is safe, attractive, and reliable. Let’s imagine that this car company decided to produce more cars and lowered the price but did not go through all the safety tests and used broken parts. They look the same on the outside but no one would know that there is a faulty part. The cheaper one could be packaged up pretty on a nice website and sold for less, no one would know? Would you want to buy a car and drive it knowing that it has not be safety tested and the parts could fail which would put your life in danger? I don’t think so.



You can not put a price on safety and you can not put a price on health.




How could you not want a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? They are cute, affectionate however,, there are some health issues associated with this breed. So people want them but don’t want to spend the money that some breeders charge.

     I don’t want people to think just because a Cavalier costs more, the breeder or the Cavalier is better.

They see this cute puppy for a lot less and get that one never checking to see what kind of health tests were done, who the breeder is, anything, just wanted the one that looked cute and at a price they could afford.



Fast forward… This “cheaper” puppy ended up costing much more than the one that came from a breeder who did all of these health screenings from some health issues that required several surgeries. Even worse, the puppy ended up bringing tears to a child’s eyes because it had to be put to sleep at an early age.



Ella came from a breeder that did several health tests except at the time was not scanning for SM. I don’t want Ella’s story to say anything about her breeder, but if anything it shows that no matter what all tests were done and how great she is, Ella had surgery to remove part of her skull before she was even 4. Now she is almost 5 (yeah!!) but she is having trouble walking up the stairs. I feel lucky that her parents hearts were tested and the MVD protocol was being followed because her parents were 5 and 6 when she was born. However, I hate to say this but I am not worried about MVD for her right now.

Her parents have great health records (minus the MRI scans which were not done) but she inherited this terrible condition.

A lot of people are talking about if the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Breed can be saved. I feel it can be saved but pet owners and buyers can not continue to buy from people who produce litters with “bad parts”. If people can wait and not buy from someone not testing, breeders can not breed so early to meet demands and start to follow protocols, and if we all help research, then there is a chance.

There are Cavaliers that are CM/SM clear and clear hearts. If we do not do not buy from the breeders with cheaper dogs because we can afford it but adopt a Cavalier. There are a lot that need a second chance. Now is not the time to be looking to make money or save money etc. Now is the time to save the breed. There are breeders that actually spend more money to produce healthy dogs for the love of the breed. If anyone says they do not do any health tests because of price or it is not neccesary,  they should not be breeding because it is hurting the breed. If you want to buy a Cavalier and can not afford one from a breeder that is more expensive that has done health tests, get a rescue because that is hurting the breed too.

I want another Cavalier but don’t have money for one that costs a lot, but I would never get in a car and put my life in the hands of something that has never been tested.