My name is Lucy and I am the leader and founder of the Cavalier Recreation Project. I have one cavalier, a ruby named Zack who was born on 27th February 2007. In his short life to date, he has had more health problems than he should have, and looking into his future I can only see more - he will get mitral valve disease before he is ten years old (there is a 50% chance he'll get it before he's five), and has a 50-70% chance of getting the painful neurological condition syringomyelia. In most breeds, this dire future would only be likely if he had been bought from the worst kind of puppy farmer, who didn't do any testing for inherited conditions and bred indiscriminately. But I bought Zack from a breeder who DID health test, so why is he still going to die too early? Just because of his breed. The cavalier gene pool is infested with problemous genes that cause heart, eye, patella and neurological problems, as well as a host of other health issues. Good breeding practices cannot prevent cavalier pups from getting the worst of these problems as the genes are spread throughout the entire gene pool.
Cavaliers are such a wonderful breed. They are sweet and happy, equally at home romping through the countryside or snuggling up on someone's lap. They are intelligent and obedient, good with other animals, and hugely affectionate. They do not deserve this suffering.
I want to re-start the cavalier breed, as was done in the 20th Century, but using modern knowledge of population genetics, health testing and good breeding practices to make a healthier breed that still has the characteristics of the cavalier that we all love so much.