Saturday 12 November 2011


Gina

We that is me (Bobby, and John helps) try to keep the blog as light hearted as we can even though our fostering some times causes heart ache.

But never have we been so upset and annoyed over unscrupulous
breeders who keep on breeding dogs with this genetic problem.
This programme was on TV.

The programme shows a prize-winning Cavalier King Charles spaniel suffering from syringomyelia, a condition which occurs when a dog's skull is too small for its brain.
Syringomyelia is a disorder caused by a congenital malformation of the occipital bone of the skull. In essence, the skull is too small for the brain. This causes the higher pressure in the brain, which causes the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow to be "backed up" and not flow well. This causes hydrocephalus which is enlargement and dilation of the ventricles of the brain. It also causes the cerebellum to be pushed out the foramen magnum (the hole in the skull through which the spinal cord comes off the brain) which is referred to as herniation of the cerebellum. Eventually, the pressure build up causes fluid filled pockets called syrinxes to form within the spinal cord. This damages the nerves of the spinal cord which causes the symptoms.

We could only watch a little then turned it off, but with poor gorgeous Gina we
got to see first hand how awful this condition really is.

Gina 6 years old her mum is very ill so Gina came to us for re-homing , after 24 hours we saw the first bad fit starting after the howls lasting for three hours then the walking in circles and falling over her heart was beating so fast , trying to calm and comfort
her had no effect.

After speaking to her vet we discovered that it had gone on for a long time and it
had been discussed several times about putting little Gina to sleep.
Obviously her mum was hoping for a miraculous cure for her beloved companion
and was finding it very hard to make the final decision. The lady had spent thousands
of pounds at the vets to try to get Gina well nothing could be done..

Gina had more attacks after this, so we decided the kindest thing would be to make the
decision her mum  could not. and we found it very hard she was such a sweet girl. It was very upsetting and is hard to stop thinking about her. It is bad enough a healthy dog becomes ill but this poor girl and probably the rest of the litter were bred like this, and lots more are being bred.

Where is the love for dogs or the care for the people who buy a pup. Mostly the breeder will know the dog will have this condition and it will show as the dog grows as early as late puppy hood .

We have looked on the net and we can not believe the reported amount of breeders who
out of greed keep on breeding dogs with Syringomyelia as its genetic its passed
to the pups.

We are doing this to plead with anyone who is going to buy a puppy Cavalier King Charles Spaniel to check fully the breeders past litters and their vets. Speak to people who have got older Cavaliers who have not had problems, please do some research, or these breeders will keep breeding very sick dogs.
If you do not you could end up with such a vet bill and still the heart ache of putting to
sleep your beloved dog at an early age, there is no cure for this terrible condition
and to watch it is heart breaking..

A good healthy dog can have a life span up to about 15 years a lot to 17.
The King Charles is a good companion easy to live with dog so a lot are bought
as companions by ladies only to get their hearts broken watching their pets health
deteriorate. I can not stress this point hard enough please check your breeder out
otherwise the pain and suffering you will see is heart destroying.

If you know good breeders let me know.
If you know bad ones let me know.
It seems Sweden has the most stringent of tests for breeding .

Lynne Pawzforthought Director Said

It has to be said



We at pawz try hard to keep our animal stories light and happy (even though the truth about the background of some of them would make you weep, we found out a long time ago that it’s better to be positive than dwell on dark things and thoughts. However a much loved blog has not been blogged for some time because its author has found it hard to move on after looking after a sweet thing called Gina for a short while.

Gina’ s previous owner was not cruel to her she loved her so much that in fact it must have been one of the contributing things that broke her heart (literally) when she found that her beloved little girl was developing a cruel debilitating condition that there is no cure for. We cannot imagine how sad it would have been for her to watch her beloved Gina deteriorate. Gina broke our hearts and we only knew her for two short weeks till we made the decision her owner could not and ended her suffering.

There is an anger in us that needs to vent. What are we angry about? And who are we angry with?

Dog Breeders unscrupulous greedy ignorant breeders that don’t give one thought about the heartache and the illness (in the owners of the unfortunate animals) they cause let alone the huge financial costs of trying to treat, relieve or correct the deformities and defects they create while trying to turn a profit on the wretched animals that they breed .

I will not go into Gina’s particular defect as john already has but Gina’s defect is just one of so many in so many different breeds people still go on purchasing these animals Paying these people encouraging them to carry on doing what they do because its profitable

Not all breeders are bad the world needs puppies, but to buy from internet cites , men in white vans that arrange to meet you in lay bys or deliver to your door, people who say things like “this is the father” when there is no mother to be seen (and people fall for that one? ) people who don’t let you see the conditions your new pup was born into, people who will sell their animals into totally wrong environments and homes, people where the only criteria is show me the colour of your money and I will give this soul to you to do with what you will, and even breeders that breed winning best of breed at crufts, breeding dogs that they know carry defects that they will pass on!. We despair! we know that we will continue to try and pick up the pieces, but beg you all to warn and warn loudly to anyone thinking of buying a pup from anywhere to research ,research, research, and in the end to go with their gut instinct on whether they are buying from a decent source and to tell them, they are not helping to “rescue” the animal by buying from these people and companies they are causing the very problem by their own actions of buying from these sources they are perpetuating and compounding the problems .
If you know good breeders let me know, so people can have a pet that does not break thier heart.









12 comments:

Elaine Pritchard said...

I can quite understand now why you could not post for a while there.

I also understand how much effort goes in to keeping your blog light-hearted and fun when you have to deal with so many difficult and sometimes tragic situations.

Sometimes you just HAVE to tell it like it is because the most important thing of all is to raise awareness of abuses and misuses.

I am so very very sorry for Gina, her owner and you who stepped in and took the hardest, but kindest decision.

Love to you all, Winnie

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

We are so saddened by your post but you have to let the world know about the evil ways of some breeders.
poor Gina and her poor
mum - RIP, little one - gentle hugs fron us.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

Jo's World said...

I am so sad to hear about the beautiful little Gina. These people who breed defective dogs with no scruples and no concern for the dog or the buyer should be in jail!

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and perhaps we can get two or three of the heavily read blogs to feature this story too.

OUr best to you,

Jo, Stella and Zkhat

Martha said...

Oh Bobby!!!!! Our human has tears in her eyes as she types. It is hard but we do believe it is necessary for humans to be told about these awful things. How else can they be stopped!
Poor little Gina with her beautiful little face and big innocent eyes. Like all us dogs she relies on humans and it is so hard to know that some humans are not responsible caring people.
You must thank John for writing this article, we know it would have been very hard and painful for him.
We also know how upsetting it is to take that decision.
Thankfully there are humans who care enough to take hard decisions and we know this was an act of love and kindness.
Bobby, we know you are not overly affectionate or demonstrative but we would ask you to give your humans some extra cuddles from us.
Rest in Peace little Gina
Much love
Martha, Bailey and of course the Humans xxxxxxxxxxx

Asta said...

Deawest Fwiends
This is howwibull
I am so sad fow this Why awe hoomans so gweedy that they would let this go on and watch the suffewing of these innocent pups.
I am vewy sowwy that you had to see sweet Gina suffew. You awe such kind heawted and good hoomans and pups and it bweaks my heawt that you had to do this
I love you
smoochie kisses
ASTa

TwoSpecialWires said...

Wow. Great big sigh. Whew.

We've been gone for what seems like furever, but never a day goes by that we don't think about you. Something told us it was very important to make our way back here today. Now we understand why. You have a VeryImportantMessage to share ... and we needed to read it. Our hearts are breaking for Gina and for you and your family, Bobby. And for all of the other pups that are the victims of horrible breeding situations. We are so thankful that families like yours (and organizations like pawsforthought) help to better the lives of so many four-leggeds. Even when it hurts. Thank you for sharing this heartwrenching story. Thank you for keeping us better informed.

And please please please never think that you are too far away. You are always very close to our hearts. Even when OurMoma is a worthless blogger.

Much love
Jake and Fergi

Anonymous said...

RIP Gina. It is a heart felt decision that you made, Bless you all at this difficult time.

ALL OUR LOVE SHASHA, JASPER, PIPPA WHISKEY AND TAYLOR.

Anonymous said...

I have had a wee King Charles who had the same condition.
It showed at 18 months old, I can not forget her face or how ill she was. I can not see for tears now.
This must be stoped show judges have a great part in dog deformorties'
Mary

Unknown said...

bobby,
That is the most disturbing thing. I can't even imagine breeders continuing to breed to make money and having your dog suffer so much. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. People must know.
norwood

Eric said...

Dearest Bobby, I can't begin to imagine the heartbreak of Gina's Mummy. We hurt badly reading of sweet Gina's agonising plight knowing her and her Mum's pain must have been a hundred fold over the hurt we feel for every poor Cavaliers like Gina.

We will never ever ever understand how some greedy breeders idea of creating a warped idea of perfection rules over health and happiness of their puppies. They must live in a cruel hard world but how glad we are you and John had the courage to tell it like it is. We applaud you every day for all the love and care you offer everydoggie. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and send huge love and lots of licks for Gina's Mummy. Eric xxx

Eric said...

Oh and we send love and licks to you all every single day, even if we do dissappear from the blogosphere waaaaay too often. Eric xxx

havetailwillwag said...

poor little Gina. I hate breeders who use animals as baby-making machines for their own profit. it disgusts me. these people should go to jail.