CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIELS UK ONLINE
Syringomyelia
This condition occurs in many small breeds but is common in the cavalier King Charles spaniel (CKCS) (conservative estimates at least 50% of the breed have a degree of occipital hypoplasia although only a proportion are severe enough to have syringomyelia).
Carol Fowler continues her story:
ROSIE
By Carol Fowler
Four months after the death of Bonnie, I began the search for another Cavalier puppy. And I should say that this was against the advice of my family and my vet. I phoned many breeders all over the country and I told them about Bonnie. I tried my best to find a litter of puppies which would not be at risk from Syringomyelia, but discovered from research, that the condition was very widespread indeed. I asked to see pedigrees, and rejected quite a few which contained the same names that I’d seen on Bonnie’s pedigree certificate.
My search came to an end when I found a beautiful, nine months old ruby girl, Rosie. Her owner, a breeder, had decided to re-home Rosie, because she was not happy living with the other dogs. She had a bit of a possessive streak, and growled at the other dogs over food and toys. Rosie came from a different area of the country and her pedigree was nothing like Bonnie’s. I hesitated, I worried about SM, but I took her just the same.
Rosie settled in straight away, and didn’t seem to miss the other dogs at all. She really did suit being in a one dog household, and getting all the attention. I didn’t think I could possibly love another dog as much as I had loved Bonnie, but in no time Rosie and I were firmly bonded. She loved the garden, she loved walks in the countryside, and greeted every dog we met. She teased, flirted, chased and kissed all of them. There were no problems with other dogs, even if they came to the house. She just didn’t want to live with any of them!
Rosie was so energetic and agile. Once off the lead, she would head off at top speed to chase a butterfly or investigate something interesting. One favourite place had long grass and wild flowers, which Rosie would disappear into, and then leap like a dolphin to bring down a butterfly. Butterflies in summer: leaves in autumn.
I had Rosie checked by my vet as soon as she was mine, and I got her insured at the same time. The vet found she had quite a serious ear infection in both ears, and I had noticed that she rubbed her face rather a lot and scratched around her ears. It was something of relief to know that Rosie’s rubbing and scratching was only due to an ear infection! You have to have had a dog with Syringomyelia to understand that relief. As a ‘pre-existing condition’, treatment for her ears was not covered by the insurance policy.
Rosie’s ears cleared up after two general anaesthetics for ear flushing, but she continued to rub and scratch. I was becoming very anxious, and of course thought that Rosie, too, might have SM. I decided to fork out the money and have an MRI scan, because it would either put my mind at rest, or tell me what I needed to know.
The MRI was carried out in November 2003 when Rosie was fourteen months old, and she was found to have the occipital malformation and cerebellar herniation (chiari malformation). No syrinx or hydrocephalus was present, but I knew that syrinx(es) could form later.
Who said that lightning doesn’t strike twice? I was sent into a freefall of disbelief and panic. I thought, ‘I just cannot cope with this again.’ But you have to, don’t you? There was my beautiful Rosie, and it wasn’t her fault. This was about her, not me. This was the way I coped.
So I have come to terms, even with the second MRI scan, done in February 2005, which revealed that a syrinx had formed in the cervical region of Rosie’s spinal canal.
Rosie’s SM signs have remained the same, and she is being treated with a low dose of Medrone (methyprednisolone). If her signs worsen, she will be treated with the neuropathic pain drug, Neurontin (gabapentin). If Rosie suffers pain, or if serious neurological deficits occur, I will consider the foramen magnum decompression surgery (FMD). Clare Rusbridge will be looking after Rosie, and I will be advised by her.
All is not bad. Rosie is very happy and still very lively and energetic. She is not in any pain, but probably has some discomfort or strange sensations around her neck and face. The medication and some laser acupuncture will be able to minimise this for some time, I hope. The disease may progress very slowly in her case, so that she will have a good lifespan. Maybe by the time surgery needs to be considered, we will know more about its long term success, and techniques may have been modified in the light of experience.
For Rosie, I will give two hundred per cent. I will go the whole way. I will even ‘go the extra mile’. However, much as I adore this breed, I will not have another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, until there is DNA testing. Or if both parents of my puppy have strong hearts behind them, and have been MRI scanned and found clear of the occipital malformation. Even then, I would want the breeder to agree to keep my chosen puppy until it was six months old. I would then be prepared to pay for a mini MRI scan to make sure that she also had a normal skull.
It is very likely that no breeder would be prepared to do this for me, but I hope that some breeders would understand why I would now make that stipulation.
Written in March 2005
By Carol Fowler
Four months after the death of Bonnie, I began the search for another Cavalier puppy. And I should say that this was against the advice of my family and my vet. I phoned many breeders all over the country and I told them about Bonnie. I tried my best to find a litter of puppies which would not be at risk from Syringomyelia, but discovered from research, that the condition was very widespread indeed. I asked to see pedigrees, and rejected quite a few which contained the same names that I’d seen on Bonnie’s pedigree certificate.
My search came to an end when I found a beautiful, nine months old ruby girl, Rosie. Her owner, a breeder, had decided to re-home Rosie, because she was not happy living with the other dogs. She had a bit of a possessive streak, and growled at the other dogs over food and toys. Rosie came from a different area of the country and her pedigree was nothing like Bonnie’s. I hesitated, I worried about SM, but I took her just the same.
Rosie settled in straight away, and didn’t seem to miss the other dogs at all. She really did suit being in a one dog household, and getting all the attention. I didn’t think I could possibly love another dog as much as I had loved Bonnie, but in no time Rosie and I were firmly bonded. She loved the garden, she loved walks in the countryside, and greeted every dog we met. She teased, flirted, chased and kissed all of them. There were no problems with other dogs, even if they came to the house. She just didn’t want to live with any of them!
Rosie was so energetic and agile. Once off the lead, she would head off at top speed to chase a butterfly or investigate something interesting. One favourite place had long grass and wild flowers, which Rosie would disappear into, and then leap like a dolphin to bring down a butterfly. Butterflies in summer: leaves in autumn.
I had Rosie checked by my vet as soon as she was mine, and I got her insured at the same time. The vet found she had quite a serious ear infection in both ears, and I had noticed that she rubbed her face rather a lot and scratched around her ears. It was something of relief to know that Rosie’s rubbing and scratching was only due to an ear infection! You have to have had a dog with Syringomyelia to understand that relief. As a ‘pre-existing condition’, treatment for her ears was not covered by the insurance policy.
Rosie’s ears cleared up after two general anaesthetics for ear flushing, but she continued to rub and scratch. I was becoming very anxious, and of course thought that Rosie, too, might have SM. I decided to fork out the money and have an MRI scan, because it would either put my mind at rest, or tell me what I needed to know.
The MRI was carried out in November 2003 when Rosie was fourteen months old, and she was found to have the occipital malformation and cerebellar herniation (chiari malformation). No syrinx or hydrocephalus was present, but I knew that syrinx(es) could form later.
Who said that lightning doesn’t strike twice? I was sent into a freefall of disbelief and panic. I thought, ‘I just cannot cope with this again.’ But you have to, don’t you? There was my beautiful Rosie, and it wasn’t her fault. This was about her, not me. This was the way I coped.
So I have come to terms, even with the second MRI scan, done in February 2005, which revealed that a syrinx had formed in the cervical region of Rosie’s spinal canal.
Rosie’s SM signs have remained the same, and she is being treated with a low dose of Medrone (methyprednisolone). If her signs worsen, she will be treated with the neuropathic pain drug, Neurontin (gabapentin). If Rosie suffers pain, or if serious neurological deficits occur, I will consider the foramen magnum decompression surgery (FMD). Clare Rusbridge will be looking after Rosie, and I will be advised by her.
All is not bad. Rosie is very happy and still very lively and energetic. She is not in any pain, but probably has some discomfort or strange sensations around her neck and face. The medication and some laser acupuncture will be able to minimise this for some time, I hope. The disease may progress very slowly in her case, so that she will have a good lifespan. Maybe by the time surgery needs to be considered, we will know more about its long term success, and techniques may have been modified in the light of experience.
For Rosie, I will give two hundred per cent. I will go the whole way. I will even ‘go the extra mile’. However, much as I adore this breed, I will not have another Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, until there is DNA testing. Or if both parents of my puppy have strong hearts behind them, and have been MRI scanned and found clear of the occipital malformation. Even then, I would want the breeder to agree to keep my chosen puppy until it was six months old. I would then be prepared to pay for a mini MRI scan to make sure that she also had a normal skull.
It is very likely that no breeder would be prepared to do this for me, but I hope that some breeders would understand why I would now make that stipulation.
Written in March 2005
Read more about CKCS DNA testing at 'The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club'
Bonnie's Story
