Guest Post by Catherine Southwell
I have 8 cavaliers ( all girls)! I have had cavaliers for 14 yrs and my first experience of SM came when we got our first ruby, Poppy in 1999. Poppy was chosen as we had bought a puppy previously from the same breeder who was using some of the top studs in northern ireland, Poppy was actually the half sister of our older tricolour Rosie who was in perfect health. Poppy was showing the stereotypical symptom of neck scratching from 6 mths old. From the age of 2 the yelping accompanied it, as she got older the condition worsened. We took Poppy to several vets and were told she had earmites, infections, grass seeds to one vet saying it was just a bad habit!!
Thank you for sharing your story, Catherine. It is good to know you found a breeder who scans and that you're scanning too. I think my own feelings of regret with regard to my Charlie might be similar to your feelings about your little Poppy. That is one facet of how devastating SM can be. I wish you the best, Cathy Moon
Thank you for sharing your story. I cannot imagine your pain and heartache, but it is so important to get the word out. Again, thanks for sharing!
~Maggie
Thank you for sharing your story – what you went through with Poppy sounds absolutely heartbreaking. I applaud you for helping to spread the word.