Ailsa was our cherished Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, but I was responsible for her early death at only seven years of age. She had had a heart murmur when she was three years old, had coped with it with no problems, lived life to the full! But when she was seven she had her yearly vaccination and about a month later her heart condition suddenly worsened, and she died shortly afterwards.
I've now around ninety pedigrees of Cavaliers who have suffered from heart trouble, and like Ailsa, had sudden deterioration in their heart condition around a month from having their vaccination, and had died shortly afterwards. In the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed to get it established in the 1930s and 1940s, mother was mated to son, father to daughter, brother to sister: it is a vetinerary fact that in-breeding tends to weaken the immune system. Some vetinerary experts are now of the opinion that some Cavalier heart trouble is immune related.
Are some Cavaliers through their in-bred pedigree background born with lesser immune stability and competence than some other breeds, and so are less stable and competent to withstand the stimulus and challenge of their vaccinations? Are their vaccinations too strong for that stability? Should owners of Cavaliers who are suffering from heart trouble now discuss with their vets before vaccinating their Cavaliers, since there seems to be some, who like Ailsa, are at risk from their boosters?
