Our fall fundraising project features this beautiful, hand made ornament, from rock maple! We are so excited about this custom piece. All sales benefit the pups in our program.
To learn more and order, see our shopping page at: http://www.cavalieralliance.org/shop/
Our 2018 desk top calendar is now available for preorder. It’s a perfect size at just 8.5″ x 4.25″ and makes a perfect gift. To order, clink on Shop in the task bar above or visit http://cavalieralliance.org/shop.
Please join us in congratulating this lucky boy on his forever family! It’s so heartwarming to have folks step up to care for and love cavaliers who need long-term medicines and specialized veterinary care. This sweet pup now has a 4-pawed brother and an active family of his very own, we are also looking for a silver lab for sale.
We have to say thanks again to all who contributed to his surgery fund and shared his story. We could not have done it without each and every one of you. <3
Kirby’s at his pre-op consult this morning and enjoying all the snuggles! Look how much he’s grown! Surgery slated for tomorrow, August 30th.
Congratulations to our sweet Daisy on her adoption!
We are so thankful for folks who open their hearts to senior pups. This former mill momma has really come out of her shell in foster care and is so ready for the love and attention from her forever family.
Please join us in wishing them many happy years together. 
We’ve had several requests for us to post verification the lawsuit brought against us by a local breeder has ended. It’s important to note that this was not a settlement – the breeder’s lawsuit was dismissed and a judgment entered against her.
Poppy is a darling, 8 week old, under 3 lb, puppy with a heart defect known as PDA, that can be fixed with surgery. Without surgery, her life expectancy will be very short, but assuming she makes it through surgery, she has an excellent prognosis for a normal life. She is scheduled for surgery at Cornell University in the coming weeks and we are asking for your help so that we can fund this life-saving surgery for her! No gift is too small and we will all be appreciative for whatever assistance you can provide.
Poppy was born with a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Normally the ductus arteriosus, an important blood vessel, shunts blood from the heart and bypasses the lungs when puppies are in the uterus before birth – they don’t need to breath, so there’s no need for blood to go to the lungs. At birth, this blood vessel normally closes, so that oxygenated blood reaches the lungs and then is circulated to the rest of the body, providing oxygen rich blood to important tissues. If the ductus doesn’t close properly, the heart has to work extra hard to pump oxygenated blood to these important tissues. Eventually, the heart muscle becomes thickened from working so hard and, in time, the heart muscle weakens and heart failure and death results.
Poppy already, at only 8 weeks of age, has evidence that her heart muscle is thickened. With prompt surgery, her heart can repair itself before the damage is permanent, but there isn’t much time.
If you would like to donate to Poppy’s surgery and care, please visit our donate page http://www.cavalieralliance.org/donate/ or send via PayPal (friends and family option) to CavalierHelp@CavalierAlliance.org . . .
We are so excited to share this update with you! HONEY CAN SEE!
Honey, the sweet blenheim with severe cataracts, came to the Cavalier Alliance several weeks ago. She struggled with pneumonia, severe dental disease, and was basically frozen in place due to her blindness. Her cataracts were almost 1/2″ thick.
In this early photo you can see the cataracts on her eyes:
And just look at the post-surgical difference:
And the best part of all? After two days of hospitalization, she returns to her foster home and sees her four-legged buddies for the very first time. Her tail hasn’t stopped wagging! Click on the line below to see the short video:
Many many thanks to Deb Glottman, Honey’s foster mom, the amazing team at Vermont Veterinary Eye Care including surgeon Sarah Stone Hoy and techs Angi and Ashlie, and all all of our wonderful supporters and donors who made sight possible for this deserving Cavalier.
These two sweet pups came to the Cavalier Alliance as a transfer from another group for specialist care. Their initial vet did a great job of getting them stabilized and we will continue that care. Lucy has ulcers on her right eye that need reviewed by a specialist and Zoey will need help with a back leg that keeps slipping out of place.
One of the tough realities of opening our hearts to a Cavalier (or any other dog) is that their life span does not match our own. While their life span may range 12-14 years (or longer), we all know that 25 years would not be enough! As our pups age, or deal with serious illnesses, managing their quality of life becomes key.
Since our work in the Cavalier Alliance is focused on senior and special-needs Cavaliers, we created a spreadsheet to track our dogs’ health while in the program and shared that data with our veterinary care providers and 24 hour animal hospital affiliates. We also shared the prototype with several families to see if they found the tracking helpful. We incorporated changes and now want to share it with you as a resource.
Of course, an assessment like this does not make recommendations as to quality of life decisions – it simply provides a tracking and a discussion point as to your dog’s health and activity levels. We recommend completing this assessment on an annual basis while they are healthy and more frequently (weekly or monthly) if in the midst of a more serious illness. You can download the pdf below:
Cavalier Alliance Quality of Life Assessment Chart
We hope you find it a useful tool in the on-going care of your Cavalier. If you find this chart and the other resources on our site useful, please consider making a donation to benefit the Cavaliers in our program.
