MY SPECIAL BOY:
Bailey
I have a special boy – his name is Bailey and he is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Bailey came to live with me when he was just over two years old. Prior to that he had lived in about four different homes as he was a show dog and he was shown by a variety of people. Unfortunately the last home he lived in (not the breeders) was not so good and he was not looked after very well. So when he first came to live with me he was in a sad state. His coat was matted and stained, his teeth were black and he was obviously not used to chewing any kind of food. It took about nine months – but then his coat started to grow, his teeth had been cleaned and he was eating food enthusiastically. A beautiful temperament emerged which was surprising given all the rehoming that he had gone through. Throughout all of it he never lost his trust in people, and he liked nothing better to meet and greet as many people as he could wherever we went.
I showed him for quite a few years and he loved the show environment as it gave him access to lots of people and their dogs. One of the standards for the Cavalier breed is that they be ‘gay and fearless’. Bailey certainly was that and still is – and I have seen him greet huge dogs such as a Great Dane just as comfortably and without any hesitation as he would one of his own breed. He is also right at home with other breeds of animals – and shows a genuine friendliness to animals such as cats, kittens and other little animals. He would rather make friends with them than hunt them as some of my other cavaliers would do. A couple of years after I acquired Bailey, another little Cavalier joined our family. This boy became very ill not long after he arrived and spent quite a lot of time in a veterinary hospital. He was anxious and unhappy and would not eat for the staff until I started taking Bailey in to visit him. He would sit beside my poor sick puppy very calmly and quietly and this inspired him to eat.
DOG WORLD June 2020
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