HISTORY and TIDBITS. . .
the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

HISTORY

Dogs of the small spaniel-type have existed for centuries and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has documented its place among them. They have been recorded in paintings and tapestries for centuries together with the aristocratic families who enjoyed their loyal companionship. Cavaliers were obviously a luxury item, for the average person could not afford to keep and feed a dog that did not work.

Today's Cavalier is directly modeled on its royal ancestors but this did not happen without the effort of an American fancier, Roswell Eldridge. Mr. Eldridge traveled to England in the early 1920's hoping to buy two spaniels. He was unsuccessful, finding a diversity of type and none of the "old type", particularly the head type he desired. Employing Yankee ingenuity and determination, Roswell offered prizes of twenty-five pounds to the best male and best female of the "old type" exhibited at Crufts each year. The motivator worked; interest was generated among breeders to revive the original spaniel.

In 1952, the first Cavaliers were sent to America and a national breed club was formed soon after, but because of the small numbers of Cavaliers they did not gain full breed recognition for 40 years.
January 1, 1996 saw the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel enter American Kennel Club competition as the 140th recognized breed.

excerpted from the AKC (American Kennel Club) – akc.org

TIDBITS. . .
- The Cavalier had a great role on the hit HBO series, "Sex and the City", as Charlotte York's dog. Her name was ‘Elizabeth Taylor’ and the Cavalier was a Blenheim.

- In days gone by, the Cavaliers, also know as ‘comfort spaniels’, served as surrogate hot-water bottles, lap and foot warmers, and even as ‘flea strips’ for their owners, attracting the pest to their own bodies rather than to the bodies of their owners.

- The Cavalier was a favorite of King Charles I of Britain (the breed's namesake).

- It is thought that King Charles II was so possessed by his Cavaliers that he actually neglected the matters of state in spending time with his beloved spaniels.

- When the house of Stuart fell, it became a political liability to be associated with the dogs of King Charles (the Tudors favored the Pug), and the Cavalier breed became extremely rare.

- Queen Victoria brought back the breed, but the Cavalier had changed radically from its original form; the original version of the breed had all but disappeared.

- In 1928, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was founded in England in attempts to support a revival of the "Old Type", and since then, the dog has grown to become one of the most popular breeds in Great Britain.

adapted from akc.org