Cavaliers as Companions
August / September / October 2024
Edited by Dennis & Tina Homes


William Hogarth
"Portrait of the Mackinen children" by William Hogarth, (1747)


CAVALIERS ON STAMPS

Dogs have been featured on postage stamps a great many times and I’ve managed to track down several stamps that feature Cavaliers and King Charles Spaniels. By far my favourites are from the Channel Islands. In 1998 Jersey issued a set of five stamps to commemorate the centenary of the Jersey Dog Club, and among them was a painting of a tricolour Cavalier. The set of stamps were painted by local artist Peter Layton. Not to be outdone, Guernsey issued a set of six stamps commemorating the Guernsey Dog Club’s centenary in 2001. Whereas Jersey’s stamps depicted breeds standing, Guernsey’s set by artist Andy Peck were head studies and featured a Blenheim.

Jersey Stamps

In 1991 the English Post Office issued a set of five stamps depicting paintings of dogs by the great artist George Stubbs, who was also famed for his paintings of horses. This set included his famous painting of a Blenheim spaniel. In the mid-eighties two regional stamps were issued from Scotland that featured toy spaniels. The first was of a Blenheim King Charles Spaniel and was issued by the town of Davaar in Dufftown, Speyside. The second was of a tricolour Cavalier that was issued from the small Orkney Island of Eynhallow.

Stubbs BlenheimScottish Blenheims


Other Cavalier stamps that I’ve managed to track down come from France, Czechoslovakia, (before the country was split into two republics), Paraguay, Hungary, Vietnam, two different stamps from the Atlantic Islands of Sao Tome & Pricipe and two stamps from St Vincents. There were also Cavalier stamps issued by two small states in the United Arab Emirates, Ajman and Umn-Al-Qwain and also one issued by the tiny region of Seiyum in the Yemen.

Overseas Stamps

Overseas Stamps

StampsStampStamp

Tri StampBlen StampMonaco Stamp


And lastly one that features a Tricolour head but I’m unsure what country it comes from.

Tri Stamp


FIRST DAY COVERS

Here are a few First Day Covers that feature Cavaliers.

Crufts 1st Day Cover

Although a Cavalier is not featured among the four stamps, we indeed have two Tricolours and a Blenheim on this first day cover. Issued on 7th February 1979 it coincided with the 30th anniversary of Crufts being run by the Kennel Club. Although Crufts started in 1891 it wasn’t until 1949 when the Kennel Club took over complete control of the event. The postmark on this cover reads, "Spillers congratulates the Kennel Club on their 30th Aniversary of their Crufts Exhibition"

Battersea Dogs Home

Although not a ‘First Day Cover’ as such, Battersea Dogs Home did issue a special cover with the same four stamps to celebrate their 125th anniversary.

The Dogs Trust

1991 was the centenary of both Crufts and the National Canine Defense League, (now called The Dogs Trust). The Post Office issued a set of stamps to commemorate these events and the above cover shows the five new stamps plus the four earlier issued stamps from 1979. Included in the newer set was a painting of a Cavalier by George Stubbs.

PDSA James Herriot

The PDSA also issued these stamps on a first day cover and the above cover has been signed by James Herriot.

Dog World

This cover was issued by the magazine Dog World and has two King Charles Spaniels plus the George Stubbs Cavalier stamp.

Barbara Cartland

This cover has been signed by the writer Barbara Cartland who was a supporter of the Dogs’ Trust.

Guernsey Dog Club

In 2001 Guernsey issued a set of stamps that featured a Cavalier to commemorate the centenary of the Guernsey Dog Club. Six beautifully painted dog portraits on a cover that appears to be covers in muddy paw prints!

Brigitte Bardot

This is another cover from 2001. Although it doesn’t feature a Cavalier it is quite interesting as it was issued to raise funds for Brigitte Bardot’s animal charity and has also been signed by her. Although she has caused quite a lot of controversy in recent years with her extreme views, she has nevertheless saved countless dogs from abuse and cruelty, making quite a few enemies in the process!


MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS

There are quite a number of inaccuracies about dogs that are widely held to be true. Here are just a few.

A cold, wet nose is a sign of good health
This has absolutely no bearing on a dog’s health. The normal temperature of a dog is 101 to 103 degrees but it has often been found that a dog’s nose can be cold and wet when they are running a temperature of 105. Quite often if a dog has been playing on a warm afternoon his nose may feel quite warm and dry.

If a dog wags his tail he is happy
Not necessarily. Quite often a dominant and aggressive dog will wag its tail but more erect with a more upward movement. Dogs do wag their tail if happy, but they also use their tail as a body language symbol for many other things.

A dog will roll over and show its belly as a sign of submission
Again, not necessarily so. It is more likely a sign of bonding with other pack members and to their owners.

Dogs eat grass if they are unwell or have worms
It’s quite normal for a dog to eat grass. Primitive dogs and wolves would regularly eat grass to provide roughage and domesticated dogs often eat grass. If they are sick afterwards it is not a sign that they are ill, it’s just that too much grass is hard to digest and they simply regurgitate it.

Dogs see only in black and white
Inside the eye are photoreceptors, some are shaped like cones and others like rods. The cone shaped photoreceptors are the basis for colour vision. Because dogs have far more rods as compared to humans it was at one time believed that they could not see in colour. It is now known that their perception of colour is similar to how humans see colour in late evening. Colour is still there but not very bright. Nevertheless, dogs do have very good eyesight.

Fantasy Cottage


WORMS IN DOGS

There are several types of worms that can affect dogs; roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms, whipworms and heartworms, but in the UK it’s mainly roundworms and tapeworms that are of concern. Unless the dog has a heavy infestation, it is not always obvious that your dog may be suffering from worms. An easy way to tell which type of worm is which is that roundworms look like spaghetti and tapeworms resemble grains of rice. Both types of worm can be picked up from the ground, particularly if he has been sniffing the faeces of other dogs. Roundworms are passed from dog to dog via eggs and larvae in their faeces. These eggs and larvae can live in the soil for very many months. A dog can easily pick them up in its coat, paws and muzzle and then ingest them while licking itself. It is therefore of utmost importance that worming treatments are carried out on a regular basis to prevent re-infestation.

The symptoms of a high infestation could range from vomiting, diarrhoea, pot-bellied appearance, dehydration, weight loss and a general lack of condition. Sometimes lung damage can occur resulting in breathing problems. Roundworms, also called ascarids, are whitish in colour. They can reach up to eight inches in length (20cm) and feed off of your dog’s food in its intestine. Roundworms shed their eggs continually. They can migrate throughout the blood into the lungs and are then coughed up and often re-swallowed. You may hardly ever see these worms, but then one day one may come out in the dog’s stool. They can cause bloating, diarrhoea and vomiting.

Toxocara canis is a white roundworm which most frequently infects young puppies, being passed via the uterus and the mother’s milk. When the bitch becomes pregnant the hormones that she releases stimulates the roundworm larvae, which can be lying dormant in the tissues. Some will go to the uterus and into the developing puppies, some will go to the mammary glands and be passed to the puppies through the milk and others will stay in the intestine.

Tapeworms are spread by the ingestion of fleas. The flea larvae swallows the eggs from the tapeworm segment, these eggs mature as the flea matures, making the adult flea infectious to the dog. When the dog ingests the flea, the tapeworm larvae are released into the small intestine and so the cycle goes on again. To treat this tapeworm you will also need to carry out flea treatment to help prevent re-infestation. The symptoms of this type of tapeworm infection can be, in severe cases, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and poor growth of the puppy. Tapeworms can infect humans, but this is rare, so dogs should be wormed regularly and a flea control programme carried out.


THE PRINCESS AND A CAVALIER

The Royal Family are known for their love of dogs and before she was hospitalized she was out meeting on regular engagements and greeting people. On one occasion she made a beeline for a Blenheim Cavalier in the crowd.

Princess Kathrine & Caval;ier

Princess Katherine & Cavalier


TWO OTHER STARS WITH THEIR CAVALIERS

Quite a lot of big stars have had Cavaliers as pets and below left is the actress Stephanie Beacham and on the right is the late Frank Sinatra who had several Cavaliers during his lifetime.

Stephanie BeachamFrank Sinatra


COPYING THE BEATLES

The album cover of the famous Beatles album Abbey Road shows the band crossing the road outside of the Abbey Road Recording Studio. If a group of Cavaliers recorded an album perhaps their cover would look like this!

Beatles at Abbey Rioad

Cavaliers at Abbey Road


PHOTOS OF THE MONTH

Keeping Your Head Above Water
"Keeping your head above water"

I Spy
"I Spy"


THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

"A dog desires affection more than its dinner –––––– well, almost!"
Charlotte Gray



For further online Cavalier news and stories don’t forget to read some truly inspirational articles by logging on to the Pawz and Pray page at pawzandpray.com


QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

If you have any questions about owning a Cavalier then click on the envelope to email Dennis and Tina who will only be too pleased to try and help you.

However please remember that we are not Vets or Lawyers so questions on these topics should be addressed to the professionals for advice.

Questions and answers that are of interest to other owners may be published on this page.

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