Dogs of the Month - here come the Cavis!

Hey there dog lovers!

So we’ve been learning a lot from the previous Dogs of the Month here at the Resort and it seems they all enjoy bragging a little bit about their famous relatives… but do they have royalty in their blood lines?....

Being an ancient breed we’ve had our fair share of celebrities in the Cavalier family, one of the oldest known was owned by Mary Queen of Scots. She was beheaded in 1587 and it’s believed she had a toy spaniel under her skirt at the time. She had a beloved pooch who never left her side and is understood that it was an early forerunner of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
Obviously,  The King Charles’  played a big role in the Cavalier’s lives. King Charles I had his devoted pal Rogue who also never left his side and accompanied the king to his execution in 1649.
King Charles II, known as the ‘Cavalier King’ was always seen with a number of spaniels with him wherever he went. There were complaints in the courts about his dogs but in Charles’ time he made it clear that no public building could be ‘off limits’ to a spaniel, including Parliament. Charles II brother James II was equally impressed with the toy spaniels and is quoted as shouting at sea during a severe storm, ‘Save the dogs and the Duke of Monmouth (the king’s son) !’
John Churchill, the first duke of Malborough breed toy ‘Malborough Spaniels’ at Blenheim Castle, given the name Blenheim which is used today for chestnut and white Cavaliers.
Today, pure Blenheim Cavalier’s will have the characteristic ‘brown mark’ on the top of their head. The Duchess of Marlborough is credited for this, with the story saying that she rubbed the head of a pregnant spaniel with her thumb out of worry for her husband whilst he was in France. This is believed to have led to his troops victory against Louis XIV at the battle of Blenheim.

So there’s some interesting history of the royals in the Cavalier family. We hope you treat you pooch like a true King or Queen – especially if they’re Cavaliers!!!

Have a great weekend,

Tommy, Benny, Sammy and Warnie!