Rufus
LORPHIL LUDO
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dog, d.o.b. 26th of February 1995
Blenheim
Sire: Lorphil Lladro Dam:Tubbilys Berenices at Cotterlee
Breeder:Lorraine Gillhespy
KC Good Citizen Bronze, Silver and Gold awards.
My daughter Rebecca's funny card about Rufus. All her own work -card and ratings!
FROM PUPPYHOOD UNTIL NOW:
4 months old playing with Leo the Golden.
I got to know Cavaliers already when I was about 13 years old,
as two of my friends each had one. One of them made an unforgettable
impression on me. Ada, a Blenheim bitch, who belonged to my best friend Gunvor Lundblad (now sadly dead)
and this incredible little dog was in fact a Swedish OBEDIENCE CHAMPION.
Although Golden Retriever was my breed, I knew for many years that one day
I would want a Cavalier as well.
The Cavalier is a big dog in a small package, capable of MUCH more
than many think !
One year old playing with puppy Dandy.
With Elsa circa 1999.
Fun loving Cavaliers and cats one christmas
One of Rufus's specialities when younger was to attend Companion (fun) dog
shows, where he took part in classes such as "waggiest tail".
He has frequently won the Fancy Dress class -
dressed as KING CHARLES.
Young Rufus
Rufus was and is my first Cavalier, and one incredibly special dog.
Always happy, always eager to please, cheeky and cheerful -and greedy !
Rufus loves obedience and passed his KC Good Citizen Bronze award at 9 months
of age. We still do advanced obedience at our local dog
training club. Rufus is not always very accurate, but enjoys
himself so much that you can't help but laugh -like when he is so
eager to come to me really fast during a recall, that his furry paws slide all over
the floor and he ends up colliding with my legs !
He also loves agility . He is always smiling like this old picture shows !
In the Spring of 2002, Rufus suffered from a problem with
a disc in his neck. We had to give up obedience.
He recovered, but then in early 2003 developed a really bad case of MVD -
Mitral Valve Disease which basically all Cavaliers will develop at
some stage in life. Rufus was clear until 8 years of age.
Rufus had to go on heart medication for the remainder of his life.
Rufus 9 years old, end of March 2004.
For a while, Rufus was very unwell and not very happy.
Our vet was very pessimistic of his chances -and still is.
Rufus IS a very sick little dog.
HOWEVER, Rufus was so bored just staying at home, that we decided to bring
him out of retirement in the autumn of 2004.
Yes the risk is that he has a heart attack, but we reasoned that we would
prefer he was happy for a shorter time, than bored for a long time.
Rufus went back to dog training.
WITHIN THE SPACE OF JUST ONE WEEK,
HE HAD PASSED BOTH HIS SILVER AND GOLD GC TESTS !!!!
Aged 9 years and 8 months !
Years after he last did ANY training!
What a dog he is !
Alli, Rufus and Casey
At the most, I had 4 Cavaliers. Now there is only Rufus here.
Scarlet the Ruby bitch died just a year old,
Alli another ruby bitch did not get on with other small dogs and was re-homed,
and Casey is happy living with John's mum after she lost her elderly dog.
Rufus and Casey still meet at times.
(Yes Casey has got rather fat ! He is also clipped short as John's mum is disabled and cannot groom him.)
Like all the other dogs, Rufus will wait to eat until told. Which is hard as he is VERY greedy !
Recently, Rufus has become incontinent.
It just got worse and worse, with our vet unable to do anything to help.
Rufus was forever soaked in urine, needed baths 3 times a week -and let's just not talk
about the smell in the carpet !!
We didn't know WHAT to do. Rufus is still VERY happy, and there was
NO WAY we would consider having him put to sleep simply becase he was incontinent!
Ruth who owns his grandfather then suggested something I'd never heard of before: BELLY BANDS.
A Belly Band is a strip of fabric that goes around the stomach of the male dog.
You put a sanitary towel inside it, and instantly you have a doggy nappy!
Not being any good at sewing at all, and never having seen these in the UK,
I ordered Rufus's belly bands from the US.
PEKE A TZU Rescue is a wonderful place that recues and re-homes Pekingese, Shih Tzues and
other small breeds of dog.
They have an online store with all sorts of wonderful dog related items,
and the belly bands are just one of them.
They do pants for bitches as well!
Peke A Tzu were INCREDIBLY hepful and made Rufus's belly bands to order,
in his size and in the colours I chose.
I paid with PayPal and shipping to the UK wasn't expensive at all!
The belly bands arrived very quickly and our problem was solved!
Rufus do NOT mind wearing them at all, and he now stays DRY!
I would heartily recommend these belly bands to anyone that has a dog with incontinence problems -
and Peke A Tzu proved to be much cheaer than other sources, AND the profits ALL go to rescue!
Click on the logo below to go straight to their belly band page!
Rufus did make it to his tenth birthday!
OF COURSE he had to have a cake.
He thought we were very cruel to make him sit and wait before he could eat it!
At last!!!
I have a new friend!! June 2005.
July 2005.
Rufus made it to 11!
He had a birthday party, of course.
Ripley and Bobby shared the cake.
The cake sliced up. "Oh come ON, PLEASE tell us it's okay to eat now!"
AT LAST!
Rufus in March 2006.
Rufus and Bobby acting as Santa's reindeer with Benjamin 2006.
Rufus' eyesight is getting rather poor now.
With Melanie February 2007.
2 days before his 12th birthday and Rufus is really looking rather old now.
Rufus 12 years old ! 26th of February 2007. Who would ever have thought he'd make it ?!
Once again posing with Bobby and his cake. "Go on, let me eat it !"
"This is getting silly, HURRY UP with those photos!"
AT LAST !!!!
Bobby just got his normal food so wants to share the cake -complete with 12 chews as candles.
Then all of a sudden -GATE CRASHERS !
Carmen the Maine Coon and Prince the Persian wants to join in.
And here comes Hazelnut the Exotic
Bobby ran off to eat his chews in peace.
Almost all gone.
With his best friend Bobby
Rufus in July 2007 -12 years 5 ½ months old
Rufus Christmas Eve 2007.
He may be old, deaf, blind and with a bad heart -but he still wants lots of food, at ANY cost !
(And that is a tall table!)
-Oh I VAGUELY remember this. Wasn't it called snow? Rufus January 2008.
RUFUS IS A TEENAGER !
13 years old on the 26th of February 2008.
"Every year I have to pose in front of my cake and wait forever to eat it!!"
Then I have to pose with my party guests
AT LAST !!!
YUM
There were two visiting puppy guests as well,
but they had to eat in the hall as they haven't learnt to be polite and wait to eat until told, yet
A nice birthday walk. This is a rare picture as Rufus normally doesn't feel strong enough to go for
proper walks. The fact that it was a cold and windy day actually helped. Heat is worse for his heart.
A bit of a rest during the walk
-Did you say something?
Here's a nice and sunny spot
My birthday present -a meaty bone !
(It has to be pointed out that Rufus does NOT get locked inside this tiny cage ! He sleeps in a St Bernard sized one
and is only locked in at night. This little one is for small pups at night but he likes to sleep in it with the door open during the day.)
A little Papillon face looking enviously at the bone !
A good day all round ! Happy 13th Rufus !
The humans went to a dog show, and Melanie bought chews for Rufus, the 3 Papillons and Kiara.
Guess who stole them all?! April 2008.
With all his Papillon friends 3rd May 2008
Looking decidely more tired than back in February