The Cava-Shell does not yet have much of its own history to brag about, therefore looking at the parent dog enables us to understand where this lovely dog comes from. The Shetland Sheepdog comes from the rugged Shetland Islands, and was called for many years a Toonie, meaning to farm. Farmers bred the dogs by crossing the Border Collier with smaller dogs, the reason being to herd their flocks of Shetland sheep. Some say it was bred to chase the birds from the sheep, as many of the Shelties seem to have a passion for chasing birds. In the 1800s the Sheltie was brought to England and Scotland, while at home on the Shetland Islands the farmers started breeding their small Shelties to be even smaller and fluffier and sold them to the visitors who came to the island. The following years there was much dissension about what the dog should look like and what it should be called. The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel club occurred in 1911. But there was much agonising over the name with an agreement finally being made to call the dog the Shetland Sheepdog and that it should resemble a Collie (rough) in miniature. The American breeders imported Shetland Sheepdog from England until the 1950s. During the 1970s they were the tenth most popular dog on the AKC list, and held it for the next 15 years. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had a royal upbringing, being the preferred dog of King Charles ll. They are a descendant from the King Charles Spaniel. In the 1600s the King Charles Spaniels were interbred with the Pug dog which produced a smaller dog with a flatter nose and upturned face, as well as protruding eyes. This is the King Charles Spaniel that we know today. However, in the 1920s an American called Roswell Eldridge had a vision to breed the type of King Charles Spaniel that was famous in the paintings of Van Dyck of King Charles ll and his Spaniels. They had a longer muzzle so he advertised for any such dog that was still available. He even offered prize money in the London Cruft dog show if someone could show him one. A lady by the name of Miss Mostyn Walker appeared and won the prize but Eldridge had died a month earlier. However, other breeders embraced his vision and so the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel returned to its roots as the true heir to the royal Spaniels and were given the prefix Cavalier (in the 1940s) to distinguish them from the King Charles Spaniel. With such a fascinating history, the Cava-Shell can rightly hold itself proud and distinguished.
