The Gift Of Pure Love

At the time of year when we reflect on a story of “no room at the inn” we ask, is there anything better than the gift of pure love?

Cavalier Rescue of Florida provides love, shelter and care for all of our precious rescues, but above all, we want them all to have happiness, love and a fur-ever family of their own.

We love sharing the delights and successes of all of our sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, yet every once in a while, a pup comes along with such a profoundly moving story of love.

Carter is one such pup, despite his special needs, he thrived in love and life with his angel adopters. You might recall we shared this beautiful story last month, but there is no greater joy than regaling his beautiful and bittersweet story of a life well loved…

From his mom: “We rescued Carter from CRF in May of 2019. Every day was an adventure with him including our first day together traveling from Florida to Massachusetts: a commercial flight mishap left us stranded, so my husband flew down in a private plane to rescue both of us 🛩️! Carter loved every minute of flying in style.

Carter quickly made himself at home, and his two “brothers” Marley (Blenheim) and Calvin (ruby) 🐶🐶welcomed him with open paws. There were a lot of snuggle sessions, and Marley (a senior the same age as Carter), quickly became Carter’s best fur-friend and guide.

We were in awe of Carter’s ability to adapt, he was able to map our entire first floor 🏠 in just a few days and knew exactly where his food and water dishes were located, and most importantly, where my desk was located so that he could spend his days sleeping on my lap 😴 while I worked.

There was no limit to the amount of love we could give him, and our days were spent making sure he knew just how much he was loved and cared for in his new home, and he happily soaked up each and every moment. 💜

Carter was such a special boy who knew no limits to his “special needs.” He did everything his brothers did, including one of his favorite activities: hiking! Nothing made him smile like being outside with the sunshine ☀️ on his face. To this day, any time we’re outside we stop and turn our faces to the sun and reminisce about what a sweet and loving boy Carter was, and how the sunshine is him smiling down on us. He also gave the BEST hugs!

A few fun personality traits about Carter… he had two speeds: he was either jumping over logs and constantly in motion 💨, or he was sawing logs 😴 and snoring so loud he would wake us all up. Also, he was as stubborn as they came! There was no stopping him once he set his mind on something, Carter was King 👑 of the house. If he wanted it, he got it - and that is exactly how life of a senior special needs rescue should be! He also experienced snow for the first time (we can only assume), and it was so funny watching him navigate it and try to eat it ❄️!

While he didn’t have eyes 👀, his eyebrows were incredibly expressive and you could tell immediately what he was thinking with his facial expressions.

Sadly, Carter’s health started deteriorating last fall, and in March 2023 we had to make the very difficult decision to help him cross the rainbow bridge 🌈 It’s taken me several tries to write about him, as each time my eyes well up with tears.

Not a day goes by that we don’t think about him and reminisce about what a special boy he was, he captured the hearts of everyone he met. 💜

We will forever be grateful to CRF and his foster family for entrusting us with his care and for giving us the opportunity to shower him with love and fur-ever home as his angel adopters.” 😇

Merry Christmas to all! Love, the Cavies xoxo