21/10/2025
Poor little lamb but new science is always worth hearing about
🧬 Incredibly Rare - But Not for Lola
Lola is now five years old, but her journey with us started when she was just 11 months old. She was surrendered with a long list of medical concerns. At the time, we were told she had puppy strangles, severe allergies, and MMM (masticatory muscle myositis), a rare autoimmune muscle condition that is hereditary in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
But that was only the beginning.
Since then, Lola has bravely battled:
Chronic and severe allergies
Multiple eye ulcers and dry eye
Chiari malformation with pain
Recurrent pneumonia and pneumocystis (a rare fungal lung infection seen in Cavaliers)
Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE)
Recurrent infections in her toe, eventually leading to toe amputation
A life-threatening reaction to antibiotics, with her CK (muscle breakdown) levels soaring to 57,000
Despite everything, Lola has carried on, resilient, affectionate, and full of character. But her immune system has always been... different. Fragile. Unpredictable.
🧪 And now, we finally have answers.
Thanks to a DNA test from Laboklin (recommended by her very clever neurologist), Lola has been confirmed as genetically affected by Primary Immunodeficiency Type 2 (PIPS2) - a mutation recently identified in Cavaliers.
🧬 Her results show she is homozygous (ID/ID) for the CARMIL2 mutation - meaning she inherited the faulty gene from both of her parents.
PIPS2 is still being researched, but it has already been linked to:
Weak or abnormal immune responses
Recurrent or opportunistic infections
Severe or unusual reactions to common treatments
And sadly, early death in some affected dogs
For Lola, this diagnosis doesn’t change the past, but it explains it. It puts a name to years of unexplained illness and gives us a clearer path forward.
💛 Lola remains stable at the moment, and she is deeply loved, carefully managed, and utterly adored. No matter what lies ahead, she will always have everything she needs. Many of you will remember little Rupert, it is very likely he was affected too 😢
🧬 If you're a Cavalier owner or breeder, we strongly urge you to consider testing for PIPS2 for dogs with chronic infections, unusual immune responses, or repeated treatment complications.
Knowledge can save lives. It can stop suffering. And it can prevent dogs like Lola from being born into a lifetime of pain.
