TWO dog owners have set up a charity to raise awareness of pedigree dog health problems.

Campaigner on pedigree dog welfare Carol Fowler, from Wotton-under-Edge, has joined up with dog owner Tania Ledger, from Surrey, to set up the charity Cavalier Matters to raise awareness and campaign to improve the genetic health of pedigree dogs, in particular Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.

Although the charity is currently focusing on this breed in the long term the pair hope to extend its scope to other breeds.

Mrs Fowler hit the headlines in August 2008 when she appeared in a BBC documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed about how bad breeding was causing major health problems for dogs.

She was approached by Mrs Ledger to be trustee of Cavalier Matters which she decided to set up after two of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel dogs, Molly and Dougall, were diagnosed with Syringomyelia, an incurable neurological condition.

Mrs Ledger decided to set up the charity to help other owners whose dog suffer from the condition and to campaign against irresponsible breeding and puppy farms. She said: "I was shocked when I learnt that many irresponsible breeders continue to breed from dogs that have been diagnosed with Syringomyelia or do not follow the breeding guidelines for Syringomyelia. These breeders are condemning puppies to a life of pain and potentially contributing to the extinction of the breed."

Mrs Fowler was more than happy to get involved in the charity as a Cavalier King Charles owner herself.

"Tania invited me to be a founding trustee of Cavalier Matters Charity and I was delighted to accept. Initially Cavalier Matters is all about the breed we are both passionate to help to save - the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

"We have started small but hope to build Cavalier Matters into something much bigger, extending its scope to helping other dog breeds which are in trouble, and campaigning for the reform of dog breeding in the UK through our political contacts and by working with other welfare organisations."

For more details on the charity visit www.cavaliercampaign.com