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The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle

With this post I just wanted to say a few words about the book I wrote “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. This book features several dozens of funny or astonishing dog stories centered on our late Leonberger Bronco, as well as information about Leonbergers and an extensive Leonberger resource guide. The book contains a lot of color photographs and colorful illustrations depicting Bronco’s adventures. The book is intended for all dog lovers of all ages or anyone who loves to read fun dog stories. It is also intended for those who are  looking for information on Leonbergers.

Me standing as Bronco our Leonberger is trying to give me a hug and lick my face. Bronco our Leonberger was an extremely affectionate dog.
Bronco our Leonberger was an extremely affectionate dog.

Bronco wasn’t our only dog, but our world wouldn’t have been the same without him. For instance, he once saved the life of our pug by fending off an attack from another dog. He probably saved our Labrador’s life, too, by sniffing out an impending insulin shock before it happened. Bronco’s hamster search and rescue operations gave us some great stories to tell, and it kept our hamsters safe. Then there was the time he chased off a nightly stalker, well a peeping Tom who’d been terrorizing my wife and other women in the neighborhood. The private detectives I had hired could not catch him but Bronco did.

Bronco is no longer with us, but even in his passing he was distinctive. Leonbergers tend to live less than nine years—but Bronco came very close to reaching his thirteenth birthday. In fact, he received an award for longevity called the “Grey Muzzle Award.”  We already knew he was a special dog, but we sent his DNA to two labs for research anyway.

The image shows the front cover of my book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has the face of an old Leonberger in the middle. Author is Thomas Wikman. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com paperback location for the book.
The front cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the book.
The image shows the back cover of my book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has a photo of Leonberger standing in a snowy forest. Author is Thomas Wikman. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com kindle location for the book.
The back cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com kindle location for the book.
This is an image that shows the endorsements for the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". The endorsements are: "A wonderful tribute to the author's beloved Bronco. The stories are heartwarming as well as informative -- a true glimpse into life with a Leonberger -- D'Nae Wilson, President, Leonberger Health Foundation International", "A lovely tribute to Bronco, with lots of resources for general Leonberger information. -- Julie Schaffert, LCA breeder since 1992". Note LCA stands for Leonberger Club of America.
These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to go to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.

Below are four selected book spreads.

Page six and seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. This book spread is about Bronco’s dramatic arrival and his initially faulty birth certificate stating his name as “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.” This came about when we were told that his first name “Bronco” could not start with a ‘B’, it had to start with an “L” and my wife said “Let’s do…”. You can figure out the rest. There are two photos in the book spread, one of his birth certificate and one of Bronco as a puppy.
Page six and seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. His initial birth certificate was faulty stating his name as “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.” This came about when we were told that his first name “Bronco” could not start with a ‘B’, it had to start with an “L” and my wife said “Let’s do…”. You can figure out the rest.
Page twenty-four and twenty-seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. This book spread contains stories about Bronco's size and his Hamster serach and rescue operation. There are two photos in this book spread. Bronco sitting in my wife Claudia's lap. The second picture feature Bronco carrying two hamsters in his mouth (they were fine but somewhat frightened).
Page twenty-four and twenty-seven from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. That’s my wife Claudia behind Bronco. The second picture feature Bronco carrying two hamsters in his mouth (they were fine but somewhat frightened).
Page ninety-two and ninety-three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. In this spread Bronco was wearing a full leg cast he was not supposed to bump. Let's just say he was bumping it all over the neighborhood. There are three illustrations in this book spread, Claudia running, Bronco running with his cast, and our neighbor running down the street with his two corgis.
Page ninety-two and ninety-three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. In this spread Bronco was wearing a full leg cast he was not supposed to bump. Let’s just say he was bumping it all over the neighborhood.
Page one hundred and two and one hundred and three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd frequently tested old Bronco's patients, climbing on his, and even dangling in his tail once, as if it was a swing. On page 102 there is a photo of Rollo and Bronco, and Rollo wants to play with Bronco. On page 103 Rollo is playing with Bronco’s tail.
Page one hundred and two and one hundred and three from the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Rollo our mini-Australian Shepherd frequently tested old Bronco’s patients, climbing on his, and even dangling in his tail once, as if it was a swing.

If you would like to learn more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click on the cover images above to buy it from Amazon. All royalties are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I can add that all illustrations were done by Naomi Rosenblatt.

By thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics, but I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, an amateur astronomer, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children Jacob, David and Rachel. My blog feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger e Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers

9 replies on “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”

Your book was the first book I bought when we decided to buy/ adopt our Leonberger, Hachi, who is now 8 months old. Along with being a great read about life with dogs it also provided me with a lot of information about Leonbergers along with providing me with direction as to where to go and find out even more info.

Below is something I read and shared on Facebook this morning. I thought you would appreciate it given Bronco’s life that you shared.

I could not help but remember our golden retriever, Odie, who passed away in May 2021 at the age of 12.

“A dog asked :

“Tell me, human, why’d you record me? ”
The human replied, “You were so little and cute then and I couldn’t resist”
“But I ate your flowers, peed on your carpet and broke the expensive vase and all your clothes are full of hair from me… never thought about giving me away? ”

Again the man replied:
“I was also upset at first and had more work to do, but then when you sat down on my lap as usual, everything was fine… you don’t give your children to the orphanage because they once mischievous. ”

The dog looked attentively at his owner and asked:
“But look, now I’m very old and I have my problems too… I cost a lot of money because you go to the vet with me more often and I need special food… I’m not as agile as I was 10 years ago… and i don’t smell like a baby anymore”

The mistress swallowed briefly and struggled with tears for a moment when she then answered:
“My love, you will ALWAYS be my baby, you have enriched my life and given me countless beautiful moments, now you are old and not quite healthy but that doesn’t change how much I love you.
You have always been there for me, comforted me when I was sad and made me laugh, you are my most precious treasure. And I wish we can spend more time together.
I will continue to do my best to make your life beautiful.
I will do everything for you my little darling.. ”

The dog gently placed its paws on his wife’s cheek and licked.
The sun shone in his eyes that shone like opals.
Satisfaction.
H a p p p y.
L O V E
Perfection.
Harmony.
Anyone who has and loves dogs understands without words… ❤”

Liked by 1 person

Thank you so much for your kind words Brenda. I really appreciate it. Say hello to Hachi from us. It is great to hear about him. I am very sorry for your loss of Odie. You lost him two years ago. I know that hurts.

The little story you wrote is beautiful. Do you mind if I make a post from it?

Like

I did not write this story so I cannot take the credit. I read and copied it from a Facebook post. The person who posted it also did not write it so I would think you would be okay to share it stating that the writer is anonymous.

Liked by 1 person

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