The Day Bronco Wearing a Leg Cast Chased Our Neighbor

An excerpt from my book : The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle

When Bronco was almost eight years old, we discovered a case of squamous cell carcinoma in one of his toes—or, rather, in one of his toenails. It was on his right rear paw.

Photo of a big fluffy Leonberger lying in the grass.
Our Leonberger Bronco, or Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a type of skin cancer that certain large-breed dogs, including Leonbergers, are susceptible to. It often grows out from the skin around the nail and can affect the bone and tissue around it. It is typically not very aggressive, but it can spread, and it is painful. It manifests itself as a swollen toe, or you may be able to see a large red papule that looks like a pimple. Sometimes the toenail falls off. The dog is likely to limp and lick the toe and may become reluctant to go for walks, although that was never the case with Bronco.

Close up of a bandage on one of Bronco’s paws with Bronco in the background.
Bandage on Bronco’s paw after a toe amputation.

Primarily because of the pain, but also because of the small risk of metastasis, it is usually recommended that the affected toe be amputated. So we went through with the procedure. When we picked Bronco up the day after the surgery, his paw was in a bandage. But he got some treats, and he was in a good mood. We went back to the veterinary surgical center for a bandage change a few times, and then he was done.

A big barking Leonberger standing in a doorway. Upon close inspection you see a missing toe.
An agitated Bronco stands guard at the back door. Note the missing toe on his left front paw.

Unfortunately, though, we discovered another lesion a year later. This time it was on a large toe on his left front leg. We asked the doctors if the cancer had spread to this toe. We were told no—Bronco was just prone to getting this type of cancer. But the cause could also have been something in the environment. In Texas, the ultraviolet radiation from the sun is significant. We really don’t know why this happened to him, but we were assured that it was not because the cancer had spread.

Bronco our Leonberger Bronco wearing a large soft cone. It barely fit through the doorway.
A cone of shame or as in this case a soft cone typically accompanied a bandage or a cast.

This time around, Bronco’s entire leg was put in a cast, to be replaced by a bandage after ten days. We were instructed to keep him inside during those ten days and keep him as still as possible. We were to make sure he wouldn’t bump the cast. This was, of course, almost impossible to do, but we were going to try.

However, Bronco really wanted to go out, which he showed us in various ways, such as scratching at the front door. After a week or so, Claudia suggested that we take him outside a little bit, just in our driveway. I agreed. When I handed her the leash, she said, “He can barely walk; do you think he’s going to run off without it?” We laughed, and I agreed that it didn’t seem like we needed it this time. So Claudia walked out with Bronco slowly limping beside her.

Illustration of an excited Leonberger towards us. He is wearing a cast on his left front leg (right from our perspective).
Bronco could barely walk with his full leg cast, but when motivated enough he could run. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

Less than a minute had passed when I heard shouting outside. I opened the door and looked outside to see what was going on. First I saw our neighbor and his two corgis running down the street as fast as they could. Our neighbor was screaming at he top of his lungs, “Get him off me! Get him off me!” Behind him, Bronco was running with his cast going kabonk-kabonk-kabonk as it hit the sidewalk. Behind Bronco ran Claudia, who was also screaming at the top of her lungs. Bronco! Sit! Stay! Stop!” Finally, Bronco stopped, and Claudia grabbed him. Holding his collar, she led him back in.

Illustration of woman dressed in blue pants and pink shirt running.
Claudia running after Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

Our red-faced and sweaty neighbor was very nice about it and forgave us. He even forgave Bronco, though Bronco was chasing the corgis, not our neighbor. But still, if I had been chased by a big dog wearing a cast, I would not have gotten over it that easily. Our neighbor is clearly a better man than I am.

Illustration of man with a hat running holding two leashes, each with a corgi at the end.
Our neighbor and his corgis running from Bronco. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

This was an embarrassing event for all of us, but at the same time it was one of the most surreal and amazing things I’ve ever seen. It was so unexpected, so bizarre, and so funny. I really wish I had had a video camera handy. Talk about a potentially viral video.

When we went back to the veterinary surgical center to have Bronco’s cast removed, we decided not to say anything about the incident to the doctors. We sat in the waiting room and wondered if the episode had caused any permanent damage to Bronco’s paw or leg. But when the veterinary technicians came back with Bronco in a bandage instead of a cast, they told us that everything looked good. Great job, everyone!

We thought they might not have checked his sore carefully enough, so we asked them again: Are you sure everything looks good? The sore, the stitches—did you really look at them thoroughly? They insisted that yes, they looked good. So Bronco got his treats, he looked happy, and we went home.

Unknown's avatar

Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, 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. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

35 thoughts on “The Day Bronco Wearing a Leg Cast Chased Our Neighbor”

    1. Thank you so much Roberta and I hope you are enjoying the long weekend as well. Bronco was pretty well behaved but he an issue with the corgis across the street. We certainly did not expect him to be able to run though. Less learned : Always use a leash, because they’ll surprise you.

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Deanne. He was pretty well behaved, usually, but he did not like the corgis. We did not expect him to be able to run. Lesson learned, always use a leash. He had Squamous cell carcinoma five times at the age of 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and according the veterinarians they were unrelated, not spread from a previous case. I’ve been wondering about that. UV radiation is strong in Texas?, we found out that our pesticide guy had been using round up for years, and Bronco was walking on it every day. Maybe it was genetic.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. I’ve heard how bad that round up is, that would be my guess because he was walking on it daily. Just imagine kids walking daily on that stuff. I’m surprised those kinds of chemicals are still on the market to use on home lawns. Sorry your guy had to go through this so many times.

        Like

        Reply

    1. Thank you so much Pooja. He was good most of the time, and he was usually very friendly and he loved the dog park and saying hello to all the other dogs, but sometimes he wasn’t well behaved. He wasn’t well behaved with the corgis across the street. I agree, the neighbor across the street was handling it very nicely. Not everyone would have been that forgiving. Bronco got this toe/skin cancer five times, and each case was independent, not something that had spread.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    2. Cancer is very common in dogs, but this cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma, is not that common, so it is a little bit strange that he got it so often. Five times, independent cases (not spread from previous). We were speculating about the UV radiation in Dallas and we later realized that our pesticide guy had been using roundup on our lawn for years. The Leonberger Health Foundation International does a lot of great Leonberger and dog cancer research but I’m not sure if they have looked into this.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Pesticide could be an issue. It even affects humans sometimes so I guess a dog that spends a lot of time in the grass could have health complications because of it. I wonder if there’s a link, I hope someone researches it someday. It may help other dogs and dog owners.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

      2. Yes I am wondering about that. I’ve read that roundup can cause cancer and then about a year after Bronco had passed away (from a heart failure) I see our pesticide guy walking around on our lawn spraying round up, and it turns out he had been doing it for years. That’s where our dogs were walking around. It got me thinking. But of course I will never know why Bronco had these repeated toe-skin cancers.

        Like

        Reply

    1. Yes it certainly surprised us too. He was slowly limping around and then suddenly he could run. He could have been on one of those faith healer shows. You are right. Our neighbor was very forgiving and nice about it, nicer than I would have been.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. We had to put our American bulldog down because he began developing pink tumors everywhere that the vet said were cancerous. It wasn’t enough to just remove them. He eventually had trouble breathing and moving, and that’s when we put him down. It was such a terrible day for us! And he wasn’t a real old dog, either, which made it worse. He had very fair skin under his white fur which made him more susceptible to allergies, sunburn, and cancer.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I am so very sorry about that Dawn. It is heartbreaking. Our German Shepherd Baby died from cancer and our Japanese Chin Ryu died from cancer too early. He was only 10 and small dogs like him tend to live much longer. Luckily for Bronco his type of cancer was non-aggressive and easily fixed with a toe amputation.

      Like

      Reply

  12. Came across your post on the WordPress feed and just wanted to drop by and say hello ! Your content caught my attention, and I’m thrilled to dive into more of your captivating posts. Although I couldn’t locate the follow button (haha!) , I’ll definitely save it for later ! Rest assured, I’ll be on the lookout for your future posts.

    Looking forward to embarking on this reading adventure with you!

    Warm regards,

    TheDogGod – https://pomeranianpuppies.uk/

    Like

    Reply
  13. Pingback: Menu Update – Leonberger Life

Leave a reply to James Viscosi Cancel reply