Our Leonberger Bronco and The Book About Him

Our Leonberger Bronco was born in British Columbia, Canada (nearby Vancouver), on July 3rd, 2007. That was 17 years ago today. His full name was Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. His father’s name was Priamos Vom Dreiburgenland and his mother’s name was Justus Aria Von Drevas. He had four full siblings, or twins, Little Jonah, Love Ryan, LRV’s Moose, and Lakeisha Makita. That was his litter. Notice that all names begin with an ‘L’. He had 83 siblings in total. The breeder’s name was Julie Schaffert, who is a Leonberger Club of America certified breeder (since 1992), and arguably North America’s most prominent breeder.

A screenshot of Bronco’s entry in the Worldwide Leonberger Data Base
Bronco’s entry in the Leonberger Data Base. Click on the picture to visit the Leonberger Data Base.

About 8-9 weeks later he came to Dallas, Texas to be with his new family. That was us. 13 years later he passed away. The name we picked for him was Bronco. However, we were told that his name needed to begin with an ‘L’, so my wife said, “Let’s do Le Bronco”, intending it to be “Le Bronco”. It took us several years to change his name from “Lets Do Le Bronco”, which also begins with an ‘L’, to “Le Bronco”.

This is a photo of Bronco’s original birth certificate from LCA (Leonberger Club of America). It features his name, his pedigree, breeders, etc.
Bronco’s original birth certificate from LCA (Leonberger Club of America). His name at this time was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.
Portion of original birth certificate from LCA showing the name to be “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”
Close up of his name, which incorrectly was “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”.
On the left our Leonberger Puppy wearing a scarf and on the right him almost 13 years later lying on the ground looking old.
Bronco at the age of three months and at the age of almost 13.

Bronco quickly grew to become a big dog. At one point he was 167lbs but his ideal weight was 135lbs. When he joined our family, we had two other dogs, a Labrador (or Labrador mix) called Baylor and a female German Shepherd called Baby. Baby was like a mother to Bronco, and she was fiercely protective of him. We would soon get two more dogs, a Japanese Chin called Ryu and a pug called Daisy. Once Bronco was older, we would get one more dog, a mini-Australian Shepherd called Rollo. Bronco loved all the other dogs, and he was very protective of them. He saved the life of our Labrador by sniffing out an oncoming insulin shock and he saved our pug Daisy from an attacking German Shepherd.

Bronco is standing on a red sofa and giving me a hug.
This is Bronco and me. He is about one year old. Not yet fully grown but still big.
My wife is sitting on a sofa and our very large Leonberger is sitting on her lap. She is essentially disappearing under him.
Bronco when he was 167lbs sitting in my wife’s lap. He went on a diet after this photo.
The dogs are standing. Daisy our pug on the left, Ryu our black and white Japanese Chin in the middle and our Leonberger Bronco on the right.
Bronco with our pug Daisy and Japanese Chin Ryu.
The dogs are lying on the floor. Daisy our pug towards the top, Ryu our black and white Japanese Chin in the middle and our Leonberger Bronco is towards the bottom.
Bronco with our pug Daisy and Japanese Chin Ryu again.
A painting of Bronco our Leonberger. His face is facing forward.
The portrait was drawn by Veniceme at Etsy (Natasha Dall’Ara) and it is based on one of our photos.

One thing that we are proud of is that Bronco lived very long for a Leonberger. The typical lifespan for a Leonberger is 8-10 years. Giant breeds tend to have a short lifespan. The Leonbergers who live at least 12 years are awarded the so-called Grey-Muzzle Award by the Leonberger Health Foundation International, and Bronco was a recipient. The Leonberger Health Foundation International (LHFI) is supporting research that aims to solve health issues in Leonbergers and other giant breeds. All proceeds from the sale of my book are donated to the Leonberger Health Foundation International. I can add that when Bronco passed away, we sent his DNA to the University of Minnesota to be used in research. This was facilitated by the LHFI.

A scan of Bronco’s Grey-Muzzle Award. The text says, “The Grey Muzzle Award for Leonberger Longevity is presented with gratitude by The Leonberger Health Foundation International to Bronco for Offering Hope and Potential for Longer Lives For Leonbergers Throughout The World.”
Bronco’s Grey-Muzzle Award.

Bronco was a very special dog, and he also gave us many amusing stories. Some of the stories were great, like when he chased off a trespasser / peeping Tom who had been terrorizing my wife and the other women in the neighborhood, but that the police and the private detectives I hired could not catch. Or when he saved runaway hamsters or saved the lives of other dogs. He also gave us some embarrassing stories, such as when he put our neighbor’s head in his mouth, like the circus lion trick, or pushed our German Shepherd into a storm drain. After Bronco passed, I decided that the world needed to know about Bronco, so I wrote a book about him. It is a tribute to him as well as a collection of funny stories. I also added information about Leonbergers in the book, their origins, care, training, health, etc.

On the left a trespasser sitting in one of our lawn chairs and looking through our bedroom window. On the right, Bronco our Leonberger, chasing off the trespasser.
Bronco is chasing off a trespassing peeping Tom who had been terrorizing the women in the neighborhood at night. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
On the left Bronco’s face has puffy cheeks because there are hamsters in them. On the right my wife is using her finger to give a hamster CPR.
Bronco with hamsters in his mouth. When he dropped them, they were unconscious, so my wife gave the hamsters CPR. They were fine. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.
Our German Shepherd is in a storm drain. I am lying on the ground holding her around the chest as I am dragging her up. Bronco our Leonberger is acting crazy.
Bronco acting wild pushing our German Shepherd into a storm drain. I am trying to get her up. Illustration by Naomi Rosenblatt.

Finally, I would like to give an overview of my book about Bronco and Leonbergers. I intended to release the Book on July 3rd, 2022, on what would have been Bronco’s 15th birthday. However, Amazon was quicker than I expected. The Kindle version became available on the day I uploaded it July 1st, 2022, and the paperback version July 2nd, 2022, but I did not tell people about it until July 3rd. Well today it is July 3rd again. To read more about my book click here.

Screen shot of the Amazon from July of 2022. It features the “#1 New Release in Dog Breeds” label.
In July of 2022 my book was the number one new release on American Amazon in the category “dog breeds”
Sample spread of page 102 and 103 featuring two photos showing the interaction between our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo and our Leonberger Bronco.In the photo on the left Rollo wants Bronco to give him a belly rub. In the photo to the right Rollo is pulling on Bronco’s tail.
This is a sample spread from my book (The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle). It is page 102 and 103. The other dog is our mini-Australian Shepherd Rollo.
The gold and beige book cover features the face of our Leonberger Bronco and the text "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger."
This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the paperback version of the book.
The back cover in gold and beige feature a photo of a Leonberger in a snowy forest and an introduction to the book.
This is the back cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the kindle version of the book.
The endorsements say “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.” and “A lovely tribute to Bronco, with lots of resources for general Leonberger information. Julie Schaffert, LCA breeder since 1992.”.
These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to got to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.

If you haven’t already, please take a look at my book

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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.

43 thoughts on “Our Leonberger Bronco and The Book About Him”

  1. I remember very well the story about “Let’s do Le Bronco” lol!

    It’s always so nice reading about Bronco. He seems to be an adorable, smart, and mischievous dog.

    Taking the neighbor’s head in his mouth and pushing your German shepherd in storm drain left me giggling, lol!

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    1. Thank you, Anjali. Bronco was a good dog but sometimes he wasn’t. When he did the circus lion trick on our neighbor it was a bit embarrassing. Luckily our neighbor took it well. He did not scream or get mad, and he said he loved Bronco.

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  2. Hi Thomas, a lovely post about Bronco. The story about his name always makes me laugh. When my niece was born, the mother (sister #4) asked sister #3 to fill out the details for the name registration. #3 misspelled Taylor and spelled it Tayor which was quite funny. Fortunately, the lady at the registration office called to confirm before issuing the birth certificate.

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    1. We were kind of surprised when we received the certificate. What a silly mistake. I am glad the lady at the registration was smart enough to call and confirm. That is actually impressive. Taylor could have been a Tayor and those things are not easy to fix.

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  3. I hope.more readers will pick up Bronco’s book. I loved it.

    Your deep connection to Le Bronco was palpable from the first few pages and your keen eye and writing style, reminiscent of the vivid scenes I frequently see through my window.

    I was transported to the wonderful world of Le Bronco. Thank you. 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Alex. The incompetent dog sitter was a very tough experience. After that we never hired a professional dog sitter again. We realized you have to personally know the person watching your dogs and they need to stay put in your house.

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  6. What a beautiful and loving tribute to Bronco. He knew he was well loved. Sadly, as a big dog lover myself, I know they are only with us for a few short years, but we make the most of the time we have with them. Bronco, Daisy and all your other beloved dogs are in doggie Heaven. They are all watching over you and waiting to see you again. 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much for your beautiful words Jeanne. One silver lining is that LHFI has succeeded in extending the lifespan of Leonbergers a bit and maybe their research can continue having success and result in healthier lives for all giant breeds.

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  10. This is a wonderful recap and tribute to Bronco, Thomas! How did you know Bronco when he was in Canada? I remember Bronco lived longer than usual and he got a special certifate for his longivity. Name changes on certificates are always not easy.
    I know about Amazon and I had the same situation about the releasing dates. Happy July 4th!

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    1. Thank you so much Miriam. We were researching breeders (or it was mostly my wife) and we came across Julie Schaffert a lot. She has a very good reputation. The problem, of course, was that she was in Canada and we could not find a Leonberger in Texas. However, she gave us all the information and pictures, etc., and she told us that transporting him to Texas was a possibility. She would drive to Seattle (from Vancouver), put him on a direct flight (sitting with the stewardesses), and then we picked him up a few hours later. After an interview with her and discussing practicalities we were allowed to buy him. Happy 4th of July to you and your family.

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  13. That’s quite the lineage. 83 siblings—quite a family. There was a famous boxer in America named George Foreman. He later became famous for the George Foreman grill. He is the father to 12 kids (5 boys and 7 girls.) The funny thing about his boys is they are all named George. (George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI.) Can you imagine that household? “George, come here. I need your help.”

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    1. Yes it is pretty typical in the breeding business. They have dames and sires and they use them with different mates. They select them based on health and the breeders have their favorites. However, there is a risk of inbreeding so LHFI are recommending breeders not to use the same ones too much. You want to avoid inherited diseases but using only those dogs that seem to be completely free of inherited diseases may lead to inherited disieases through inbreeding. It is a balance act. In Bronco’s case most of those 83 siblings are half brothers and sisters including 11 Swedish ones. I did not know that about George Foreman. That is funny.

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    2. Yes you are right. It is a tricky business and mistakes have been made in the past. Especially if you go back a few decades when people did not realize how important diversity was. Luckily, LHFI has done a lot of research and they have a good idea how it should be done. Not all of their conclusions are popular though. How do you keep a breed within the defined breed standard and avoiding inbreeding at the same time? That is tricky.

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  15. What a lovely post about Bronco and his name and life! Your love for him is so deep. Pictures are awesome, as always. Congratulations on grand success of the book!

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  16. A beautiful tribute to a magnificent dog! Bronco was obviously much-loved as are all of your furkids. 💖Your stories are wonderful and I downloaded the Kindle version of your book some time ago. It’s on the ‘to be read’ list, but I never seem to get through that in a timely fashion. Since you donate the proceeds of the book to the Leonberger Health Foundation, I have ordered the paperback as well now. Sure to be a great read! 🙂

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    1. Wow that is really nice of you and the Leonberger Health Foundation will be very happy and so am I. They support a lot of good research for the health of large dogs. It helps not just Leonbergers. I appreciate your kindness.

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    1. Thank you so much da-AL. If you still like doing that you may want to visit the Worldwide Leonberger Database and read all the Leonberger names. They tend to be funny and noble sounding. Perhaps that’s why no one reacted to “Lets Do Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. “Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle” was just too normal.

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