Leonberger Chance Encounters

We just came back from a trip to Baltimore. Our oldest son and his wife are having a baby, a son, due in September. He will be our first grandchild.  On Saturday they held a baby shower. That is Saturday yesterday or two days ago depending on your time zone. Our son and his wife had organized a barbeque for about forty people. It was what they called a Baby-Q. They have a smoker and had smoked brisket throughout Friday-Saturday night.

I was talking to our daughter-in-law’s mother when she mentioned a recent chance encounter with a Leonberger. It was at her mother’s nursing home. I can add that Leonbergers are great therapy dogs because of their calm temper, friendly disposition, intelligence and trainability. They are therefore frequently found at hospitals, nursing homes, and similar places.

Two women behind a large Leonberger. The woman on the left is an elderly woman sitting in a wheelchair.
Our daughter-in-law’s mother is on the left and her mother is on the right. She gave me permission to use this photo. The Leonberger is in the middle front.

A Therapy Leonberger Called Scout

As I mentioned, Leonbergers are great therapy dogs and are often used in hospitals. Below is a video about a Leonberger called Scout by CBC news in Canada. This Leonberger is helping residents at Hamilton mental health hospital. He was bred by Concorde Ridge Leonbergers. They have a website and a blog which I follow. You visit my post about Scout here. The 8-minute video is shown on the website below.

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/1.6835161

The Leonberger at the top of Skull Mountain

Speaking about Leonberger chance encounters, one very unexpected Leonberger encounter happened to us at the top of a mountain in northern Sweden. My wife, my daughter, my brother and his wife and children were hiking/climbing up to the top of a mountain in the high coast region of northern Sweden. This is a coastal region of Sweden that is quite mountainous and feature fjords, like in Norway. This is the region where I was born and where I grew up. The name of the mountain was Skule Berget, or Skull Mountain. We did it for the adventure, the views, and to visit a famous cave. Below is the view from the top of Skull Mountain in the High Coast.

The photo shows cliffs at the bottom of the photo and in the distance, you can see mountains surrounding a fjord.
View from the top of Skule Berget.

At the top of the mountain, we met a man who had brought his dog, and it was not just any kind of dog, it was a female Leonberger Named Amie. The owner told us that Amie was nine years old, which is old for a Leonberger. It was quite a hike to the top of the mountain so the dog must have been in good shape despite her age. Well, the man we too were in good shape too. You can read about our Skull Mountain adventure here.

As soon as we them, we shouted, “look a Leonberger”, and Amie started wagging her tail and running towards us. She obviously loved attention. Her owner let us pet her and take a few photos of her. Amie was very playful; she rolled around and wanted to be petted. She was very friendly. She reminded us of our late Leonberger Bronco, but being a female, she was a little bit smaller and more feminine looking. Below, are a couple of photos of Amie.

A photo of the Leonberger Amie standing on top of a wooden bench on top of the mountain.
Amie at the top of Skule Berget.
A photo of the Leonberger Amie standing on top of a wooden bench on top of the mountain.
Amie was playful but very well behaved.

About the book The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle

Finally, I would like to mention that I am currently is running a promotion for my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle, Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger”. It is to celebrate Bronco’s birthday and his memory. I should say the book features the amusing adventures of our Leonberger Bronco and his dog friends, and information on how to train and care for Leonbergers and other large breeds, as well as breed history, breed standard, Leonberger organizations, and a resource guide. I can add that all photos and illustrations are in color.

The price of the Kindle version of my book is now only $2.99 and the price of the paperback version is 17.95 (normal prize is $19.95). You can read more about the promotion here. I will keep the promotion going for a few more days.

This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click here or on the image to go to the United States Amazon location for the paperback version of the book.
The back cover in gold and beige features 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 here or 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.”
Again, these are the endorsements for the book by some very prominent members of the Leonberger community. Click here or on the image to go to the location for the book Amazon in Canada.

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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.

47 thoughts on “Leonberger Chance Encounters”

  1. Wonderful share, Thomas! So heartwarming, from the beginning to the end. From the therapy to the mountain Leonberger. Wonderful dogs, they are. Congratulations on your grandchild on the way. It’s always a joy to welcome a new being into the world and into the family. Lots of light and blessings to you and yours 🙏✨

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  2. How lovely that you came across Scout what a beautiful boy he is…I’m sure being a therapy dog brings lots of love and smiles not just to the dog but to the inpatients…A grand baby how wonderful Thomas they bring so much joy and we can give them back-smile-This is such a heartwarming and joyous post…Thank you 🙂 x

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  3. Wonderful to hear of the grand-baby news! Best wishes for the family!

    These chance encounters to meeting up with other Leonberger dogs was really interesting. As an advocate of the breed, it seems they are drawn to you in mysterious ways for you to get to know their story. 🙂

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    1. Thank you so much Barbara. I really appreciate it. We are certainly looking forward to this new experience. About chance encounters with Leonbergers, I guess people around me are paying attention and helping me out.

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  8. Some nice stories, Thomas. I love reading about therapy dogs and the joy they can bring, it really does warm the soul in these often depressing times we live in. An unexpected encounter tale like this one is another smile-inducer. A huge congrats to you on your soon-to-be-grandpa-status, how are you feeling about that from a personal perspective? 😉

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    1. Yes I agree. Therapy dogs are amazing and a calm big friendly Leonberger can be a special experience. Also thank you so much for the congrats. I think being a grandpa is going be a great experience. It is just too bad we live far away.

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  11. Two wonderful stories, Thomas. The assisted living center where I volunteer at allows the residents to have dogs. (I like that they do, but I also wonder how they get around the liability issues as many of the animals are small.) Sometimes when I’m reading to my group, a small dog will wander into the room. I know how much better I feel just being around my dog, so it’s cool that the Leonberger is being utilized the same way.

    Finding a Leonberger and his owner near the top of a mountain had to surprise you. Pretty amazing that a dog that large and that age could climb a mountain.

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    1. Thank you so much Pete. It is wonderful that you are volunteering at the assisted living center and interesting that you have experience with dogs there. Yes I was pretty surprised to see that Leonberger Amie. Her owner certainly could not have carried her.

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  12. They are truly beautiful dogs. And you are so right about them being good therapy dogs. We had one visit the old people’s home next to the marina and he was a gentle giant. Lovely post Thomas. Congratulations on the pending birth of your grandson.

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    1. Thank you so much pensitivity101. How interesting that you got to encounter a Leonberger at the old people’s home. It is certainly going to be interesting to see how I do as a grandpa.

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      1. Our first encounter with a Leonberger was at our vet’s many years ago. I went to pay the bill and this huge head just appeared on the counter. He didn’t even stand up! Totally gorgeous and a big softy, so I got lots of fuss and gave as much in return. Our vet was tiny in stature, and we asked if she rode him to work. She laughed and said no, but it was good she could bring him in sometimes. She said he was a real couch potato and slept most of the day.
        The one visiting the senior citizens was a regular tonic for them. They all loved him.
        As for a grandpa, you’ll be great.

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        1. Ha ha that was funny. That is a great story. You shouldn’t ride them but they are good at pulling carts. It is great that they all loved him. Leonbergers love attention. Thank you Pensivity01, I hope I’ll do a good grandpa job.

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  14. I know how this goes ― we always get super excited when we meet a vizsla somewhere, or even when we see people walking one along the sidewalk while we’re driving by. It’s like, “Vizsla! Vizsla!”, and usually there is pointing involved. 😁

    Congratulations on your impending grandparenthood!

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  15. How wonderful to be expecting your first grandchild. Congratulations! 🎉 Leonbergers are gentle giants and I can see how they make excellent therapy dogs. The CBC story about Scout was interesting. Hamilton is a 20-minute drive down the highway from us. Amie certainly looked in good shape for a senior dog and that must have been a fun encounter. Heartwarming post, Thomas. 😀

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    1. Thank you so much Debbie. I guess our lives will change a bit a month from now. You are right, Leonbergers are gentle giants, and they are often used as therapy dogs. When my dad visited us, our Bronco walked into his bedroom every morning and gently said hello and then walked out again. My dad loved being gently woken up Bronco every morning.

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