I first fell in love with the Leonberger in 2002 after looking at various
breeds for a long time. I was very fortunate that ‘fate’ played a hand when
I bumped into my first Leonberger in the flesh on a family holiday and was
told about a litter that was due. The breeder was only 30 minutes from my
home in England – fate!
Off we went to see them and it was love at first sight and in August 2002
‘Capauden on me Head Son’ – Celtic, came into our home and our hearts.
I waited four years to get my next Leo, after looking for a long time for a
female that was from lines different to Celtic, and in July 2006 ‘Bavaruki
Eternal Flame’ – Iceni, joined our family and found her special place in our
hearts.
I lived with my family in England until September 2007 when we moved to New
Zealand, and of course Celtic and Iceni came too!
I now live with my husband, son and daughter in Eyrewell Forest, near
Christchurch on just over 11 acres, with a wonderful view of the Southern
Alps and have a growing number of farm animals!
In the UK I loved doing water rescue training with Celtic and Iceni and
continue to be amazed at how they would jump out of boats, climb into boats
and pull a boat with four or five people in, just by a rope in their mouth.
I love the way they can swim to a person in the water, heel and swim back
with the person just holding onto their fur. This is something I would
love to start up in New Zealand.
I hope to have a litter later this year to give other families the
opportunity to experience the joy of owning this very special breed.
