About Hooch!

Hooch was born July 17th, 1999 in British Columbia, Canada.  His sire is Lejonland's Moving On and his dam is Lady Alexandra of Lionslair.

I came to fall in love with the Leonberger breed during my work on an adaptation of "Call of the Wild" starring Rutger Hauer.  After the completion of the film, I attended the cast and crew screening.  I saw this MASSIVE dog lapping up the attention of every admirer in the lobby, and literally FILLING the isle beside his family throughout the duration of the screening.  I was in love with his size, disposition and gentle nature.

Upon returning home from Montreal, I told my partner (now husband) that the next breed we should look into should be the "Leonberger".  It was a year or two after this time that I seriously began to search.  As technology via the internet would have it, I fell in love with a particular stud who lived in Sweden.  Upon a few long distance phone conversations with his owners in Sweden, and investigations on the costs of importing a puppy from Sweden to Canada, we learned that Bagheera had a son at stud in British Columbia!  As this was a far more affordable option for us, we contacted his owners and learned that a litter was to be born out of Hector, son of Bagheera.  Countless pictures and temperament descriptions were exchanged between the breeder and I, and Peter and I eventually decided upon the puppy named Hooch.

At eight weeks of age, our beautiful 24 lb Leo puppy named Hooch arrived at Pearson International Airport!  We were SO excited about this, and baby Hooch was more than we could have dreamed of. 

Hooch grew into a living teddy bear, but a bear nonetheless! Living with a Leo presents a unique set of challenges! For example; having to constantly step over a dog who is the size of a full grown man lying on your floor all the times. When you least expect it, you step backwards and "whoops"!

In Hooch's Gallery I've tried to portray his growth and development as chronologically accurate as possible.  I only wish I'd taken more pictures. Hooch enjoyed his dog's life in the country, romping through our woods and stream, and playing in the pond in the summer time.  He kept a protective watch over Sarge, Carter and baby Cadence too.  When it was time for a good sleep, there's nothing he loved better than jumping up onto our bed and reclining with all four paws in the air.