Leo is a 2 year old rescue of the "designer dog" market. He is a standard Poodle/Leonberger mix( Leonbergers are a mix of St. Bernard/Great Pyrenees/New Foundland from Leonberg, Germany). His breeder couldn't sell him or his littermates and planned on drowning them but fortunately some kind soul rescued them. He went to a home with a single mother who not long after was forced to move due to the devastating floods of 2006. She and her family moved in with family members who were not kind to Leo. When her health deteriorated she posted him on the local Petcycle email list (the pet branch of Freecycle.com). l was looking for a larger, younger dog to do therapy work with. Belle, my 7 pound poodle is now 11 and loves to do the reading dog program, but gets very tired during the nursing home visits.

l met Leo at his home and although he was very timid one of the boys assured me he was "very hugable". l tempted him with bits of cooked meat, and he took them from me very gently but warily. After l got home l emailed a few more questions, but l had decided to take him. His owner brought him and his cage to my house a few days later, with her sons. We introduced him to my other large boy, a neutered 130 pound 4 year old German Shepherd who was trained by his former owner to be aggressive (l have had him 2 years, l'll write more about him in later posts). We drove to a neighbor's field to let them meet on neutral territory, and it went well.

l had never crate-trained a dog before. l set up his cage in the downstairs hall so he could be in sight of the front door yet out of the way to give him a bit of privacy. He has continued to go into his cage when ever he wants a bit of peace, or to sleep, even closing the door behind him at times. l have never seen him do this, but he's a smart one! He has grown from a timid big puppy who would hide behind me or run to the back of the house when anyone came to visit to a good watchdog and excellent therapy dog. And he is VERY hugable!