The Leonberger is my #1 favorite rare breed. They were bred to resemble the look of (not personality of, thank goodness) a lion. I have been to a few rare breed shows only to see the Leonberger breed. They are absolutely gorgous dogs with extremely gentle natures. When I got my own place I intended on purchasing my first Leo but, decided against it because they seemed a bit stubborn for my liking. I enjoy a dog who's easy to train and wants to please me. I have seen only one dog outside of rare breed shows. I ended up deciding to get a German Import GSD as my next pooch because of their eagerness to please their owners. And Sophie's daddy will be happy to hear when I get ready for another toy breed it will be no other then a papillion, although neither the GSD or the papillion are rare breeds, so a bit out of subject but when I get started it's hard to stop me!!!
http://www.pets4you.com/pages/leonberger.html
http://www.leos.net/photos.html

The second link has some great pics.