This recent Californian breed acquired its title from the Tibetan name for dog (Kyi) and the Latin name for Lion (Leo). At an earlier stage of its development it had been rerred to as the Lhasa-Maltese Shaggie. Some authorities prefer to call it the American Lamalese. It was developed solely as a companion dog.
In the 1940s a family in San Francisco bred a cross between a Lhasa Apso and a Maltese. They continued with these attractive crosses for several generations, at which stage they were approached by a San Jose dog-breeder who obtained a pair from them, a black-andwhite male and a gold-and-white female.
This breeder was so fascinated by them that she started a line of what she called Lhasa- Maltese Shaggies, using the original pair, another Lhasa Apso/Maltese cross a gold and white male and a small black and white male Apso. These four dogs were her foundation stock which was eventually to lead to the Kyi Leo breed.
Harriet Linn, of Concord, California, acquired one of the San Jose puppies, a blackand-white female called Mitzi, and later obtained a mate for her, a black-and-white male called Impy from the same source. Their first litter arrived in. 1967 and the puppies were so appealing that Harriet Linn began a serious breeding programme to initiate a new breed. By 1972 there were 60 of these dogs in existence and the demand for them was growing. In was in this year that a breed club was formed and they were given their new name of Kyi Leo. By 1986 their numbers had swollen to 190, the dogs were breeding true, and this attractive new addition to the family of domestic dogs was safely on its way. Instead of the usual breed shows, Harriet Linn held ‘non-competitive reunions’ for the descendants of her foundation stock, events she much preferred because they had all the fun of serious dog shows, but without the stresses of judging, winning and losing.
The majority of Kyi Leos are black-and-white particoloured, but some are gold-andwhite and a few are solid colours. As might be expected, they are smaller than Apsos and bigger than Maltese. Superficially they look like their Lhasa Apso ancestors, but on closer inspection it is clear that they have slightly longer noses, slightly shorter coats, and slightly less prominent eyes. Their exuberant, playful personalities are winning them more and more devotees and it seems certain that they will increase in popularity as the years pass.
It should be mentioned that there is an identical breed listed by some American canine organizations as the American Lamalese. This appears to be simply an alternative name for the Kyi Leo, presumably coined by a rival breeder. It remains to be seen which of the competing names is finally adopted. Kyi Leo is used here because, at present, it is more widely employed, but with such a recently developed breed this could easily change.
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