The Lowchen was named “the rarest breed in the world” in the 1973 edition of The Guinness Book of Records. Only 65–70 dogs were reported in March, 1973, but fortunately, the rare breed was brought back from the brink through the efforts of Belgian, Madame M. Bennert. In 1945, she searched for and gathered all surviving Lowchen she could find and began a careful breeding program to save them from extinction. After her death, her work was continued by Dr. Hans Rickert, a German veterinarian, and Lowchens that ultimately arrived in the UK and North America came directly from Dr. Rickert’s kennel.
The first Lowchen that arrived in the United States came from England in 1971, the same year the Lowchen Club of America was founded. The club eventually changed the breed’s name officially from “Little Lion Dog” to Lowchen, German for “little lion dog.” The FCI still calls it the Petite Chien Lion.
Lowchen by Judith Stein