Vienna · Leonberger
Vienna stops turning a blind eye to spies – a Leonberger leaves hair at every meeting
Der Hündeler, Edition of Friday, 13 November 2026
What happened
Vienna is regarded as a playground for secret agents, partly because the Austrian authorities looked the other way for too long, according to the NZZ. The government now intends to change that and take a tougher line on espionage. Its main focus is on Moscow’s diplomats.
What does this mean for your Leonberger?
The Leonberger knows Vienna from the inside: Empress Elisabeth, better known as Sisi, kept Leonbergers, and the breed was a familiar sight at Europe’s royal courts in the days when diplomacy happened in drawing rooms. Even so, it is spectacularly unsuited to intelligence work. It was bred to resemble the lion on the coat of arms of the German town of Leonberg, and nothing about a lion is discreet. On top of that, it sheds its undercoat in quantities that would keep any forensics team busy for weeks: anyone who has stroked one carries the evidence on a dark suit for days. Its good nature extends to every embassy equally, which in Vienna long passed for tradition. For Leonbergers in Switzerland nothing changes, except that the hoover will continue to know more about them than any intelligence service.
What you can do now: Pack a lint roller before any walk through the diplomatic quarter. Diplomatic immunity does not extend to dog hair.