Jan 8 (edited) • Breed of the Week
St. Bernard
The St Bernard: the making of an Alpine legend
The St. Bernard is a dog that when mentioned most of us will have the same image in their mind: a large fluffy dog with a droopy face and a small barrel (cask) strapped around their neck.
If this was the image in your mind you are not alone as it is essential to the St. Bernard image. With various origin stories as to whether the cask played a part in their rescue missions it is thought that the little barrel contained alcohol that lost travelers consumed to restore blood flow temporarily. The type of alleged alcohol is unknown but there is speculation as to whether it was rum or a local secret concoction.
In 1887 the St. Bernard was recognized as a Swiss dog breed, but they had been in the area for hundreds of years already. The breed is said to be descendants of dogs that were gifted to the monks and were originally bred to guard and protect hospice residents.
The hospice was founded by Bernard de Menthon, the Archdeacon of Aosta, to make the St. Bernard pass safer for travelers. The hospice also provided a place to worship on site which is documented as far back as the year 1125.
Soon the breed began to show their amazing skills of rescuing lost travelers and those buried in the snow The monks began training St. Bernards (aka “Barry Dogs”) in the 1700s. They recognized that these dogs had an incredible sense of smell and their thick double coat and large “snowshoe” paws were ideal for such a dangerous environment. These rescue missions are well documented, and legend has it that Napoleon Bonaparte’s soldiers helped confirm the reputation of the St. Bernard. The most famous being Barry the St. Bernard: the original rescue dog.
Barry (1800-1814), who now has the Barry Foundation and has a museum called Barryland, is credited with at least 40 rescue missions. He began his heroic rescue missions long before search and rescue teams ever existed. He is not only known for his legendary courage towards saving human lives he is credited with developing the entire idea of mountain rescue.
Early in Barry’s life the monks noticed that he was no ordinary puppy. He naturally possessed what other dogs had to be trained to do. He innately understood the mountain weather patterns, he had an unusual intelligence, and he had an almost uncanny ability to sense when a person was in danger and be able to locate them successfully. He showed amazing problem-solving skills that his littermates did not possess in the same way. Barry also worked alone while other dogs worked in pairs even in the worst weather conditions. His trainers allowed him to exercise his independence which proved vital in many of his most famous rescues.
Barry’s most legendary rescue happens in 1807; a young boy and his mother are on their way to the hospice when the boy had gotten separated from their group. While everyone, including the mother, had made it to the hospice the boy was trapped in a snow cave during a blizzard. The intense weather conditions had persisted for 3 days and the rescue teams were unable to find the boy.
Even though the weather was intense and the human rescuers had given up hope Barry went out alone to find him. He tracked the boy through the snow for six hours, following his scent trail that was nearly two miles from the hospice. The boy was unconscious and barely breathing but Barry found him buried under a snowdrift in a small cave. Barry carefully started to dig around the boy to free him, creating an air pocket and warmed the boy up with his body heat. After some time, the boy regained consciousness, and Barry convinced him to get on his back where the boy was carried back to the hospice and into his mother’s arms.
This story is by no means the only type of rescue Barry was capable of. He was remarkably adaptable to rescuing anyone from pilgrims to merchants to experienced mountaineers and is credited with saving 40 lives but could very well be more as it is just the 40 that are documented.
Barry retired in 1812 and during his lifetime the hospice had established the world’s first systematic canine rescue program where he served as a model and trainer for future generations.
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St. Bernard
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