Barry (10 page)

Today, the Saint Bernard is no longer used for mountain rescue. German shepherds replaced Saint Bernards in the early 1900s, and German shepherds were, in turn, replaced by Belgian sheepdogs, Labrador retrievers, and flat-coated retrievers,
all of whom have fewer problems with their hips. Highly trained search and rescue teams have replaced the clerics and marronniers of yesteryear.

In the 1850s, a Swiss man named Heinrich Schumacher so admired the alpine rescue dogs that he began to breed them. Working closely with the clerics, he was responsible for founding the breed as we know it today. He made a careful study of Saint Bernards. The more similar the dogs were to Barry, he felt, the more desirable they would be. But other breeders, feeling that the dogs could be improved if they had heavier coats, had, as early as the 1820s, begun to breed Saint Bernards with Newfoundlands. Heavier coats, they reasoned, would keep the Saint Bernard even warmer. But the heavier coats that resulted caused snow to stick in their fur, making the dogs too cold! Other breeders wanted to make Saint Bernards bigger.
Bigger, they reasoned, was better. So they crossed them with Great Danes and other oversize dogs. But like many oversize dogs, these animals often had trouble with their hips and hindquarters.

The first dog show to feature Saint Bernards was held in Switzerland in 1871. People from around the world marveled at the dogs. And in 1888, Saint Bernards officially came to America when they crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and the Saint Bernard Club of America was founded.

The Foundation Barry du Grand Saint Bernard still breeds dogs at the hospice. Their mission is to keep alive the Saint Bernard breed as it was embodied by Barry, as a living monument, free of the shifting and often extreme trends of breeders and hobbyists. The foundation makes sure that there is always a dog named Barry in residence, as there has been since the days of the original Barry. In the
winter months, the dogs are moved down from the hospice to Martigny, where winters are less severe.

For more information, visit:

The hospice still welcomes visitors. For one traveler’s account, visit:

Or visit the official site for the foundation at:

(Note: Click on the United Kingdom flag so the site appears in English.)

The Great Saint Bernard Hospice

The remounted Barry (1923). For over fifty years, this Barry wore a little barrel around his neck. It was removed in 1978 by the director of the Natural History Museum in Bern because there is no evidence that any dog from the hospice actually wore such a barrel. Barry was given back his barrel, however, in 2000, on the occasion of his two hundredth birthday. New research revealed that the 1923 remount had so altered his outer appearance that he might as well wear the legendary keg, too!

The first stuffed Barry (1814)

The Saint Bernard is a big dog, part of the mastiff group. Its average weight is between 140 and 180 pounds. Its height at the withers, or shoulders, is about twenty-six to thirty inches. Its coat can be short- or long-haired and is white with red or brown patches and black shading around the face. The muzzle is square, the eyes are big, the ears are floppy, and the tail droops. Usually, the Saint Bernard’s eyes are brown, but some have pale blue eyes.

Barry was not as big as the standard modern-day Saint Bernard. He probably weighed about one hundred pounds and would have been about twenty-five inches at the shoulder.

If you want to find out more about Saint Bernards, visit these sites:

There are rescue groups that specialize in finding homes for Saint Bernards whose owners can no longer take care of them. For more information, check out the following site:
saintrescue.​org
.

Owning any dog is a big responsibility, but Saint Bernards are
big
dogs. While they don’t necessarily require big yards, they take up a lot of space in a room and in a home. They are gentle giants and easy to train, but if you are interested in owning one, think about it very carefully. If you go to a Saint Bernard breeder, ask to meet the parents of the adorable pups. Get an idea of the parents’ size. With the owner’s permission, take one of the big bruisers around the block for a walk. If possible, groom a Saint Bernard. It will give you some idea
of what a big job it is just keeping its fur spiffy. Getting a Saint Bernard into the backseat of a car is no small feat, either. They drool, and both short- and long-haired varieties shed.

And then there is the reason why, in older times, only the rich owned Saint Bernards: food. Dogs are fed according to their weight. A 180-pound healthy Saint Bernard eats about six to eight cups of dry food per day. And don’t forget that the more food a dog takes in, the more poop comes out the other end. Scooping the poop of a Saint Bernard is not a chore for the faint of heart. But remember—Saint Bernards are sweet and gentle, and with a Saint Bernard, there’s more dog to love.

For more information about owning a Saint Bernard, visit: