Barry (dog) - History

History

The first mention in the Great St Bernard Hospice archives of a dog was in 1707 which simply said "A dog was buried by us." The dogs are thought to have been introduced to the monastery as watchdogs at some point between 1660 and 1670. Old skulls from the collection of the Natural History Museum of Bern show that at least two types of dog lived at the hospice. By 1800, the year that Barry was born, it was known that a special kind of dog was being used for rescue work in the pass. This general variety of dog was known as a Küherhund, or cowherd's dog.

Measurements of his preserved body show that Barry was smaller than the modern Saint Bernard, weighing between 40 and 45 kilograms (88 and 99 lb) whereas modern Bernards weigh between 65 and 85 kilograms (140 and 190 lb). His current mounted height is approximately 64 centimetres (25 in), but the living Barry would have been slightly smaller.

During Barry's career, he was credited with saving the lives of more than forty people, although this number has sometimes varied over the years. Barry's most famous rescue was that of a young boy. He found the child asleep in a cavern of ice. After warming up the boy's body sufficiently by licking him, he moved the boy about and onto his back and carried the child back to the hospice. The child survived and was returned to his parents, although other sources say that the boy's mother died in the avalanche that trapped the boy. The Museum of Natural History in Bern disputes the legend, attributing it to Peter Scheitlin, an animal psychologist.

The best of dogs, the best of animals is Barry. You used to leave the convent with a basket round your neck, into the storm, in the most insidious snow. Each and every day you examined the mountain searching for unfortunates buried under avalanches. You dug them out and brought them back to life by yourself and, when you couldn't, you rushed back to the convent signalling the monks for help. You resurrected people. Your tenderness was so easy to communicate, that the boy you dug out had no fear to let you bring him, holding on to your back, to the Hospice. —Peter Scheitlin, Complete Study on Animal Instinct