Barry – the hero dog

St.Bernard’s are known to be gentle giants but they are also brave and resourceful characters too.  They have an excellent scenting ability and can find what is lost – especially people.   Barry the mountain St.Bernard dog was known throughout Europe for his uncanny ability to find climbers who had disappeared in the mountains.   He was a real hero, this is an account of him written over 100 years ago:

Among the many animals made use of by humans, the dog, our most faithful friend and companion stands first.   One especially famous dog was a St.Bernard who was called Barry – his story is still known today in the Alpine villages around Bern in Switzerland.  Barry was noted for his rescue work.  On one occasion a traveller was caught in a storm and staggering along a barely visible track.  There was blinding snow and deep drifts, he was completely lost and eventually fell and lay motionless.  A few moments later he heard a sharp bark above the wind and a huge St.Bernard dog bounded towards him.  The dog crouched above him, half covering him with his body.  He licked the man’s face with his warm tongue until the half frozen man realised that the flask around the dog’s neck held food and brandy.  After he’d unfasten the flask the dog bounded off and after a while he returned with a rescue party of monks from a nearby monastery.   The man was saved.   The hero of this story was Barry who was the most famous of the dogs trained to find and save those who were lost.  During the twelve years he lived with the monks in the lonely mountain monastery, Barry saved over 40 lives.

When this account of his heroism was written, over 100 years ago, Barry’s statue stood in the Museum of Natural History in Bern.   There was also an imposing monument to him in the Dog Cemetery in Paris.  I wonder if he is still there…..

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