50 Fun Facts About Saint Bernard

For what work was the breed originally developed at the Great St Bernard Pass?

The hospice monks first kept the dogs as watchdogs before they became rescuers.

Which country does the FCI recognise as the breed's country of origin?

The pass straddles the Swiss-Italian border, but the hospice sits on the Swiss side.

The hospice acquired its first dogs in which decade?

The earliest written record from the monks dates to 1707.

Which Italian artist's 1690 paintings are the first evidence of dogs at the monastery?

Written records from the monks themselves begin in 1707.

What did early British accounts call the breed?

Before the mid-19th century the dogs were also called Saint Dogs, Noble Steeds or Barry Dogs.

Who is the most famous rescue dog of the pass, credited with 40 or more saves?

His preserved body is in the Natural History Museum in Bern and a monument stands in the Cimetière des Chiens.

What does Barry's German byname 'Menschenretter' mean?

He worked at the hospice from about 1800 and retired to Bern.

According to legend, how did Barry die?

In truth he retired to Bern and died at 14.

In which city's Natural History Museum is Barry's preserved body displayed?

His skull was reshaped in 1923 to match the St. Bernards of that era.

What was done to Barry's mounted skull in 1923?

The original head was flatter with a moderate stop.

Roughly how much did Barry weigh, compared with 54–81 kg for a modern dog?

The original hospice dogs were about the size of a German Shepherd.

What naming tradition does the hospice maintain in honour of its most famous rescuer?

A special exhibition marked his 200th birthday in 2000.

Harsh winters in which years killed many breeding dogs in avalanches?

Survivors were crossed with Newfoundlands, which gave some dogs impractical long coats.

With which breed were the surviving dogs crossed in the 1850s?

The long fur they inherited froze in the snow and hampered rescue work.

How did the hospice animals learn search and rescue?

The monks never gave them special training.

What distinction does the St. Bernard hold in the Swiss Stud Book?

The breed standard was approved in 1888.

During World War I the dogs carried supplies for which organisation in the Italian mountains?

They reached positions mules and horses could not.

In which year was the last recorded Alpine rescue by one of the dogs?

As late as 2004 the hospice still kept 18 dogs for tradition.

Which foundation took over breeding the hospice dogs in 2004?

Its kennels are in Martigny, further down the pass.

About what size were the original hospice rescue animals?

Show breeding and a closed stud book pushed the breed to today's giant size.

Which 1820 painting do the monks blame for the neck-cask myth?

Edwin Landseer painted it; the monks kept casks only for tourist photos.

What do the hospice monks say about dogs carrying neck casks?

They did keep casks around for photographs with tourists.

A 1949 Punch cartoon has a breeder say he keeps the dogs only for what?

Old MGM and Warner cartoons often showed the dogs nipping from their own casks.

Which Russian breed was created by crossing St. Bernards with Caucasian Shepherd Dogs?

Army kennels developed it, and it still serves as a military dog.

How does the American Kennel Club classify the St. Bernard?

The United Kennel Club uses its Guardian Dog Group instead.

How do the four Sennenhund breeds differ in colour from the St. Bernard?

The Bernese, Greater Swiss, Appenzeller and Entlebucher are black, tan and white.

What life expectancy did a 2024 UK study give the breed?

The purebred average in the same study was 12.7.

Which bone cancer has been shown to be hereditary in the breed?

The breed is also the second most predisposed to hip dysplasia in a large American study.

After whom is the breed, the pass and the hospice named?

The 11th-century archdeacon of Aosta founded the hospice to protect travellers from brigands.

Which pope confirmed the hospice's founder as patron saint of the Alps in 1923?

He is also patron of skiing, snowboarding, hiking and mountaineering.

To which saint was the hospice originally dedicated?

Nicholas is the patron saint of travellers.

Which Swiss town does the Great St Bernard Pass connect with Aosta in Italy?

The pass reaches 2,469 metres and was bypassed by a road tunnel in 1964.

Whose army crossed the pass into Italy in 1800, as painted by Jacques-Louis David?

Paul Delaroche later painted a less heroic version of the same crossing.

Which Roman god had a temple at the top of the pass?

The site became known as Mons Jovis, later Mont Joux.

In which year was the Great St Bernard Hospice founded?

The first textual mention of its church comes in 1125.

Which Charles Dickens novel sets a chapter at the hospice and its mortuary?

Dickens visited in 1846 and described the frozen bodies in a letter to John Forster.

In the 1992 film, why is the Newton family's puppy named Beethoven?

Young Emily plays the piece on the family piano.

Under what pseudonym did John Hughes write the film Beethoven?

He borrowed the name of the Count of Monte Cristo.

Who played grumpy father George Newton in Beethoven?

Roger Ebert called him almost always amusing in the role.

How many puppies were cast to play the four pups in Beethoven's 2nd?

The St. Bernards grew too fast to keep the same animals throughout filming.

Who wrote the 1981 novel Cujo about a rabid St. Bernard?

King says he barely remembers writing it.

What animal bites Cujo and gives him rabies?

He had chased a rabbit into a small cave.

In which fictional Maine town is Cujo set?

King later reused the town in many books.

What car breaks down at the Cambers' garage in Cujo, trapping Donna and Tad?

King owned a dysfunctional Pinto himself at the time.

Cujo's name came from the alias of a man involved in whose kidnapping?

Willie Wolfe of the Symbionese Liberation Army used the name.

In Jack London's The Call of the Wild, Buck is half St. Bernard and half what?

At least one film version made him a full St. Bernard.

Which NHL team's mascot, Bernie, is a St. Bernard?

The New Orleans Saints' Gumbo is another St. Bernard mascot.

Which wartime St. Bernard is honoured with a statue in Montrose, Scotland?

The Norwegian dog received the PDSA Gold Medal for bravery.

Nana in the Disney Peter Pan films is a St. Bernard, but what breed was she in Barrie's original?

Barrie's own dog Porthos was a St. Bernard.

Which aviation pioneer owned a St. Bernard named Scipio?

J. M. Barrie's Porthos and Donald Duck's Bolivar are other famous examples.