Barry

Barry der Menschenretter (1800–1814), also known as Barry, was a dog of a breed which was later called the St. Bernard that worked as a mountain rescue dog in Switzerland and Italy for the Great St Bernard Hospice. He predates the modern St. Bernard, and was lighter built than the modern breed. He has been described as the most famous St. Bernard, as he was credited with saving more than 40 lives during his lifetime, hence his byname meaning "people rescuer" in German. The legend surrounding him was that he was killed while attempting a rescue; however, this is untrue. Barry retired to Bern, Switzerland and after his death his body was passed into the care of the Natural History Museum of Bern. His skin has been preserved through taxidermy although his skull was modified in 1923 to match the Saint Bernard of that time period. His story and name have been used in literary works, and a monument to him stands in the Cimetière des Chiens near Paris. At the hospice, one dog has always been named Barry in his honor; and since 2004, the Fondation Barry du Grand Saint Bernard has been set up to take over the responsibility for breeding dogs from the hospice. 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.