St Bernard's A Tail Of Licker Barrels And Heroism

The Story Behind the Most Interesting Man’s Best Friend in the World.

- Jim Dykstra

St. Bernard’s have a way of getting our attention. Their gargantuan stature and calm demeanor has contributed to their larger than life persona, even grabbing one St. Bernard a starring role in the movie Beethoven. But the story behind these gentle giants is far more gripping than the 26th highest-grossing film of 1992, involving life and death, romance (well, breeding) and yes… alcohol.

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Our story begins in the snowy peaks of the Alps between Italy and Switzerland. The Great Saint Bernard pass is a 49-mile path, and quite treacherous save for a few summer months. The route got its name from Saint Bernard de Menthon, who founded a hospice and monastery to aid travelers around the year 1050. There also exists a Little St. Bernard Pass, and a Little Saint Bernard Hospice nearby.

It would be a few centuries before the St. Bernard breed came into play. Between 1660 and 1670, monks at St. Bernard acquired the progenitors of the heroic lineage. The dogs were mastiffs, descended from stout Asiatic breeds meant for war, and slightly smaller than the behemoths we see today. Their fur was also shorter and their tails longer, but these alpine hounds laid the genetic groundwork for the future of the breed.

St. Bernard’s weren’t specifically being bred as hero dogs yet. At the time, they were more “civilian” dogs, ready to bark, play and cuddle at a moment’s notice. It didn’t take long for marroniers, who were servant-guides of the area, to note how easily these dogs could traverse the terrain, or how they used their keen sense of smell and their ability to sense avalanches. Over time, they would be selected and bred specifically for these traits, resulting in the gentle giants we love today.