Posted on 03/07/2009 4:48:11 PM PST by EveningStar
The most famous St. Bernard of all, Barry.
You can see from the pic that the old St. Bernard's Dog (early 19th century) didn't look at all like the modern version. More like the rest of the Swiss herding dogs - the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, the Bernese, Appenzell and Entlebuch Dogs. Very bad weather in the 1810s killed off so many of the St. Bernards that they thought they would become extinct. They were outcrossed with Newfies which made them larger, spoiled the pretty head, and gave them a very thick long coat which is eminently unsuited for mountain rescue because snow and water freeze in it and weigh the dog down (which is more or less what happened here).
Sadly, the monks at St. Bernard Hospice no longer breed the dogs and they don't even have any anymore.
Asssss! Thaks for posting this nice story.
That should have said, “Awwwwwwww’. I can’t type today.
Cute pic, P4EN. : )
Duke lived up to the tough guy image of his name. So glad to hear the happy ending to the story. Bet that blow dryer felt good to him!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.