<P> The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass in 1707 , with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier . The most famous St. Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry ( sometimes spelled Berry ) , who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives . There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens , and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne . Another famous dog was Rutor , the faithful companion of the priest Pierre Chanoux , who was named after the peak Tête du Rutor located above the Little St Bernard pass . The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today because of cross-breeding . Severe winters from 1816 to 1818 led to increased numbers of avalanches , killing many of the dogs used for breeding while they were performing rescues . In an attempt to preserve the breed , the remaining St. Bernards were crossed with Newfoundlands brought from the Colony of Newfoundland in the 1850s , and so lost much of their use as rescue dogs in the snowy climate of the alps because the long fur they inherited would freeze and weigh them down . </P>
<P> The earliest written records of the St. Bernard breed are from monks at the Great St Bernard Hospice at the Great St. Bernard Pass in 1707 , with paintings and drawings of the dog dating even earlier . The most famous St. Bernard to save people at the pass was Barry ( sometimes spelled Berry ) , who reportedly saved somewhere between 40 and 100 lives . There is a monument to Barry in the Cimetière des Chiens , and his body was preserved in the Natural History Museum in Berne . Another famous dog was Rutor , the faithful companion of the priest Pierre Chanoux , who was named after the peak Tête du Rutor located above the Little St Bernard pass . The classic St. Bernard looked very different from the St. Bernard of today because of cross-breeding . Severe winters from 1816 to 1818 led to increased numbers of avalanches , killing many of the dogs used for breeding while they were performing rescues . In an attempt to preserve the breed , the remaining St. Bernards were crossed with Newfoundlands brought from the Colony of Newfoundland in the 1850s , and so lost much of their use as rescue dogs in the snowy climate of the alps because the long fur they inherited would freeze and weigh them down . </P>
how did st bernard dog get its name
how did st bernard dog get its name
the Great St. Bernard Pass
the Great St. Bernard Pass