CHAPTER IV 

 THE ST. BERNARD 



THE history of the St. Bernard dog would not be complete 

 without reference being made to the noble work that he has 

 done in Switzerland, his native land : how the Hospice St. 

 Bernard kept a considerable number of dogs which were 

 trained to go over the mountains with small barrels round 

 their necks, containing restoratives, in the event of their 

 coming across any poor travellers who had either lost their 

 way, or had been overcome by the cold. We have been told 

 that the intelligent animals saved many lives in this way, 

 the subjects of their deliverance often being found entirely 

 buried in the snow. 



Handsome as the St. Bernard is, with his attractive colour 

 and markings, he is a cross-bred dog. From the records of 

 old writers it is to be gathered that to refill the kennels at the 

 Hospice which had been rendered vacant from the combined 

 catastrophes of distemper and the fall of an avalanche which 

 had swept away nearly all their hounds, the monks were 

 compelled to have recourse to a cross with the Newfoundland 

 and the Pyrenean sheepdog, the latter not unlike the St. 

 Bernard in size and appearance. Then, again, there is no 

 doubt whatever that at some time the Bloodhound has been 

 introduced, and it is known for a certainty that almost all 

 the most celebrated St. Bernards in England at the present 

 time are closely allied to the Mastiff. 



The result of all this intermixture of different breeds has 

 been the production of an exceedingly fine race of dogs, which 

 form one of the most attractive features at our dog shows, 



32 



