Barry the famous Alpine rescuer

Of all Saint Bernards Barry is probably the most famous. He was the dog from the  Monastry

(du Grand Saint Bernard) who famously saved the lifes of a lot of travelers.

During Barry's career, he was credited with saving the lives of more than forty people, although

this number has sometimes varied over the years. Barry's most famous rescue was that of a young

boy. He found the child asleep in a cavern of ice.  After warming up the boy's body  sufficiently by licking

him, he moved the boy about and onto his back and carried the child back to the hospice. The child 

survived and was returned to his parents, although other sources say that the boy's mother died in the

avalanche that trapped the boy. The Museum of Natural History in Bern disputes the legend, attributing

it to Peter Scheitlin.

Measurements of his preserved body show that Barry was smaller than the modern

Saint Bernard, weighing between 40 and 45 kilograms (88 and 99 lb) whereas modern Bernards

weigh between 65 and 85 kilograms (140 and 190 lb). His current mounted height is approximately

64 centimetres (25 in), but the living Barry would have been slightly smaller Barry was born in the

year 1800, and died 1814.