Long before Beethoven drooled on the big screen, St. Bernard dogs were famous for an entirely different reason: saving lives. Since the early 18th century, monks living in the snowy, dangerous St. Bernard Pass, a route through the Alps between Italy and Switzerland, have kept the canines to help on rescue missions after snowstorms.
Over nearly 200 years, about 2,000 people, from lost children to Napoleon’s soldiers, were saved thanks to the dogs’ uncanny sense of direction and resistance to cold. Originally guarding Switzerland’s Hospice Saint Bernard, these heroic dogs evolved through crossbreeding into the gentle companions we welcome into homes worldwide today.
Click through the gallery to see how these
gentle giants
became legendary Alpine rescuers as well as beloved companions.