Dogs are great rescuers. We all know it, but some of them are better at the job than others. What could be nobler than saving lives. Barry, who lived and made history between 1800 and 1814, was one of the greatest rescue dogs the world has ever seen. Barry was a Saint Bernard dog who gained world fame for the brave rescue operations he carried out during his lifetime. Salvatore Rosa’s painting of him still hangs in a hospice in the Alps of Switzerland.
Saint Bernard dogs have such a keen sense of smell that they can smell people buried deep in the snow. Barry, like other Saint Bernard dogs, was trained by monks to rescue lost travelers in the Alps. The Bernards, finding a man to be rescued, lie on top of the person and start licking his face to wake him up. Simultaneously, they barked loudly calling for the monks to help them, and heard that the monks would come with a stretcher and warm blankets to keep the person warm. The companion is then taken to the monastery and served with hot tea and food.
Barry was an expert rescue dog well versed in the rescue drill and among his famous rescue adventures is this famous story about a boy who was found stranded on an icy ledge, all covered in thick snow under an ongoing heavy snowfall. No man could scale that icy ledge, but Barry, braving all odds, crawled inch by inch toward the injured boy. As the drill says, Barry began to lick the boy’s face, but the snowfall was too heavy and the ledge too difficult to climb for any monk to reach the boy. So, there was no help coming. The boy, however, was aroused by Barry’s warm licks and wrapped his arms around Barry’s strong neck. The dog carefully and bravely pulled him off the ledge and to safety.
It is just one of the many brave rescue stories of this great Saint Bernard savior. He lived from 1800 to 1814 and saved more than 40 lives in his lifetime.
