The Legendary Barry at the Natural History Museum

From 09-Jun-01 to 25-Feb-01 we had a special exhibit devoted to Barry

Barry as pictured by Richard Strebel (1933)

As was mentioned before, Barry (1800 - 1814) is the most famous Saint Bernard Dog. The Hospice continues to honor Barry by always having one dog at the Hospice named Barry. Even so, none of Barry's descendants have achieved similar notoriety.

The mounted Barry, as put on exhibit at the Natural History Museum Berne, shows a large and strong dog, but much smaller than the modern Saint. While modern Saints weigh 65 to 85 kg., Barry weighed under 50 kg (probably between 40 kg and 45 kg). Barry's mounted height is approximately 64 cm, but the living Barry was probably slightly smaller. His markings are very similar to those on a painting by Salvatore Rosa, a painting that remains in the Hospice.

The stuffed Barry shows a compromise between what the taxidermist (or his boss, the director of the Museum) thought was a good representative of the Saint Bernard Dog and the way Barry actually looked. Further, skull shape was altered to represent that which was popular in 1923. In reality, Barry's skull was rather flat with a moderate stop. In other words, Barry was a true "Küherhund" (cowherd's dog). For some unknown reason the taxidermist was convinced to model a larger head with a more pronounced stop.

However Barry did not gain fame as model for the perfect Saint. He was heralded for his deeds in rescue work, having saved 40 or so lives. This number is disputable. For the monks at the monastery, caring for travelers was an everyday task and detailed records of successful rescues were not kept. Furthermore, it would have been difficult to assess each case and whether travelers would have arrived safely without the aid of the dogs.

The inscription on the Barry-monument (which by the way shows a long-haired dog with no apparent resemblance to a Saint Bernard!) in Asnière near Paris states: "Il sauva la vie à 40 personnes. Il fut tué par le 41ème" (He saved the lives of 40 persons. He was killed by the 41st). As mentioned earlier, this is not true.

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The Saint Bernard Pass >
The Origins of the Dogs >
The Dogs from the Hospice >
Short- and Long-Haired Saints >
Their Rescue and Life-Saving Work >
The Beginning of Purebred Saints >
The Legendary Barry >
Bibliography, Acknowledgement, Dedication & Copyright Notice >

The remounted Barry (1923) as displayed until 1998

Barry was brought to Berne by a monk in 1812. This is a fact that the old Prior confirmed to Heinrich Schumacher in 1866. Barry remained in Berne and finally died at the age of 14. His body was stuffed and put on exhibit. The taxidermist gave Barry a rather humble and meek attitude because the Prior wanted Barry to serve as a reminder of constant servitude to future generations. In 1923, the old mounted Barry was refurbished. Barry had become rather brittle and his coat had dissolved into over 20 pieces. It is thanks to the craftsmanship of the next taxidermist, Georg Ruprecht that Barry was so expertly preserved.

Today, 180 years after his death, Barry still has the honor of being exhibited in the main entrance of the Museum (new display 1998). He is an eternal reminder of the unselfish work performed by so many dogs on the Great Saint Bernard Pass.

...and the spirit of Barry lives on in each new generation of Saints.

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