Evening star., 1940-03-31
KEEPING TAB ON THE DOG WORLD
News of Leaders Dogdom and Their Masters; Comments on
Breeds: Notes Shows Here and Elsewhere
By r. r. Taynton.


coveted honor OF best of beed. With
this award and the purple and gold
ribbon went the last two points nee
essary for Lady to complete her
claims to the title Of champion. AL
though rather small as st. Bernards
go Gady weighs only 40 pounds)
she has the points and quality which
enabled her to win the title. Mr..
Doll, who judged the breed at At
lantic City, declared her one Of the
best-moving and soundest large dogs
he had ever seen. Lady won four
points at Philadelphia, three points
at Harrisburg and four points at
Baltimore. She was best Of breed at
Harrisburg as well as at Atlantic
City.
Dinah Nixon Of Dalakay comes by
her quality honestly. She is. Of true
Swiss type, which is the preferred
type in this country. Her sire was
Oh. Athos Won Hochfeld-Waldeck
one of the quartet of dogs imported
by Mr.. Forbrigger several years ago
at a reputed price of $1,000.
The history Of the breed, while
Its origins are shrouded in mystery
as are those of most old dog breeds,
Is nevertheless full OF interest. Ro-
mantle tales and legends have clus-
tered about the big dog, some au-
thentic and some far fetched, but
all adding to the glamour which
this breed has possessed for its ad-
mirers for centuries.
Stories About Bread,
It is sad but true that the St.
Bernard was not introduced to the
hospice at st. Bernard's Pass by
the founder Of the order, st. Bernard
himself. While there are various
and conflicting stories about how
and when the big dogs came to the
hospice. the most likely theory is
that they were an adaptation of the
native Swiss dogs. called sennen-
hunde, which were crossed with the
Deutches dogge. or great Dane, to
increase their size. Early In the
nineteenth century there was a Sc
ries Of terrific snowstorms, which in
that altitude meant depths of almost
20 feet Of snow. The hardships of
those years and the inroads Of dis
temper at that time decimated the
number Of st. Bernards at the
hospice. For the preservation of
the breed and to strengthen a race
that had been weakened by CEN
turies Of inbreeding. cross breeding
with Newfoundlands and great Py-
renees was resorted to. This cross
ing had the effect Of producing some
pups In the litter with long coats
instead Of the all-smooth coats. It
affected the coloring and markings.
The trace of black on the skull that
is now considered 50 desirable is a
legacy from the Newfoundland
cross, while the preponderance of
white in the modern st. Bernard
stems from the Pyrenean dog.
Some authorities claim that there
is trace of bloodhound in the
modern Saint. For evidence they
adduce the conspicuous jaw, the
wrinkle and the heavy lip. as we'll
as the st. Bernards conspicuous
aptitude for man-trailing under all
circumstances.
No history of the st. Bernard is
complete without some mention of
Old Barry, the dog that typifies the
breed for all childhood. Legend
has it that Old Barry rescued 80
wayfarers from the SHOWS of st.
Bernard Pass and was killed by the
40th, who mistook him for q wolf.
Sober fact reveals that Old Barry
died in his bed at Bern, Switzerland,
two years after he was retired from
active duty at the hospice. Never
theless. his feats Of life-saving en-
title him to place in the canine
Hall of Fame.
Life-Saving Records.
Old Barry's life-saving record was
eQualed by a number of other hos
pice dogs It Is estimated that in
the 200 years since the records have
been kept about the dogs over 1000
persons have been saved by them.
The dogs are sent out Of the hos
pice in pairs during storms. If they
find anybody lost In the drifts, one
Of the dogs stays with the traveller,
while the other goes home for hu-
man help. While modern modes Of
travel have cut down the need for
much of this canine assistance, 1t
has not entirely eliminated it.
In 1888 a little party Of monks
from the st. Bernard Hospice set
out with q number of dog COM
panions to found a similar hospice
in the wild Si-La Pass Of the IT,
betan Himalayas, as wild and lonely
a pass as was St. Bernard's in the
Middle Ages. For the hospice they
took some OF the old dogs, declared
by a competent British authority to
be as fire In type as any bench
show st. Bernard anywhere.
The international standard of the
st. Bernard. as adopted by the Swiss.
the German and the American Ken
mel Clubs calls for a large, muscular
dog with q powerful head and in
telligent expression. The head must
be very powerful and imposing, with
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