Swiss national dogs left out in cold

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-10 09:41

GREAT SAINT BERNARD PASS, Switzerland: Friar Jose Mittaz was unsentimental when asked if he could foresee a day when there would be no more Saint Bernard dogs at his isolated monastery high in the Swiss Alps.

The Saint Bernards, once permanent residents of an Alpine monastary, are no longer being bred by Swiss monks. The kennels faced the risk of being shut down if not for a group of bankers and animal-lovers. [Agencies]

"A simple way to answer this is that we existed 700 years without the dogs," he said. "We have a history of 1,000 years, so it was only about 300 years ago that we started having the dogs."

Over time, Saint Bernards became synonymous with the monastery perched 2,500 meters above sea level, where they guided monks through the mountains or helped rescue lost or stranded travellers in the snowy heights.

The monastery returned thanks by ensuring the pedigree survived, breeding the iconic species that 125 years ago was christened "the Swiss national dog".

Today, however, the canines are no longer full-time residents. After a three-century run, the emblematic rescue animal, often depicted with a barrel of rum under its neck, has lost out to helicopters and modern technology.

Five years ago, the monks decided to part ways altogether with their breeding program. The effort was too much for the four remaining residents and the monks wanted to focus again on their core mission of ministering to people, said Mittaz.

Word that the kennels might be permanently shut caught the ear of some Swiss bankers and animal lovers, who set up a group called the Barry Foundation.

Thanks to them, the dogs remain at the monastery but only during a four-month period in the summer. In winter the animals are housed in kennels at a western Swiss town at the foot of the Alps.

But all the way up to the Great Saint Bernard Pass, it's clear this is still "Saint Bernard country". On the mountain, the monks still head out on occasional rescue missions but modern gadgets replace the once ubiquitous dogs.

In a nod to nostalgia, Mittaz said his avalanche transmitter is called "Barryvox".

"What does that mean? Literally, it means the voice of Barry," he said.

AFP