There are two varieties of the St Bernard; Short-haired variety ("Stockhaar", smooth coat). Long-haired variety (Rough coat). Both varieties are of considerable size and of impressive appearance. They have a balanced, powerful, sturdy, muscular body with an impressive head and an alert facial expression. Friendly by nature, the St. Bernard’s temperament is calm to lively. They are also watchful and like to observe what is going on around them.

The St. Bernard was bred to assist in the rescue of stranded or injured travelers in the Alps. The monk, Bernard of Menthon, established a hospice in the Alps of Switzerland in the early part of the 9th Century. The earliest written reference to dogs being at the hospice at is dated 1707. Earlier records had been destroyed in a fire at the hospice near the end of the 16th century. It is speculated that dogs were first used at the hospice somewhere between 1550 and 1775. It is thought that the monks were given dogs from the valley to protect them and the hospice from bandits. The hospice provided travelers of this Alpine pass with shelter and food. Some travelers were caught in storms, avalanches, or were simply lost among the rocks and paths of this remote, desolate region. The monks would routinely go out and hunt for the lost, the weary and the injured, and bring them back to the hospice to be sheltered, fed and/or nursed back to health.

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