Iconic mountain rescue dogs keep history alive as museum celebrates first birthday

(26 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland - 22 June 2026 1. Close of St Bernard ASSOCIATED PRESS Martigny, Switzerland - 23 June 2026 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mélanie Glassey-Roth, director of Barryland: ++PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 3 TO 9++ “In 2005, the Barry Foundation was created and they take over the kennel and the St Bernard dogs from the canons (monastic priests). And they have, at the same time, a museum of the St Bernard dogs, and it was a little bit small, and we have a lot of demand and interest for this breed and this whole history and patrimony. So we decided to create a new park, a big one, so on Friday we will celebrate the one-year opening.” ASSOCIATED PRESS Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland - 22 June 2026 3. Mid of dogs barking ASSOCIATED PRESS Martigny, Switzerland - 23 June 2026 4. Exterior of Barryland, the Foundation’s St Bernard theme park 5. Barryland director Mélanie Glassey-Roth using interactive exhibit 6. Mid of Barryland’s exhibition of chocolate packaging featuring St Bernard 7. Various of reproduced photo prints of moments from the history of the mountain rescue ASSOCIATED PRESS Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland - 22 June 2026 8. Mid of dogs playing 9. Mid of dogs being walked ASSOCIATED PRESS Saint-Rhémy, Aosta Valley, Italy - 23 June 2026 10. Close of St Bernard model next to lake ASSOCIATED PRESS Bourg-Saint-Pierre, Switzerland - 22 June 2026 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Alexandra Piatti, dog keeper at Barry Foundation: ++STARTS ON SHOT 10 AND PARTIALLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 12 TO 14++ “We get to see them born, and we get to see them grow up, and then become mothers, and we get to accompany them through all those different challenges in life. We are their guide, so we can, you know, help them with socialisation and educate them, and really be by their side for, you know, their whole lives.” 12. Pan of dogs being walked above lake on St Bernards pass 13. Various of dogs drinking from waterway 14. Piatti leading dogs up hillside STORYLINE: A big, friendly face comes to see what the fuss is about. It must be time for a walk. The familiar figure of dog keeper Alexandra Piatti arrives to get their leads on. On the slopes above the Great St Bernard Pass, at 2,472 metres above sea level, the St Bernards are exactly where their breed has always called home. Large mountain dogs have been kept on this pass since the mid-seventeenth century. They arrived as guard dogs, became companions, and gradually evolved into something the Alpine world had never seen before: animals with an extraordinary instinct for locating travellers lost beneath the snow. The dogs move easily along the high alpine path, unhurried and sure-footed, the lake on the Swiss-Italian border shimmering below them. The hospice that gave the breed its name was founded in 1050 by Bernard de Montjoux, Archdeacon of Aosta, to provide refuge for pilgrims and merchants crossing one of the most treacherous routes in the Alps. The dogs became central to that mission. The most celebrated of all was Barry the First. He lived at the hospice from 1800 to 1812 and is credited with saving more than 40 lives. When he was too old to work, one of the monastic priests, known as canons, walked him to Bern on foot, where he lived out his final years in comfort. Piatti leads the St Bernards up a steeper section of hillside and the dogs accelerate, suddenly playful, covering ground with a confidence that belies their size. The St Bernard was officially recognised as Switzerland's national dog in 1887. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...