St Bernard Dogs Save Lives with Brandy…
What a misconception!!
Did you know that brandy would kill a person suffering hypothermia??? It can help with oversoming shock, but if given when one is near death, it can kill.
St. Bernards are often portrayed, especially in comics, cartoons and old live action comedies with small barrels of brandy worn around their necks. This was supposedly used to warm the victims that the dogs found. However, the monks that origianlly bred them in Switzerland deny that any St. Bernard has ever carried casks or small barrels around their necks. It is believed that the origin of the image is an early painting. The monks did keep casks around for photographs that tourists took, but that was purely for marketing’s sake.
However, the St. Bernard was indeed used for search and rescue.
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