Saint Bernard Puppies Blog

The most famous and longest appearance of the Saint Bernard breed is in the film serie Beethoven (1992), where the key character, Beethoven is a large and friendly, yet very mischievous dog that keeps making trouble in his family. He sneaks into the home of the Newton family after he was stolen by thieves from a pet shop. The father (Charles Grodin) does not want to own and take care of a dog, but his wife (Bonnie Hunt) and his 3 children convince him to keep the little puppy. Later the dog gets into serious trouble when the local veterinarian – who is involved in some unethical animal experimentation – tries to seize the dog, therefore tries to convince the family that their dog is mentally instabile and dangerous to the family.

The Saint Bernard breed in reality is very loyal and affectionate, but they require early socialization and obedience training to overtake later problems (like the family has in the film).

Do you know any other famous Saint Bernard dogs? Post a comment with your story!

I recall as a child, that my dad used to listen to Beethoven’s classics. He was a great fan of the classical genius. Then in 1993, the family comedy came out and the main character – the four-legged hero- was named Beethoven. Being aware of the fact that Beethoven was a genius composer, I asked my father why a St. Bernard would be given that name? He shook his head sadly and said: ” Some weird person must have his facts wrong”. I think my dad believed that Beethoven would turn in his grave, if he knew that a large, slobbering dog was named after him, but I do believe, that much like with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Rennaissance artists like Raphaelo, Donatello, Michealangelo and Leonardo have been kept alive. The St. Bernard is even today …more than a decade later…synonymous with the name Beethoven. Or is it vice versa? And (sadly?) when someone asks if you have heard about Beethoven, more often than not, they ask: “The Saint Bernard dog?”

With great marketing, new “classics” seemed to have been born in the 20th century. Far from judging what a classic is or isn’t, I think that Beethoven will always be amongst us…..in maybe a furrier form than the original, but none the less loved, even if the audience may differ quite subsantially. I actually wonder how many people named their lovable St. Bernards after the deaf composer…..

But apart from sharing this little observation with you, I will give weekly postings about this mammoth breed, that you will hopefully enjoy. These will include characteristics of the breed and everything that needs to be known about the St. Bernard. So watch this space!