This is a monument to the dog Barry. It was erected almost 180 years ago in a Parisian cemetery.

A huge dog and a child trustingly clinging to him are depicted on a stone pedestal, the inscription on which reads: “To Barry, who saved forty people and was killed by the forty-first one.”

Barry belonged to a breed now known as the St. Bernard. Until the 19th century, these dogs were known as “holy dogs,” Alpine dogs, and Saint Bernard’s dogs. These dogs lived in the Alps, bred at the monastery hospice founded by Bernard of Menthon, and their lives were directly linked to avalanches.

In the Alps, there’s a pass called the Saint Bernard Pass. A road ran through it, connecting Italy with the rest of Western Europe.

The road was a narrow, rocky path with steep cliffs. During blizzards and avalanches, the road became almost impassable and very dangerous.

In the 10th century, a monastery and a refuge for pilgrims were founded at the pass by order of Bernard of Menthon. After his death, Bernard was canonized and declared a saint, and the pass and monastery became known as Saint Bernard.

The monks acquired four-legged assistants who were strong and resilient, and most importantly, possessed an amazing sense of smell: they could sense people under the snow at a depth of three meters, navigated the mountains well, and quickly found their way home. Sensing the approach of bad weather, they didn’t hide, but rushed to the aid of people, voluntarily going into the mountains.

Three or four dogs would search for those in distress. If they found someone, two would lie down nearby, and the rest would run to the people to bring them to their aid.

Among dogs, there are celebrities, champions. But the most famous was and remains Barry.

They say that one day a severe snowstorm raged, but Barry continued to push through the blizzard, his heart knowing there was someone in need. Finding the snow-covered wanderer, Barry began to lick his face. When the man regained consciousness, he opened his eyes and decided it was a wolf standing in front of him and had killed Barry. This man was the forty-first…