The head and ears are of the same color,
with the addition of black on the edges; but the muzzle is white, and
a stripe of the same color advances upon the forehead nearly up to the
nape of the neck. The neck also is entirely white. There are two
varieties of the Alpine or St. Bernard dog, one having long hair and
the other shorter and very thick hair. We give in Fig. 1 a portrait of
Cano, a large St. Bernard belonging to Mr. Gaston Leonnard.
[Illustration: FIG. 1--LARGE ST. BERNARD DOG BELONGING TO MR. LEONARD.]
Although this breed originated at the celebrated convent of St.
Bernard, it no longer exists there in a state of purity, and in order
to find fine types of it we have to go to special breeders of
Switzerland and England. The famous Plinnlimon, which was bought for
$5,000 by an American two or three years ago, and about which there
was much talk in the papers, even the political ones, was born and
reared in England. It appears that it is necessary, too, to reduce the
number of life-saving acts that it is said are daily performed by the
St. Bernard dogs. This is no longer but a legend. There was, it is
true, a St. Bernard named Barry, now exhibited in a stuffed state in
the Berne Museum, which accomplished wonders in the way of saving
life, but this was an exception, and the reputation of this animal has
extended to all others of its kind.
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