What do you picture in your head when we think about a St. Bernard? A big friendly dog with a barrel of brandy under his collar helping injured skiers in the Alps right?
I got into a discussion with a friend about popular culture and more specifically popular iconography and the “St. Bernard-barrel of brandy” image came up. We both agreed that it is odd that most people will know exactly what you are talking about when you mention the St. Bernard and the barrel….in the Alps….helping injured skiers. How and why does this happen? 17-19th century rescuing practices of Switzerland appears to be a pretty esoteric subject; but most people (in this country at least) who I have asked about the St. Bernard corollary immediately make the connection. They didn’t need any explaining; the dog with the brandy in the Alps connection is always made as if it is innate.
When I asked people “how do you know this” the answer is “probably from cartoons”. I tend to agree that this is probably accurate; I do seem to remember Looney Tunes cartoons with Elmer Fudd being resuscitated in the snow by a potion bearing pooch. Looney Tunes obviously had a large impact on American popular culture; from these cartoons we can also make the connection that storks deliver babies (and especially when drunk will deliver the babies to the wrong parents). So I think it is plausible that the St. Bernard image is a result from watching these cartoons. But was the image of the St. Bernard prevalent before the 1950s?
St. Bernards were herding dogs of Swiss farmers, and were also bred as rescuing dogs. Their name derives from the Great St. Bernard Pass hospice (a hospice at a pass in the Western Alps) where they were first used as working and rescuing dogs. So I do believe that their rescuing of errant hikers or skiers (possibly reviving them with brandy) has root in history.
The simple explanation is that (even if it is untrue) there is something funny and loveable about a big dog walking around with booze trying to save helpless people in the snow. Cartoonists believed (and rightfully so) that children would find this image endearing, and to this day many of us would like to think that these alcoholic ambulances are still roaming the Alps. And who would want to forget this?
Michael: FYI, from wikipedia:
Media portrayal
St. Bernards are often portrayed, especially in comics and cartoons, with small barrels of brandy worn around their necks. This was supposedly used to warm the victims that the dogs found. However, the monks deny that any St. Bernard has ever carried casks or small barrels around their necks; they believe that the origin of the image is an early painting or drawing. The monks did keep casks around for photographs by tourists.