A Saint Bernard is a very large, powerful dog breed originally developed by monks in the Swiss Alps to rescue travelers lost in mountain snowstorms. These dogs can weigh 180 pounds or more, with thick fur coats, droopy jowls, and gentle, patient expressions. Despite their enormous size, Saint Bernards are famously calm and friendly, especially with children.

For centuries, monks at the Great Saint Bernard Hospice trained these dogs to locate people buried in avalanches or stranded in blizzards. The dogs would travel in pairs through deep snow, using their incredible sense of smell to find lost travelers. When they located someone, one dog would lie down next to the person to provide warmth while the other returned to alert the monks. The most famous Saint Bernard, a dog named Barry, reportedly saved more than 40 lives in the early 1800s.

You might have seen pictures of Saint Bernards wearing small wooden barrels around their necks. That's mostly legend: while the dogs did carry supplies, those iconic barrels were added later for photographs and paintings. Today, Saint Bernards are kept mainly as family pets, though some Swiss rescue organizations still train them to honor the breed's heroic heritage.