Where were St. Bernards utilized as "rescue dogs" in mountains?

St. Bernards are a descendant of a mastiff-style Asiatic dog. Around 1660, monks at Great St. Bernard Hospice in the Swiss Alps acquired these dogs as companions / watchdogs. Around 1750, they were used to accompany travelers from the hospice and Bourg-Saint-Pierre and Italy along the Great St. Bernard Pass, a 49-mile route in the Western Alps, going from Southwestern Switzerland to Northern Italy. The large chests of the dogs made them ideal for clearing the snowy path. Later, they were used to locate stranded and snow buried travelers because they have a strong sense of smell. These original St. Bernards had shorter reddish brown, white fur and a longer tail than the current breed that is the product of the original St. Bernard and the Newfoundland.

The St. Bernards are credited with over 2000 rescues, including Napoleon's army during "the White Death" marches. Since the invention of the helicopter, St. Bernards are rarely used to search for lost travelers through the pass any longer.

The most famous of the dogs was "Barry" who lived from 1800-1812 and saved 40+ travelers. His body was preserved via taxidermy and is on display at the Natural History Museum in Berne, Switzerland.

Though legends tell of a small keg on the collar was filled with liquor to warm the rescued, there is no substantiating documents to support this claim.