Switzerland’s iconic St Bernard dogs may no longer be needed for mountain rescue, roaming the slopes with a cask of brandy around their necks, but they still have a role to play, and not a park to play in.
The park, called Barryland after an early 19th-century dog credited with 40 rescues, offers the dogs room to roam and play, as well as treatment for older or injured dogs, including hydrotherapy and post-surgical care.
At the park, shaped like a paw print and developed from a previous smaller museum, visitors have the opportunity to play with some of the dogs and learn the history of the breed.
With helicopters replacing them in their mountain rescue role, the dogs, still based at the monastery that first bred them, have taken on other roles. The foundation’s dogs make hundreds of visits each year to hospitals, nursing homes and prisons, where they are used for therapy and social training, “sharing a little bit of kindness.”
