4 Introduction Here Comes a Saint Bernard Jamal's friend Bobby is visiting Jamal welcomes Bobby into the house Then Emile makes an appearance Bobby looks scared Emile just wants to say hi Why is Bobby worried Because Emile is a Saint Bernard He's a huge dog Bobby is not sure what to do Emile knows what to do He walks slowly up to Bobby and lowers his head Bobby pets Emile and knows it's okay Emile is a big dog but he is super friendly Saint Bernards are large but they are very nice to be around
FUN FACT Saint Bernards are one of the five biggest breeds of dogs The tallest dog ever was a Great Dane 5
6 Chapter 1 The Story of Saint Bernards The story of Saint Bernard dogs starts more than 1,000 years ago In 1050 a monk named Bernard de Menthon built a resting place for travelers The building was 8,000 feet 2,438 m up the Swiss mountains It was on a road between Switzerland and Italy The place was run by Bernard's fellow monks FUN FACT Saint Bernard grew up in a rich family but left it behind to join the Catholic Church and become a monk This painting shows Saint Bernard with one of his famous dogs
The monastery where travelers rested still stands in the Swiss Alps In the 1600s the monks got some dogs to help them The dogs guided travelers They helped protect the resting place The dogs also had a great sense of smell They could locate people lost in the snow The dogs worked in teams One would sniff out the person One dog used his body to warm the chilled traveler The other dog ran to the monks for help 7
