Hero Animals

By Andrew Phillips | April 7, 2013

A little bit of a variety with a little history! Today we feature a cat named Jim and a St. Bernard named Barry on this weeks Hero Dogs- er, Hero Animals!

A cat named Jim, once saved his human family after a fire had started in the house. The family was asleep and unaware of the fire. Rather than run out and leave the family, Jim ran upstairs and

awoke them with his loud meowing. The family was able to escape unharmed. For his efforts Jim was awarded the Blue Cross Medal.

imgres-7

The monks stationed at Great St. Bernard Pass near the Swiss-Italian border originally bred the massive St. Bernard. They hoped to create a breed capable of locating and saving lost travelers as they made their way through the dangerous mountain pass. And a fine job they did. St. Bernards are capable of picking up a human scent from over 2 miles and can locate a body beneath ten feet of snow. Their most famous specimen was Barry, said to save over 40 lives. Renowned for his bravery and compassion, a statue of Barry stills stands at the Cimetière des Chiens pet cemetery in Paris, and his body is preserved at the Natural History Museum in Berne, Switzerland.

Leave a Reply