Bee Movie Inspired Dog Names

In the Bee Movie, the focus is centered on a honey bee named Barry B. Benson, who discovers the exploitation of his fellow bees by humans and tries to do something about it. At the end of the film, he is considered a hero and was able to help a lot of bees and humans at the same time. Another famous Barry with a helpful nature is the canine known as Barry der Menschenretter.

Barry der Menschenretter, or simply Barry, was a Saint Bernard mountain rescue dog who worked in the Great St. Bernard Hospice in Switzerland and Italy. His byname stands for “people rescuer” in German and that is exactly what he was. In fact, during his lifetime, he was said to have saved over 40 lives. He is widely considered as the most popular Saint Bernard, even though he predates the breed and is slightly smaller in size compared to the modern-day Saint Bernard breed.

It was in 1707 when the archives of the hospice first mentioned the existence of the dog. However, it was not until the 1800s when Barry was born. A special type of dog, known as Küherhund or “cowherd’s dog”, they were specifically bred for rescue work. Throughout his life, Barry was said to have had a hand in saving the lives of more than forty people. Perhaps his most renowned rescue was the life of a young boy who he found sleeping in an ice cavern. Barry licked the boy repeatedly in order to warm his body up. When he was warm enough, he placed the boy on his back and brought him back to the hospice. The boy recovered from the cold and was able to survive and return home to his parents. Peter Scheitlin, a well-known animal psychologist, wrote a lovely homage to Barry and talks about how he examined the mountains for avalanche victims every day and helped saved their lives one way or another.

There have been rumors surrounding the death of Barry, specifically one about being killed by a Swiss soldier that he saved. According to this rumor, Barry picked up the soldier’s scent and was able to revive him. However, when the soldier awoke, he thought he was being attacked and stabbed Barry with his bayonet. This, however, was disputed. After serving as a mountain rescue dog in the monastery for over a decade, a monk brought Barry to the city of Bern in Switzerland to live out his remaining years. At the age of 14, Barry passed away. Following his death, his body was given to the Natural History Museum of Bern and a taxidermist preserved his skin to be displayed. In 2000, a special exhibit in the museum was held in honor of Barry’s 200^th birthday.