Oregon -- Ski Resort's St. Bernards Continue Long Tradition

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. - For centuries, Saint Bernards have had the reputation of being great mountain dogs. In the popular imagination, members of this sturdy breed are always ready to find a lost traveler in a blizzard, sustaining him with brandy from the keg around his neck.

That's why Timberline Lodge, on Oregon's Mt. Hood, has had about 10 Saint Bernards since Dick Kohnstamm took over in 1955, he reckons. Mostly named Heidi or Bruno (though the first two were Hansel and Gretel), they lived up to 14 years and rotated through singly and doubly, charming the increasing number of guests and being on duty 24 hours a day.

"Mac," who belonged to a Timberline employee in the 1950s, is immortalized on the lodge's matchbook cover. The pins in the gift shop are all "Heidi" or "Bruno" pins - "one of the reasons we never changed the names," Kohnstamm said with a chuckle.

But the 40-year tradition changed in a hurry last spring when 4-year-old Bruno V was fired after snapping at a little girl who shoved a french fry up his nose.

"We went without a dog for a while, but children at the ski school asked how come we didn't have one," said Stewart Collins, a Timberline ski instructor . "There's quite a demand for the tradition,"

The result?

- Bruno V has retired to live with Collins, his wife and three children in Parkdale.

- Bruno VI is in training to replace him, gaining half a pound a day on 14 cups of dog food.

- And Bruno VI works 40 to 45 hours a week, just like Collins.

Collins, 36, grew up on a farm with horses and cows, and it's clear to him what caused the french fry incident.

"After Bruno's full-time trainer went off to school, he had a free rein. People were taking care of him, but he didn't have a consistent alpha leader - dogs need that," Collins said.

"He was getting older and getting tired of being poked and prodded. And he was working 365 days a year - that's a lot of work; anyone would get grumpy."

At 26 weeks old and 100 pounds, Bruno VI is still a puppy. He'd rather stay and play with the Collinses' German shepherd than go to work - "he mopes around having to get up in the mornings," said Collins with a laugh.

Timberline's Saint Bernards have figured in a number of stories and traditions over the years.

One thing they've all had in common is a dislike for yappy little dogs and motorcycles. Several cars have been severely scratched over the years, as Heidi or Bruno have tried to get to a schnauzer-size annoyance inside.

"And there were reports of stolen mittens," sighed Kohnstamm.

Then there was the time that one Heidi was "dognapped."

"The mother of the dognapper turned him in because she couldn't afford to feed the dog," said Kohnstamm.

But Kohnstamm's favorite Saint Bernard story dispels a famous myth.

"Booze - and especially brandy - isn't good for people with hypothermia. It reduces the tolerance for cold, and it's the wrong thing to give anyone," Kohnstamm said.

"Hennessey, the brandy makers, came upon this stunt with the brandy keg. Real search dogs don't carry them, but it caught on so well they even make Saint Bernard brandy kegs. But the dogs hate them because they like to lie down with their head between their paws - and with a keg they can't. So we never subjected our dogs to that."