Have you ever wondered where the phrase, “Love me, love my
dog” originated? As a dog lover who considers the phrase more of a credo for
life than a proverb, I did! The phrase itself is generally accepted to
mean, “Take me as I am, faults and all”, but the saint to whom it’s attributed
was indeed a dog lover! So perhaps like me, he too meant it literally not
figuratively. As “This Day in Quotes” explains:
“... I’m a big fan of St. Bernard, because he’s the guy who immortalized a saying
that’s now best known in the modernized form “Love me, love my dog”… St. Bernard’s famous dog quote was originally recorded in
Latin as “Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.” The full sentence this quote comes
from is “Dicitur certe vulgari proverbio: Qui me amat, amat et canem meum” —
which translates as “It is said truly in a common proverb: who loves me, also
loves my dog.” This makes it clear that
Bernard was quoting an existing proverb... but his use became famous and helped popularize the saying. If you read his sermon, you
find that he was comparing the relationship between dogs and people to the
relationship between humans and Jesus. Contrary to what some people assume, St. Bernard of
Clairvaux is not associated with Saint Bernard dogs. They
were named after Saint Bernard of Menthon who established a
monastery and hospice high up in the Alps. Over the centuries, the monks there became famous for their efforts to rescue lost and injured
travelers and for the large dogs they bred and trained for their search and rescue missions”
