Johanna Louise Spyri's beloved children's book Heidi, first published in 1881, tells the story of a young orphaned girl who goes to live with her grandfather in the Alps in Switzerland.

In the original story, Heidi has no pet dog. Instead, Heidi's cares for two goats named Little Swan and Little Bear, who follow her around like pets.

Heidi was now in her eighth year; she had learnt all kinds of useful things from her grandfather; she knew how to look after the goats as well as any one, and Little Swan and Little Bear would follow her like two faithful dogs, and give a loud bleat of pleasure when they heard her voice. (chapter 5)

Subsequent versions of Heidi include theater and television productions, movies—one of the earliest film versions in 1937 starred Shirley Temple as Heidi—and a 1974 Japanese anime version entitled Heidi, Girl of the Alps, in which her grandfather has a huge St. Bernard dog named "Josef."

In a 2008 live-action film version of Heidi titled Heidi 4 Paws, all of the characters in the story are played by dogs, including Heidi's goats. Heidi is played by a Golden Labrador Retriever puppy, and her grandfather is played not by a St. Bernard but by a shaggy sheepdog.