Gerd Syllwasschy in a May 2006 email quoted under topic 'Animated Barks', answering the question if 'Alpine Climbers' seems to feature the debut of Bolivar:
Well, this is probably a question of where to draw the line. The dog in the animated cartoon is certainly not *the* Bolivar as we know him (i.e., Donald Duck's pet dog), though he admittedly has a striking resemblance to the comic-strip dog, and it is highly possible that Al Taliaferro based his own design of Bolivar on this film (and/or the Silly Symphony cartoon "More Kittens" which I haven't seen yet).
There is another St. Bernard dog in the 1932 Silly Symphony "Just Dogs", see the attached screenshot. Think this is Bolivar? Maybe a younger and leaner one.
http://bb.mcdrake.nl/engdisney/viewtopi ... 1635#p1635Bolivar in 1932 Silly Symphony 'Just Dogs':
Click the image for a larger version.
2006-11-12, Robb_K wrote under 'Animated Barks':
Al Taliaferro stated in an interview, that he modeled Bolivar on his OWN family's dog (when he was growing up-I think?) He also said he modeled Grandma Duck after his Mother-in-Law. I also read that he modeled Donald's small car (313)-after a small roadster his parents had in the 1920s, with a rumble seat. But it was updated to a 1930s look for the strip.
http://bb.mcdrake.nl/engdisney/viewtopi ... 1806#p1806*EDIT* boardlinking updated to McDrake