Greyfriars Bobby (Puffin Classics)

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So many gullible tourists had done this that Bobby’s nose began to acquire a certain bronzy patina and began to wear away. The statue had to be reconditioned. And apparently even that didn’t last long… I wonder if the Lord Provost paid the licence fee because his PR department thought it would be a good idea? (You know what PR folk are like – anything for coverage…) There are 46 of these cemetery dogs upon record, the majority of them having been at large in Victorian times, from France, England, Sweden and the United States. None of the great cemeteries in Paris was complete without a mourning dog, and London had two ‘Greyfriars Bobbys’, at St Bride’s cemetery, Fleet Street, and St Olave’s cemetery, Southwark. There were cemetery dogs in Lee [East London], Liverpool, Newcastle, Dublin and Belfast. In several instances, it was discovered that the cemetery dog had nothing whatsoever to do with the person it was presumed to be mourning. Greyfriars Bobby I lying on his master’s grave, a drawing by F.W. Keyl from Chatterbox magazine, June 22 1867. Challenge to Lassie : Story of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor Film "Challenge to Lassie", based on "Greyfriars Bobby" by Eleanor Atkinson

Greyfriars Bobby: A Heartwarming Tale Story of Greyfriars Bobby: A Heartwarming Tale

There is no doubt that Bobby really existed, or that he spent lengthy periods of time at Greyfriars: not less than fourteen eyewitnesses saw him there from 1860 until 1872. These observations do not support the myth of Bobby’s ‘faithful mourning’, however: the jolly little dog went all over the district, ratting in the kirk and visiting friends as far away as Bristo to obtain a meal. It is also a fact that although the mawkish readers of the RSPCA’s Animal World remained reverent to Bobby and his legend, many Edinburgh people ‘in the know’ were well aware that the story of the mourning little dog was a complete invention.Macgregor, Forbes "Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last" Steve Savage Publishers Limited, 2nd Revised edition, (2002), ISBN 978-1904246008

Greyfriars Bobby - separating facts from fiction Greyfriars Bobby - separating facts from fiction

However, it seems that after his night duty down in the Grassmarket, Gray used to have a meal there, and Bobby was fed as well. To make matters slightly murkier, research by an academic at Cardiff University, Dr Jan Bondeson, ( also a prolific author), indicates there were probably two separate Bobbies – a fact which was noted by various media in 2011. For sure, Bobby frequented the kirkyard, it seems, but was not averse to offers of a warm bed sometimes. Yup, certainly sounds like a dog…Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier [1] who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films. A prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves are a tourist attraction. Greyfriars Bobby belonged to a nightwatchman, John Gray. In 1850, Gray moved to Edinburgh with his wife and son. Unable to find work as a gardener, he joined the Edinburgh police force as a nightwatchman and took on a dog to keep him company through the long nights. For example, Macgregor suggests that this terrier’s loyalty did not necessarily involve sleeping out in all weathers. In her book, Atkinson reveals an ear for creating ersatz Scots dialogue, or at least how her readership imagined Scots spoke.

Greyfriars Kirk: The 400-year-old church that inspired - BBC Greyfriars Kirk: The 400-year-old church that inspired - BBC

However, the Lord Provost, Sir William Chambers, stepped in. He personally paid the fee, on the grounds that the Town Council owned the burial ground and tolerated the dog who stayed there. The accuracy of stories of Greyfriars Bobby has been challenged many times: for instance, in Forbes Macgregor's Greyfriars Bobby: The Real Story at Last, [16] Jan Bondeson's Greyfriars Bobby: The Most Faithful Dog in the World, [17] and Richard Brassey's "Greyfriars Bobby The Most Famous Dog in Scotland". [18] The years on the streets appear to have taken their toll on John, as he was treated by the Police Surgeon for tuberculosis. I’m speculating here, but maybe the casting folk just had to use a Westie. They look kinda Scottish as well as cute in a grumpy way – and there are lots of them about.The authorities assumed Traill, obviously making money from his association with the dog, would pay. Inexplicably he refused, claiming the dog didn’t belong to him. The famous dog statue that was erected soon afterwards is, or was, strictly speaking, a memorial drinking fountain with water on two levels – for horses and for, presumably, dogs. Story of Greyfriars Bobby: A Truly Heartwarming And Inspiring Tale". Scotland Welcomes You. 16 February 2018 . Retrieved 4 August 2021. Gaspode, a talking dog in the Discworld fantasy novels of Terry Pratchett, claims to be named after a famous dog named Gaspode with a similar story to Greyfriars Bobby, though he says it was later discovered that the reason this Gaspode stayed howling by his master's grave was that his tail was trapped under the gravestone. [37] Anyway, in 1867, Bobby faced another ‘crisis’. The city fathers introduced a new dog licensing law. In an effort to keep strays and diseased dogs off the streets, every owner had to pay 7 shillings (35p in today’s money) for a licence.

Greyfriars Bobby may have been a different Faithful terrier Greyfriars Bobby may have been a different

a b Khan, Aina J (24 July 2022). "Faithful terrier Greyfriars Bobby may have been a different breed, book claims". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 August 2022. The kind folk of Edinburgh took good care of Bobby, but still he remained loyal to his master. For fourteen years the dead man’s faithful dog kept constant watch and guard over the grave until his own death in 1872. Faithful terrier Greyfriars Bobby may have been a different breed, book claims". The Guardian. 24 July 2022.

Macgregor then followed up John Traill, the restaurant owner with the apparent close connection to the dog. Turns out he didn’t start to run the restaurant till four years after John Gray died. The famous classic Scottish tale based on the true story of a dog's lifetime devotion to his master, first published in 1912, loved and widely read the world over.