Little Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in the 19th-century in Edinburgh and Scotland after reportedly spending fourteen years guarding his owner's grave, until his own death on 14th January 1872.

A year after the dog died, the philanthropist Lady Burdett-Coutts had a statue and fountain erected to commemorate him at the southern end of the George IV Bridge. Several books and films have been based on Bobby's life, including Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson and the films Greyfriars Bobby (1961, Walt Disney Productions) and The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby (2006).

The story

Bobby belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a night watchman, and the two were inseparable for approximately two years. On 15 February 1858 Gray died of tuberculosis. He was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby, who survived Gray by fourteen years, is said to have spent the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave. A more realistic account has it that he spent a great deal of time at Gray's grave, but that he left regularly for meals at a restaurant beside the graveyard, and may have spent colder winters in nearby houses.

In 1867 when it was pointed out that an owner-less dog should be destroyed, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers (who was also a director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), paid for a renewal of Bobby's licence, making him the responsibility of the city council.

Bobby died in 1872 and could not be buried within the cemetery itself, since it was consecrated ground; instead, he was buried just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from John Gray's grave.

In memory

Today, a small statue of Greyfriars Bobby stands in front of the Greyfriars Bobby's Bar, which is located near Greyfriars Kirkyard. The statue originally faced toward the graveyard and pub but has since been turned around, allegedly by a previous landlord of the pub so that the pub would appear in the background of the many photographs that are taken each year.

A red granite stone was erected on Bobby's grave by The Dog Aid Society of Scotland, and unveiled by the Duke of Gloucester on 13 May 1981. It reads: " Greyfriars Bobby — died 14th January 1872 — aged 16 years — Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all. "

Guided tours of the Kirkyard are given by a number of groups, including the Greyfriars Bobby Walking Theatre and the Greyfriars Kirkyard Trust.

On 25 September 2009, the BBC reported that the statue had undergone a form of 'vandalism'. Protestors against Donald Trump building a golf course had visited statues in Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Stirling replacing the faces of the statues with that of Donald Trump, and in some cases, also attaching a set of toy golf clubs to the statue. The 'vandalism' to the statue of Greyfriars Bobby consisted of a face mask of Trump being placed over Bobby's face. .

Books and films

His intense loyalty made Bobby popular with dog lovers, who spread and embellished the story. Books and films based directly or indirectly on the story include:

• The book Greyfriars Bobby by Eleanor Atkinson, which greatly embellished the story, and made John Gray a farm labourer, known as "Auld Jock". The 1961 film Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog was based on this book.

• The Illustrated True Story of Greyfriars Bobby by John Mackay.

• Another film, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby , was released in the UK in February 2006 starring Oliver Golding and Christopher Lee (released elsewhere in 2005 under the alternative title Greyfriars Bobby ). The Edinburgh Castle scenes in this film were actually shot in nearby Stirling Castle, whilst many had reservations on casting a West Highland White Terrier as Bobby, and for adding new characters while leaving out one of the later major characters in Bobby's life, John Traill.

• Challenge to Lassie (1949), an earlier film based on Atkinson's book, but replacing Bobby with Lassie.

• In the 1945 film The Body Snatcher , Boris Karloff's character (incidentally named Gray) digs up bodies from graves. One of these bodies is that of John Gray. Bobby tries to stop him from taking the corpse, but is struck over the head by Boris Karloff's character, and killed.

• In the PBS kids' series, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? , Patty Larceny put a collar on the statue of Bobby and walked him away in the Season 3 episode Little Dog Gone .

Other tributes

Scottish-Canadian Celtic-Punk band The Real McKenzies wrote a song as a tribute named "The Ballad of Greyfriars Bobby" that appeared on their 2008 album, Off the Leash .

The seventh episode of season 4 of Futurama , "Jurassic Bark" features a dog who spends the remainder of his life standing outside the restaurant where his owner Fry worked following Fry's disappearance.

See also

• Hachikō, the faithful dog commemorated by a statue at Shibuya, Tokyo.
• List of famous dogs
• Bobbie, the Wonder Dog
• Brown Dog affair

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "The Story of Scotland's Most Faithful Dog", Dogs in the News , July 4, 2001, retrieved 20 March 2007 .
2. ^ Red granite headstone, inscription source: GreyfriarsBobby.co.uk website.
3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/north_east/8272305.stm
4. ^ Greyfriars Bobby , by Eleanor Atkinson: Project Gutenberg website.
5. ^ Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog: IMDB.com website.
6. ^ The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby: IMDB.com website.
7. ^ Stirling Castle location, The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby : BBC.co.uk website.
8. ^ Challenge to Lassie: IMDB.com website.

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