Greyfriar’s Bobby

 

When we were in Scotland a couple years ago, we walked to Edinburgh Castle and back from hotel a couple times.

I had never heard of Greyfriar’s Bobby until our bus tour the second day although we had walked by the statue 3 times already!

On our 4th pass-by, we saw several people taking pictures of the statue.  I guess they knew.

Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872.

The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films, and a prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves act as a tourist attraction.

Each year on the 14th of January there is an event in Greyfriars Church Yard honoring the loyalty of Greyfriars Bobby. The inscription on his memorial reads ” Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”. He had faithfully guarded the grave of his master John Gray for 14 years after he passed away. The minister of Greyfriars and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh were the key speakers.