Greyfriars Bobby

Greyfriars Bobby

This statue of Bobby sits at the corner of Edinburgh's Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge, and is a Category A listed building
Breed	Skye Terrier
Born	4 May 1855 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	14 January 1872 (aged 16) Edinburgh, Scotland
Resting place	Greyfriars Kirkyard
Known for	Guarding the grave of its owner until it died itself on 14 January 1872
Owner	John Gray
Awards	Key to the City of Edinburgh

Greyfriars Bobby (May 4, 1855 - January 14, 1872) was a Skye Terrier which became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of its owner until it died itself 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.

The best-known version of the story is that Bobby belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a nightwatchman. When John Gray died he was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby then became known locally, spending the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave.

In 1867 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 Bobby's licence and gave the dog a collar, now in the Museum of Edinburgh.

Bobby is said to have sat by the grave for 14 years. He died in 1872 and was buried just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard, not far from John Gray's grave.

A year later, the English philanthropist Lady Burdett-Coutts was charmed by the story and had a drinking fountain topped with Bobby's statue (commissioned from the sculptor William Brodie) erected at junction of George IV Bridge and Candlemaker Row (opposite the entrance to the churchyard) to commemorate him.