Surely you've seen the well-known film starring Richard Gere "Always by your side" in which he dies and his dog, Hachiko , he waits faithfully in the station for years. This film is based on a true story that happened in Japan. However, this is not the first story about the fidelity of a dog despite the death of his master who is known. One of the most popular is that of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier that even has a statue at the entrance of the Greyfriars cemetery in Edinburgh .
The case of Greyfriars Bobby , is one of the attractions of this cemetery, but several historians and journalists have investigated the case for decades to discover that things are not what they seem. Join us to discover the truth about the dog from the Greyfriars cemetery.
Greyfriars Bobby
Although we know what could motivate the legend of Greyfriars Bobby , the story that is told excites us as it speaks of love and fidelity to the limit. Possibly, if you have had a dog as a pet, you can appreciate the traits of your faithful friend and that is why we think it is interesting to know it before explaining what really happened in one of the most fascinating cemeteries in the world .
The legend
The legend of Greyfriars Bobby It began in Edinburgh in the nineteenth century and is the story of a dog that supposedly remained at the grave of his master from the death of the latter until the beginning of 1872 when he died. It had been 14 years.
Bobby was, according to the story, the dog of a night watchman of the local Edinburgh police called John Gray. They lived together for two years until tuberculosis took Bobby's master. From that month of February of 1858 to January of 1872, Bobby remained in the cemetery next to the tomb of Gray in the Cemetery of Greyfriars.
In those years, due to the large number of stray dogs in the Scottish capital and the danger that this entailed, all dogs were required to have a license. Those who did not have it were picked up and "eliminated". Greyfriars Bobby he had no license, but his story reached the ears of Lord Provost of Edinburgh who was also the president of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and he paid the license and placed the license plate that accredited him Her necklace. This collar is still preserved in the Edinburgh Museum. Upon his death, Bobby was buried outside the cemetery, but very close to his master's grave. Some time later, a wealthy Scottish aristocrat, Lady Burdett Coutts, paid for the construction of a statue-fountain with the image of Bobby. At the source, which now no longer exists, there were two pipes, one superior for humans and one at ground level, for dogs. In addition, several books were written and films based on the life of Greyfriars Bobby .
Reality
Since the nineteenth century there were many voices that explained in the press that perhaps the history of Greyfriars Bobby it was not how it was explained and even its veracity was discussed in a plenary session of the city council of Edinburgh . However, the legend triumphed as people wanted to believe in it.
In 2011 a Swedish-British doctor, historian and writer named Jan Bondeson published a biography of the dog entitled: "Greyfriars Bobby: The Most Faithful Dog in the World" in which he relates his investigations . He found out that Bobby was possibly a hobo dog living in the vicinity of Edinburgh's Heriot Hospital and the gardener picked him up and took him to the cemetery. The existence of the so-called "cemetery dogs" was a common practice in the nineteenth century. The gravediggers and gardeners took them with them and fed them to live in the enclosures. It was usual for people to think that they were there accompanying their deceased masters and this fact was taken advantage of by the director of the Cemetery of Greyfriars that he had adopted Bobby. A story was woven around him and it was published in a local newspaper with national repercussion. In short, visits to the cemetery to meet Bobby multiplied and people came from all over the country, which meant an entrance of money.
In his book, Bondeson points out that possibly the Greyfriars Bobby Original died in 1867 and was replaced by another younger copy, since there are photographs before and after that year and are clearly two different dogs. This would clarify the strange longevity of Bobby that apparently lived 16 years, when, in general, the dogs of this breed do not exceed 10-12 years of life.
Whether or not it is true the story of Greyfriars Bobby , it does not stop to get excited and surely if you visit Edinburgh and you go to its historical cemetery you will look for the statue and the tomb of Bobby. There is no loss, on the tombstone there is a phrase that reads: "Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all" that is, "May his loyalty and devotion be a lesson for all of us". Did you know the legend of Greyfriars Bobby ? Do you prefer to stay with her or do you think historians are right and it was just a commercial claim? We await your comments! If you want to know other famous cemeteries and their legends, we invite you to read the post: 10 Cemeteries Stories that will freeze your blood .
Images: Stephen Montgomery , , MykReeve