🐾 The Story of Scotland’s Most Loyal Dog 🕯️

[MysteRy]

In 1850, gardener John Gray arrived in Edinburgh with his wife and son, searching for work. The only job he managed to find was as a night watchman — under one condition: he had to be accompanied at all times by a guard dog. That’s how a little Skye Terrier named Bobby came into his life.

For eight years they worked side by side, enduring long nights in the cold and rain. In 1858, John died of tuberculosis. At the funeral, everyone noticed how the dog refused to leave his master’s coffin, and after the burial, Bobby would not leave the cemetery.

Day and night, through every season, Bobby stayed by John’s grave. The caretaker tried many times to drive him away, but the dog always returned. Eventually, a small shelter was built for him beside the grave.

With time, Bobby’s devotion became known throughout the city. Every day at 1:00 p.m., a cannon shot from Edinburgh Castle signaled lunchtime. As soon as Bobby heard it, he ran to the Greyfriars Place pub, where he used to go with his master, and there he always found a meal waiting for him. Once he finished, he went straight back to the cemetery.

In 1867, a new law required every dog in the city to be licensed, or else they would be put down. Since Bobby no longer had an official owner, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Sir William Chambers, personally paid for his lifelong license and declared him “the property of the city.”

Bobby remained by John Gray’s grave for 14 years, until he himself passed away in 1872 at the age of 16. A year later, Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts commissioned a memorial statue in his honor, placed near the Greyfriars pub.

On the plaque, it reads:
✨ “Bobby, died January 14, 1872, aged 16. May his loyalty and devotion be an example to us all.” ✨

This story proves one thing: true friendship is stronger than death. ❤️