Greyfriars Bobby
In Edinburgh, Scotland, there's a statue of a little Skye Terrier named Greyfriars Bobby. The Story goes that Bobby, in loyalty towards his master, John Gray, spent fourteen years sitting by Gray's gravesite. John Gray was a night watchman for the Edinburgh City Police who died of tuberculosis in the year 1858. In honor of Bobby's great devotion, Lady Burdett-Coutts had the statue built shortly after Bobby's death. Since then, novels and movies have been created featuring the loyal little dog and his many adventures.
Unfortunately, there's always a spoilsport who must find the grim facts and ruin a perfectly lovely story. In this case, the official spoilsport is an individual named Jan Bondeson of Cardiff University. After much research, Bondeson came to the conclusion that Bobby was a stray dog trained to remain in the graveyard to stir up business for area shops. In other words, Bobby was a Victorian publicity stunt designed to encourage sales. In fact, according to Bondeson, there were TWO Bobbys. The second Bobby was apparently much younger than the deceased first Bobby.
The next thing you know, they'll be saying Washington didn't chop down the cherry tree!
Well, I for one refuse to believe in Bondeson's sorry theory. It goes without saying Bobby was a real dog who sat patiently and loyally by his master's grave. However, since I also believe in a recovering economy, it's probably just another fairy tale. Sigh!
To read more about Grayfriars Bobby go HERE. If you'd like to learn about a Greyfriars Bobby movie try this LINK.
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