Greyfriars Bobby: Edinburgh’s Skye Terrier Who Waited 14 Years
Long before Hachikō waited at a Tokyo train station, a small Scottish terrier was doing something similar in a Edinburgh graveyard — and the city has never stopped telling his story.
A night watchman’s dog
John Gray took work as a night watchman for the Edinburgh Police Force in 1850 and kept a Skye Terrier named Bobby for company on his rounds. Gray died of tuberculosis on February 15, 1858, and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard.
Fourteen years at the grave
By the traditional account, Bobby refused to leave his owner’s grave, returning through Edinburgh winters for fourteen years. When a city rule required strays to be destroyed or licensed, Lord Provost Sir William Chambers paid Bobby’s licence in 1867 and gave him a collar inscribed “Greyfriars Bobby from the Lord Provost 1867 licensed.” Bobby died in 1872.
The statue and the legend
Baroness Angela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, moved by the story, secured permission to erect a granite fountain topped with a statue of Bobby, unveiled without ceremony in November 1873 directly opposite Greyfriars Kirkyard. Some historians have since questioned parts of the popular telling, but the licence records, the collar, and the statue itself are all well documented and remain one of Edinburgh’s most visited sites.
Bobby’s vigil belongs with the internet’s other pre-digital legends in our famous dogs guide.
Frequently asked questions
What breed was Greyfriars Bobby?
Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier, owned by Edinburgh night watchman John Gray.
How long did Bobby guard his owner’s grave?
By the traditional Edinburgh account, Bobby kept watch over John Gray’s grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard for fourteen years, from 1858 until his own death in 1872.
Where can you see Bobby’s statue today?
A statue of Bobby sits atop a granite fountain directly opposite Greyfriars Kirkyard in Edinburgh, unveiled in November 1873 and still a popular landmark.
