Greyfriars Bobby
Posted on 09/04/2011 3:23:55 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
EDINBURGH, Scotland—To millions of people around the world, he's the loyal dog who kept a lonely vigil at his master's graveside.
Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier, supposedly spent 14 years pining by the grave of his owner, a local known as Auld Jock who died in 1858. The tale of devotion has beguiled generations of visitors to Scotland's capital and inspired dozens of children's books and a 1961 Disney film, "Greyfriars Bobby: The True Story of a Dog."
Greyfriars Bobby .But to Swedish historian Jan Bondeson, the 150-year-old legend of the dog that stuck it out through snow, hail and freezing temperatures is nothing more than a shaggy dog story cooked up to lure tourists to Edinburgh's rain-soaked Greyfriars cemetery—and some locals and dog lovers are howling.
Dr. Bondeson, a 48-year-old consultant rheumatologist at Cardiff University in Wales, visited Edinburgh several times to study the matter for a new book and now proclaims that Bobby was just a stray trained to hang out in the cemetery.
In his retelling of the tale, Dr. Bondeson argues that a pair of canny Edinburgh men concocted the Greyfriars Bobby story to stir up trade at a... (see link)
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Greyfriars Bobby
Doggie ping
It’s only because Reindeer wouldn’t stay by a
Vikings grave.
Oh come on, there are some myths we should just leave alone.
:p
I don’t know if this fits, but its kind of interesting
There other documented stories of dogs showing incredible loyalty to their masters, so there’s no reason this can’t be true.
Indeed. And 16 years is not unusual for a terrier-type dog. Or a poodle, for that matter.
I am still going to believe the myth. Why? A somewhat similar thing happened when my parents were still kids (a small Pennsylvania town). Man in the town saved a puppy from the Creek (pronounced Crik). That was done at the time with stray puppies and kitten. People would tie them up in a bag and throw them in that body of water. Anyways, man rescues puppy. Dog grows up and is constantly with his master. The man dies and the dog refuses to leave the graveyard. Back in those days, people were commonly “waked” in their homes. Then people would follow, on foot.. to the cemetery. From what was told to me, the dog was brought back to the family home several times. However, in the morning, he returned to the cemetery. They find the dog, deceased.. by the master’s grave.
Could the dog died due to old age? Sure. Could he have already been sick and died of disease? Sure. However, I choose to believe he died to be with his master.
i prefer the legend.
Well, it could be that it’s a colossal untruth.
Sometimes simply repeating a story enough times makes people think it’s true. Especially with no 1st-hand experience.
Seaman's collar in an Alexandria museum in 1814- proof that he survived the expedition! But the entry gets better. Alden includes a note about the collar and its owner. It reads:The foregoing was copied from the collar, in the Alexandria Museum, which the late gov. Lewis's dog wore after his return from the western coast of America. The fidelity and attachment of this animal were remarkable. After the melancholy exit of gov. Lewis, his dog would not depart for a moment from his lifeless remains; and when they were deposited in the earth no gentle means could draw him from the spot of interment. He refused to take every kind of food, which was offered him, and actually pined away and died with grief upon his master's grave!
This is one of those situations where even if it is not true, it serves no good purpose to rake the grave open and try and debunk the legend.
What a beautiful tribute to Seaman. It does happen. It may not happen every single day and with one specific type of breed but it does happen. (the dog from my Pennsylvania story was a mixed mutt that had some bird dog in him).
There is a statue of Lewis and Clark in the turnaround at the beach in Seaside, Oregon. They are gazing out over the Pacific Ocean. Standing with them is Seaman.
Yes. It could be an untruth. Or, it could be an embellished half-truth. BUT, if a cadaver dog (like one I saw on TV last week) could alert on a 30 year old burial site (when the body had been moved), why coudn’t a loyal dog identify where his master’s remains were buried?
There was a blue heeler reported a couple of years ago who tracked his mistress’ movement to a nursing home. He escaped from the daughter’s yard (scaled a 6 ft. fence) and made it to the nursing home and sat under his mistress’ window and barked.
The dog had never been to the nursing home. The dog had never been with his mistress when she was taken to the nursing home. He made his way from a 3rd location. It took him a couple of days, but he made it. The nursing home people were so impressed that they allowed him to stay.
This story was reorted in a TV program narrated by Alan Thicke a few years ago called “Animal Miracles”.
Funeral of a Navy Seal in Iowa last week. Tears hundreds of people up who saw the photo inluding yours truly.
I have several books on Greyfriars Bobby. He did indeed lie on his master’s grave in the daytime and sleep with neighbors at night. He was given one meal a day by the next door pub. The only “myth” is that Bobby was a total sweetheart. In fact, he was a scrappy little terrier who kept the graveyard free of cats and rats.
Both of my books are well-sourced and full of pictures of Bobby being held by his adopted folks. Some people just have to destroy everything we hold dear.
Emily Bronte’s dog, Keeper, also followed her to her grave and pined for her mistress. No at all unusual.
Kinda like Loch Ness.
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