Animal stories - Famous dog Greyfriars Bobby

The Story of Greyfriars Bobby

In 1850, a gardener named John Gray moved to Edinburgh with his wife and young son. The family was poor. John Gray tried hard to find work, but failed. So he decided to give up his gardening trade and instead took a job as a night watchman with the Edinburgh police. 

Edinburgh, Scotland

Skye Terrier

Cobbled streets in the old town of Edinburgh

It was lonely walking through the cobbled streets of Edinburgh all night, so John Gray got a small Skye Terrier to accompany him on his nightly rounds.  John named the dog "Bobby". They soon became a familiar sight on the streets of Edinburgh.




It was difficult being a watchman during the cold winter nights in Edinburgh. John Gray became sick with tuberculosis. The police doctor treated him, but unfortunately he died on the 15th of February, 1858.

John Gray was buried in the graveyard of Greyfriars* Kirk. 

An early drawing of Bobby at the grave

In Scotland, churches are called kirks

Bobby lay down on the grave and refused to move. He stayed there in good weather and bad. People tried to evict him from the graveyard, but he refused to leave. So the keeper at the graveyard built him a small stone shelter near the grave. People were sad to see the poor dog, so they would bring him food.


Eventually, a local carpenter took Bobby to a nearby café. It was the coffee house where Bobby had gone with his master, John Gray.

Traill's Coffee House

After that, every day when the 1 o'clock bell sounded, Bobby would leave the gravesite and go to the coffee house for his lunch. 

The Traill family ran the Coffee House . 

For the next 14 years, Bobby kept watch over the grave of his master until he too passed away.

A photograph from 1865, thought to be Greyfriars Bobby

One year after his death, a rich woman from Edinburgh decided to build a fountain near the graveyard to commemorate the famous dog. People still come to Edinburgh to see the statue of Greyfriars Bobby.

Statue of Greyfriars Bobby

The café and statue today

Further information...

Many books and films have been made about Greyfriars Bobby. 

* What does Greyfriars mean?

Grey Friars

Animal stories - Famous dog Hachiko

My star student, Joanna, loves animal stories, especially stories about dogs. Today we are going to look at the true story of Hachiko, a Japanese Akita dog.

This is a photo of Hachiko:

In 1924, Hachiko was given to Professor Ueno, who taught at the University of Tokyo.

Every day, Hachiko would go to the train station to meet the professor as he returned home from work. Then they would walk home together.

This is an old photo of the train station:

But one day, Hachiko went to the station but his master did not return.

The professor collapsed and died during a lecture at the university. He never returned to the station.

For the next 9 years, 9 months and 15 days, Hachiko went to the train station every day at the exact time that the train arrived. But his master never appeared.

At first, people were unhappy to see a dog waiting outside the station. They would shout at Hachiko and hit him. But after a newspaper printed a story of why the dog was waiting, people felt sorry for the dog. They started to feed him and take care of him. He was becoming famous as a symbol of loyalty and friendship between people and dogs. Eventually, when Hachiko himself died, almost 10 years after his master, the city of Toyko erected a statue of the dog at the train station.

This is a photo of the statue when it was unveiled on the first anniversary of Hachiko's death.

This is a picture of the statue today. The statue is now a famous meeting place. People in Toyko will tell their friends - "I'll meet you by Hachiko." - when they want to meet at the train station.

The story of Hachiko is very famous. There have been books written about Hachiko. Two films have been made about him as well, one Japanese film and one American film. 

Watch the following video from the Japanese version. We will stop to discuss from time to time to discuss what you see happening in the film.

Also watch - and read! - this short Japanese film about a dog's life with a little girl.

Marimo