Greyfriars Bobby

The firmest piece of evidence is a collar. In 1867 Edinburgh's Lord Provost, Sir William Chambers, paid Bobby's dog licence and gave him the collar now held at the Museum of Edinburgh, and a veterinary post-mortem recorded his death from jaw cancer on 14 January 1872. The 14-year vigil over John Gray's grave in Greyfriars Kirkyard is where historians argue. Even the owner is disputed between a police nightwatchman and a farmer of the same name, and Jan Bondeson suggests a younger dog replaced the first around 1867. Visit the kirkyard and the statue opposite with both versions in mind.