Jock Gray was an out of work gardener who took on a job with the local police force as a night watchman. John came across a wee dog who appeared to be a stray and the two fast became a team with wee "Bobby" (policeman) faithfully accompanying John on his nightly rounds.
After eight years together, John died from tuberculosis and was buried in Greyfriar's kirkyard. Wee Bobby appeared inconsolable, laying next to his master's grave.
Dogs are actually forbidden in the cemetery as it is seen as sacred ground. But Bobby paid no notice.
The kirk's gardener, James Brown chased Bobby daily, but the wee dog kept returning. Realizing his efforts were futile, James built a bit of a shelter for Bobby around the table graveslab next to John Gray's grave. This gave wee Bobby shelter from the elements.
Dogs are actually forbidden in the cemetery as it is seen as sacred ground. But Bobby paid no notice.
The kirk's gardener, James Brown chased Bobby daily, but the wee dog kept returning. Realizing his efforts were futile, James built a bit of a shelter for Bobby around the table graveslab next to John Gray's grave. This gave wee Bobby shelter from the elements.
Every afternoon, when the One O'Clock Gun fired from the battery at Edinburgh Castle, wee Bobby would leave his shelter, and wander out onto the street where he would walk through the watchful eyes of passersby to Traill's Cafe, next to the kirkyard. Here, Bobby would be given scraps to eat.
14 years after Jock Gray's passing, and Bobby standing guard at his graveside, the wee dog went to meet his master in the afterlife.
While there is a monument to Bobby in the graveyard, he is actually buried outside the gates, nearer to where the statue of him stands at the head of Candlemaker Row
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