Greyfriars Bobby who kept vigil at master’s grave was a hoax stunt
August 3rd, 2011 - 11:45 pm ICT by Aishwarya BhattLondon, Aug 3 (THAINDIAN NEWS) An academic has disproved the age-long story of the faithful canine that spent 14 years beside the graveyard of its owner. The 1858 story of Greyfriars Bobby the Skye terrier has inspired a lot of books and movies over the years.
Dr Jan Bondeson says his research has concluded that the story was a made-up to get businesses booming in Edinburgh. According to Bondeson, his research revealed that local business people came up with a new dog as Bobby when the original dog died in 1867.
Bondeson said the animal was in fact not for the person who was buried but was stray that ended up in the neighborhood. The historian and senior lecturer at Cardiff University pointed out after his research that the animal was cared for by the cemetery curator. He suspects that it was because of that notion that got people believing that the animal actually spent years beside the graveside of its owner.
Bondeson said that, “First, people thought he was owned by a shepherd, which I believe was a story based on a popular painting at the time. There’s no reason why a shepherd would be buried in the middle of Edinburgh and, as far as I can see, there is no other evidence to back it up.”
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Tags: cardiff university, curator, dr jan, edinburgh, graveside, graveyard, greyfriars bobby, historian, jan bondeson, london, neighborhood, notion, painting, senior lecturer, skye terrier, vigil