Edinburgh’s “Hachi: A Dog's Tale”

The movie Hachi: A Dog's Tale has moved numerous viewers with its dramatic, touching storyline. Whenever you watch the scene where the dog named Hachiko still waits for his master in the railway station every day after his owner has already passed away, you might not be able to stop crying because this scene is quite moving. You might have never known that such a story has also happened in Edinburgh. This is a story that every tourist visiting Edinburgh will hear from his or her tour guide. The story’s hero is a Skye Terrier, named Bobby.

Those who have been to Edinburgh must have visited Greyfriars, and those that have visited the church must have seen a small fluffy bronze statue of a small dog looking directly to the front as if he is waiting for his master’s return.

This bronze statue of a small dog was forged to commemorate the famous dog ̶ Bobby. The dog’s master was an average policeman (according to tradition) named John Gray in the middle of the 19th century. In a movie which uses the name of the dog, Mr. Auld Jock (the dog’s owner) often walks to the market to buy something with Bobby and then to have lunch in Mr. Traill’s restaurant. The guests coming to the restaurant all love Bobby, and each time Mr. Traill would give Bobby a piece of bread.

Unfortunately, old John Gray passed away in 1858, and was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. In the movie, three days after the death of old Auld Jock, Bobby comes to Mr. Traill’s pub, tired, sad, and dirty. Mr. Traill feels sorry for him and gives him another piece of bread as usual. Then after, Bobby comes to the pub every day and returns with a piece of bread.

Mr. Traill feels curious about this and trails the dog to the churchyard to find that Bobby is eating that piece of bread at the tomb of his former master. Although his master has already left the world, the dog doesn’t want to leave and so comes here to accompany his master each and every day. Only in heavy rains will he squat in the corner of the church to shed himself. However, his food is the bread Mr. Traill gives. In reality, many believe Bobby was loyal dog because of the same deed he might have done.

It is believed that the dog sat at his master’s tomb for 14 years until he died in 1972. After Bobby died, a monument was erected to record his loyalty and was fully restored under the supervision of Edinburgh District Council in 1985.