Visit Bum Dog Memorial, Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland

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This statue is dedicted to a dog in San Diego, California what like Greyfriars Bobby was beloved by the town. Bum disembarked off a ship in San Diego as a stow-away in 1886 and proceeded to win the hearts of all those he encountered. He was a free spirit who belonged to no one, but was loved by everyone. All the town folk attended to Bum’s needs. The Chinese butchers fed him well, he slept on people’s front porches, and the local doctors met his medical needs (he once had his front leg amputated from being hit by a train in a fight with another dog on the tracks). The people of “New Town”/ San Diego took excellent care of their half-St. Bernard, half-Spaniel mascot, so much so that when San Diego issued its first dog license, an image of Bum adorned it. Edinburgh became the sister city of San Diego, USA in 1977. When the two cities twinned in 1977, they each presented the other with a statue of these loveable dogs. This statue of Bum the dog is found in Princes Street Gardens. The same two statues of Bum and Bobby occupying Gaslamp Museum at The Horton-Davis House Pocket Park in San Diego, one of Edinburgh’s sister cities. Ceremonies are held annually in both locations to commemorate how much these two dogs were revered in their respective home towns.

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