Greyfriars Bobby statue in Edinburgh targeted by vandals
The memorial to the beloved pup was covered with graffiti during Friday night.
The statue of Greyfriars Bobby was been vandalised on Friday night.
Edinburgh residents were outraged to discover that the memorial to the dog had been covered in graffiti overnight.
The statue of Bobby sits on the corner of Edinburgh's Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge. It is a Category A listed building.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said: "The graffiti has now been removed.
"The Edinburgh Help team received a tweet earlier today and this was passed on to the cleansing team who attended and were able to remove the writing."
The legend of Bobby says that he belonged to John Gray, who worked in Edinburgh as a nightwatchman.
When John died, he was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard in the Old Town.
Bobby is said to have sat by his owners grave for 14 years, and was buried just inside the graveyard.
A local aristocrat, Baroness Burdett-Coutts, heard the story and commissioned a statue in his honour, which was unveiled on November 15, 1873.