Parents' Guide to Greyfriars Bobby

In late 1800s Scotland, there lived a small, charming terrier called GREYFRIARS BOBBY. The dog belonged to a farm family but he loved no one more than Old Jock (Alex Mackenzie), the family's aged shepherd. When the farmer can no longer afford to pay him, Jock heads to Edinburgh to start again with barely a farthing to his name. Bobby is ordered to stay behind but he breaks free and makes the 20-mile trip to the big city on his own. There he finds his beloved Jock, weak and ill, soaked from the rain, sleeping outside. It isn't long before Jock succumbs to pneumonia and Bobby starts sleeping on Jock's grave in the churchyard, rain or shine, in freezing weather. The churchyard maintenance man, Mr. Brown (Donald Crisp), is a stickler for the rules, among them, no dogs. He shoos the animal off the grave repeatedly but, like everyone else Bobby encounters, Brown is soon beguiled by the independent dog. In the end, a dog who belongs to no one but is loved by all creates a court case over who will claim ownership and pay his expensive license fee. The church man, the restaurant owner, Traill (Laurence Naismith), who served Jock and the dog his meals during trips to the city, and the local urchins, with barely enough to eat themselves, all compete to care for the dog, leading to a surprising and satisfying judicial decision.