Possibly some of you have driven into Linlithgow and noticed that the town coat of arms is a greyhound chained to a tree. This dog historically was known as the black bitch of Linlithgow. A true greyhound heroine who came to a very sad end.

It would take a long time to write the story here but if you go to

https://sites.google.com/site/linlithgowmagazine/the-legend-of-the-black-bitch

you can read it there.

Strangely people from Linlthgow are known lovingly as " black bitches " If you go to Linlithgow stop a lady and ask her if she is a black bitch. If she was born in Linlithgow she'll proudly say " Yes ". If not then, oh dear ha ha.

The black bitch did not deserve her fate so, in 2019, the Linlithgow people thought she should be honoured, So they decided to have a bronze statue made of her. An excellent sculptor David Annand was found.

David needed a model to get accurate dimensions from, so he asked the local vet if there was someone in Linlithgow who had a greyhound bitch. He was directed to the family of Crystal, who got her from GRF.

So now Crystal is a GRF legend in Linlithgow.

A photo of the black bitch is shown here. She's the one on the plinth, not Celia ha ha.

Isn't it a beautiful sculpture?

Please read the story on the internet.

https://sites.google.com/site/linlithgowmagazine/the-legend-of-the-black-bitch

I knew the story and I've seen the statue but I never realised that the model was a GRF dog. How wonderful.

What a sad story about such a lovely loyal dog. What a compliment for Crystal to be chosen as the model for the memorial.

We finally got around to visiting the statue with the dogs today. An excellent photo opportunity for Rozy!