Sir Walter Scott statue at Scott Monument

Maida (1813–1824) sometimes called a

Deerhound The Scottish Deerhound, or simply the Deerhound, is a large breed of sighthound, once bred to hunt the red deer by coursing. In outward appearance, the Scottish Deerhound is similar to the Greyhound, but larger and more heavily boned with a rough- ...

, was a crossbreed from a ''Pyrenean Wolfdog'' and a ''Highland Deerhound'', belonging to

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

, and reported to be his favourite dog. Named after the

Battle of Maida The Battle of Maida, fought on 4 July 1806 was a battle between the British expeditionary force and a French force outside the town of Maida in Calabria, Italy during the Napoleonic Wars. John Stuart led 5,236 Anglo-Sicilian troops to victory ...

, which took place in 1806, he was a gift from Alexander Macdonell of Glengarry (

Alexander Ranaldson Macdonell Colonel Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry (15 September 1773 – 17 January 1828), sometimes called by the Gaelic version of his name, Alastair or Alasdair, was clan chief of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. As was customary for a laird (l ...

), a friend of Scott, and whose brother led the 78th Highlanders in the battle, a victory for the British against the French in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Scott wrote to his son Charles that "Old Maida died suddenly in his straw last week, after a good supper, which, considering his weak state, was rather a deliverance; he is buried below his monument, on which the following epitaph is engraved in Latin '' aidae marmorea dormis sub imagine Maida / Ante fores domini sit tibi terra levis', thus Englished by an eminent hand : - :'Beneath the sculptured form which late you bore, :Sleep soundly Maida at your master's door.'" The monument mentioned is a statue of the dog at the hall door of Scott's home,

Abbotsford House Abbotsford is a historic country house in the Scottish Borders, near Galashiels, on the south bank of the River Tweed. Now open to the public, it was built as the residence of historical novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott between 1817 and 1825 ...

. A statue of Scott at the

Scott Monument The Scott Monument is a Victorian Gothic monument to Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It is the second largest monument to a writer in the world after the José Martí monument in Havana. It stands in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, opp ...

in Edinburgh includes Maida gazing up at the seated figure. William Allan painted "Sir Walter Scott with His Dog 'Maida'" in 1831.

Alexander Nasmyth Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

painted the dog alone. The part of Scott's statue in Perth featuring Maida was stolen, for a second time, in 2020."Police hunt as Sir Walter Scott’s faithful hound goes walkies in Perth"
- ''The Courier'', 6 July 2020

Gallery

File:England and Scotland 217.jpg, Statue of Scott and Maida at the

South Inch South Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland. About 31 hectares in size,The South Inch, ...

, Perth, Scotland, dating to 1845

References

{{Walter Scott Individual dogs Walter Scott 1813 animal births 1824 animal deaths