In 1894 a collie-setter cross followed a horse-drawn Glasgow fire engine to a lifeboat demonstration, and the crews at the Central Fire Station took him in. For the next eight years Wallace ran in front of the appliances on the way to calls, then sat beside the tethered horses and guarded them until the men came back. By the time he died in 1902, he was said to be more famous than Edinburgh's Greyfriars Bobby, according to the Glasgow Times.
On Sept. 15, Glasgow's Lord Provost, Jacqueline McLaren, unveiled a statue of him in the main hall of Glasgow Central Station while a piper played "I Belong to Glasgow."
The statue was "the culmination of years of work by Jean Dallas and the 'Chancers' Group," according to the Scottish Fire Brigades Heritage Trust. Dallas, 81, from Possilpark, started her campaign after a 2017 visit to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Heritage Centre and Museum in Greenock, where Wallace himself is still on display. People in custody at Barlinnie prison sculpted the piece, with backing from the social landlord ng homes and from SFRS.
The sculpture includes his boots. As the story goes, an elderly woman saw him limping on the stone-paved streets and gave him a set of rubber boots. He wore them once and lost two of the four on the way back from a call.
"This wee dog was famous in his day for his brave antics," Dallas told the Glasgow Times. City of Glasgow Group Commander Craig Campbell said: "Wallace is a local and fire service legend, and this is a fitting celebration of his life and another reminder of the proud history the service shares with Glasgow."
A QR code next to the sculpture links to the full story, and Wallace will feature on tours of the station.
