A Paws-itively Brilliant Success!

A Paws-itively Brilliant Success! Scotties in the City Raises £435,500 – and Giffnock Played Its Part

From visitors travelling across the world to an incredible charity auction, Scotties in the City has been a huge success. And here in Giffnock, our very own Sherlock Bones certainly made his mark! Now we're inviting the community to help us create our next colourful Scottie.

A summer to remember

Glasgow and the surrounding communities went barking mad this summer as 40 giant Scottie dogs and 52 smaller sculptures appeared across the area, bringing colour, creativity and a wonderful sense of adventure to our streets.

Organised by Maggie's in partnership with Wild in Art, Scotties in the City ran from 18 June to 16 August 2026, encouraging families, friends and visitors to explore different communities while raising awareness of the free support Maggie's provides to people affected by cancer.

The response was incredible.

By the end of the trail, the Scotties had been collected more than 320,000 times through the official app, with visitors travelling from near and far to join the fun.

And when the sculptures went under the hammer at Glasgow City Chambers on 10 September, they raised an astonishing £435,500 for Maggie's.

An additional £50,000-plus was raised through tickets, merchandise and a raffle at the farewell weekend in August.

It was a fantastic conclusion to a summer that brought people together for a very worthwhile cause.

Visitors came from far and wide

One of the most remarkable things about Scotties in the City was just how far people travelled to take part.

The organisers shared stories of visitors from across Scotland, England and further afield, including Ireland, Cornwall, Russia and Switzerland.

One enthusiastic couple travelled all the way from Kent to find every one of the 92 large and small Scotties during the opening weekend. Another couple even made the journey from Switzerland with their own Scottie dogs!

It shows just how much appeal a creative public art trail can have, encouraging people to explore places they might otherwise never have visited.

For communities such as Giffnock, that's particularly exciting. Bringing new people into our village gives them the chance to discover our independent shops, cafés, restaurants and other fantastic local businesses.

Sherlock Bones – Giffnock's very own detective!

Of course, we couldn't talk about Scotties in the City without celebrating our own four-legged star, Sherlock Bones.

Sponsored by Giffnock Village BID and created by talented artist Nicola Mills, Sherlock Bones brought a little mystery and plenty of personality to the trail.

Our clever canine detective, forever on the lookout for his arch-enemy Marriarty the cat, proved a popular addition to the village.

During the trail, Sherlock Bones was collected 2,665 times through the official app.

That's a fantastic number, but it's important to remember that it doesn't represent the full number of people who came to see him.

Many visitors explored the trail in family groups or with friends, with just one person scanning the sculpture on behalf of everyone. Others followed traditional paper maps, while some simply stopped to admire the artwork, take photographs and enjoy the experience without using the app at all.

So although we can't put an exact figure on how many people visited Sherlock Bones, we know that those 2,665 app collections represent just part of his overall audience.

And Sherlock had one final surprise up his sleeve!

At the grand charity auction, Sherlock Bones sold for an impressive £8,500, making a wonderful contribution to the money raised for Maggie's.

We're incredibly proud to have been part of such a successful project and delighted that our very own Scottie helped support such an important charity.

A lasting impact beyond the trail

While the sculptures may have moved on to their new homes, the impact of Scotties in the City goes well beyond the summer.

The trail encouraged people to get outdoors, explore new places, spend time together and discover the communities around them.

It also demonstrated the value of public art in bringing visitors into local town centres and creating memorable experiences for residents and businesses alike.

For Giffnock Village BID, supporting Sherlock Bones was about more than sponsoring a sculpture. It was an opportunity to put Giffnock on the map as part of a major regional event, encourage people to visit our village and celebrate the creativity and community spirit that make our area special.

And we're not quite finished with our Scottie adventures yet!

Ten little Scotties, one very good cause!

Sherlock Bones might have raised an incredible £8,500 for Maggie's, but our fundraising story might not be finished just yet!

As part of Scotties in the City, we also painted 10 of our very own miniature Scottie dogs, using the official Paint Your Own sculptures from the trail.

Each one has its own personality, and together they make a colourful little collection celebrating Giffnock's involvement in this fantastic event and formed an extra trail around the town.

We've been thinking about giving these little dogs the chance to do some good too!

We're considering auctioning our 10 miniature Scotties, with the money raised going to Maggie's to help support people affected by cancer and their families.

Before making any final plans, we'd love to find out whether there's interest from people who might like to own one.

Perhaps you followed the trail and would love a little Scottie of your own? Maybe you're looking for an unusual gift, or simply want to support a wonderful charity?

Whatever your reason, we'd love to hear from you!

Would you be interested in buying one of our mini Scotties?

Please get in touch with Giffnock Village BID to register your interest. There's no obligation to buy at this stage, and if there's enough interest, we hope to organise a special fundraising auction.

Who knows? Our 10 little Scotties might have one more adventure ahead of them – and raise a little more money for Maggie's along the way!