Bosses are barking up the wrong tree

THE term ‘Black Bitch’ has long been used to describe Linlithgow residents.

The custom dates back to the local legend of a fiercely loyal black greyhound who tried to save her master’s life after he was sentenced to starve to death for committing a crime.

The criminal was chained up on an island in the town loch, but his faithful companion swam to him every night to bring food. When the townspeople discovered this, the dog was captured and made to suffer the same fate as her owner.

But the emblem of the black bitch survived as a symbol of loyalty and was used as the town’s crest from as early as 1296. The tavern is the fifth pub Greene King has renamed this year due to its potentially offensive name.