Riot dog is a term used by English-speaking media denoting any of the stray dogs that, in recent years, accompany street protesters in Athens, Greece. It has been observed that a number of these dogs remain among the protesters even when violent rioting breaks out. Some of the dogs have been prominently featured in media reportage on the protests. Greece's Riot Dogs have acquired, through the years, a large following of fans around the world.
The dogs
Kanellos (Greek: ΚανÎλλος: cinnamon), a distinct blonde, male, mixed-breed canine, was arguably the first incarnation of the Greek Riot Dog. His maiden appearance was in photographs taken at a general assembly of students in the occupied National Technical University of Athens. Kanellos became famous in the 2008 Greek riots, when Greek photographers and cameramen started to notice a dog that kept appearing in their footage. The stray seemed to always walk amongst and side with the protesters.
According to reports by witnesses, Kanellos, in his final years, suffered from arthritis, which motivated a group of college students to collect money and purchase him a dog's wheelchair. This allowed him to live indoors, among the students, until he died.
Thodoris (ΘοδωÏής) is a Kanellos look-alike, believed to be one of Kanellos' pups. Thodoris is a light golden-colored, mixed breed dog, who, despite being a stray, has seemingly been provided with all the necessary medical shots, as evidenced by his blue collar.
Loukanikos (Λουκάνικος: the sausage loukaniko) or more commonly Louk (Λουκ), sometimes confused by the media for Kanellos, has been present at nearly every recent protest in Athens in the past few years. This stray has ostensibly become the symbol of Greek protests against the IMF- and ECB-prompted austerity measures. There's uncertainty about the claim that Loukanikos and Thodoris may, in fact, be the same dog.
In September 2011, on the occasion of a striking policemen's union marching in the centre of Athens, Loukanikos, according to eyewitnesses, was "initially confused" between two opposite sides both of uniformed policemen but, when the riot police contingent attacked their striking colleagues, the dog sided with "those who were being attacked."
Loukanikos' health was "severely burdened" by the inhaling of tear gas and other chemicals during the many riots in which he participated but lived until approximately ten years of age, dying peacefully on 9 October 2014 at the home of a person who cared for him.
Other dogs
In Chile, in the 2010s, a stray dog has been seen accompanying student protests. Reportedly, protesters nicknamed him "Negro Matapaco" or "Matapaco" (from Spanish matar, to kill, and paco, which is Chilean slang for "policeman"; his full nickname therefore translates to "black cop-killer"), or refer to him simply as "El Negro".
In culture
In 2011, American singer/songwriter David Rovics released a song entitled "The Riot Dog".
Gallery
See also
- 2008 Greek riots
- 2010â€"2011 Greek protests
- Loukaniko
References
External links
- Kanellos | Facebook
- Louk | Facebook
- Loukanikos | Facebook
- "The Greek protest dog" picture gallery in The Guardian
Video footage
- "Sausage, the riot dog of Greece", Reuters report
- "Greece's front-line riot dog", BBC News
- "Riot dog stands his ground as Greek firefighters protest in Central Athens-March 26, 2009", independent media
