Riot Dog is the term denoting any of the stray dogs that often accompany street protesters in Athens, Greece, in recent years.[1] It has been observed that a number of these dogs remain among the protesters even when violent rioting breaks out. [2][3] Some of these dogs have been prominently featured in media reportage on the protests.[4] Greece's Riot Dogs have acquired, through the years, a large following of fans around the world.[5][6]
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Kanellos (Greek: Κανέλλος: of cinnamon), a distinct blonde, male, mixed-breed canine[7], 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, in which he always seemed to walk amongst and side with the protesters.[8] Greek photographers and cameramen started to notice a dog that kept appearing in the riot footage.[1][4]
According to reports by witnesses, in his final years, Kanellos had severe arthritis, motivating a group of college students to collect money and purchase him a dog's wheelchair, which allowed him to live among them indoors until he passed away.[9]
Thodoris, or more commonly Louk, is a Kanellos look-alike, thought to be one of Kanellos' pups. Louk is a light golden-colored, mixed breed, who despote being a stray dog has been seemingly provided with all the necessary medical shots, according to his blue collar.[6][10]
Loukanikos (Greek: Λουκάνικος: of sausage), sometimes confused by the media for Kanellos[11], has been present at nearly every recent protest in Greece in the past few years.[11] This stray has ostensibly become the symbol of the Greek protests against the IMF and the ECB-backed austerity measures.[12]