By Menelaos Tzafalias, Athens and Harriet Alexander
09 October 2014
Loukanikos, the dog which accompanied Greek protesters every day as they rioted against austerity measures, has died
A dog in the crowd as demonstrators throw stones at the police in central Athens Photo: AP
Loukanikos barks at riot police in front of the finance ministry during a demonstration in Athens on April 29, 2010. Photo: AFP/Getty
A dog looks on as a firebomb thrown by rioters explodes near riot police near the National Technical University in central Athens. Photo: AP
A dog who became one of the "stars" of the Greek anti-austerity protests has died, his owners have said.
Loukanikos, whose name means sausage, died peacefully after "retiring" from protests in 2012.
But his presence on the "front lines" of anti-austerity protests in Athens became one of the defining images of the crisis. Throughout the 2011 protests, the mongrel was a constant feature on Athens' streets - barking at riot police, narrowly avoiding being kicked in scuffles, and trotting past blazing missiles thrown by the demonstrators.
A song, "Riot Dog," was written in his honour by American singer David Rovics, and Loukanikos' image was featured in magazines around the world.
In June 2011 he appeared on Newsnight, in a report by their economics editor Paul Mason.
Nick Malkoutzis, deputy editor of Greek daily Kathimerini's English Edition, described him as "the snout that launched 1,000 trite stories around the world."
George Paidoussis, based in Athens, tweeted: "Loukanikos, the only "non fake" rebel, in this part of the world... R.I.P."
He died in May, but his death was only reported on Thursday.
Loukanikos first appeared on the scene in the December 2008 riots, after a policeman shot dead a youth in central Athens.
“He’d go out in the morning and I would pick him up at night," said Achilleas Adam, a pensioner who had been taking care of Loukanikos ever since he found the mongrel on the streets of Athens, sometime after the city hosted the 2004 Olympics.
He and his family, who look after tens of strays, told The Telegraph they named the dog Thodoros but the nickname Loukanikos prevailed.
"He has been hurt once on the paw and once on the head, probably by being caught in an exchange of stones or broken pieces of marble, as is usual in scuffles between police and demonstrators," he said.
Mr Adam often saw Loukanikos in action.
"There was a time when the riot police had blocked off an arcade beneath the finance ministry [on Syntagma square]. He bit a policeman’s riot shield! He would not go after other people, just policemen attacking protesters. He was amazing.
There were two reasons, Mr Adam said, why Loukanikos "retired" from active protest duty.
"There weren’t any major demonstrations anymore," he said, adding that he also was concerned about the new generation of non-lethal weapons used by the police, and so was glad when the dog stayed at home.
He said Loukanikos often would take tear gas canisters into his mouth and carry them away.
“I was afraid a canister would explode in his mouth,” he said.
"We were very sad. He died on the afternoon of May 21 this year. He was sleeping on the couch when he died."
Mr Adam's wife said: "It was sudden. We brought a vet to check. It was his heart."
She nicknamed the dog "the philosopher" - and explained: "That’s what he looked like when he was calm."
Loukanikos was approximately ten to twelve years old when he died, they said.
