Anti-austerity 'riot dog' Sausage dies in Greece
- 10 years ago
He was the dog who defied Greek riot police…but now he is no more.
Sausage, the ginger mongrel who became famous for appearing in anti-austerity protests and barking at men in uniform at the height of Greece’s debt crisis, has died of a heart attack.
The valiant stray became a media sensation by regularly showing up at the side of demonstrators amid the chaos of teargas and flying petrol bombs.
Called “Loukanikos” in Greek, he was named runner up for Time Magazine’s “Animal of the Year” in 2011 – only beaten to the top spot by the army dog that accompanied the US Navy SEAL team which took down Osama Bin Laden.
“He was Greek. Like all stray animals, Loukanikos somehow reflected the restlessness of Greeks who refuse to bow down,” Anna Makri, a veterinarian who heads the stray animal service in Athens, told Reuters.
Taken in by an animal welfare group two years ago, Sausage actually died in May.
But only now has the passing of this activist who stood up to authority on all four legs finally been announced.
The leftist Avgi newspaper said that he had been buried under a tree on a hill in the city centre.
Sausage, the ginger mongrel who became famous for appearing in anti-austerity protests and barking at men in uniform at the height of Greece’s debt crisis, has died of a heart attack.
The valiant stray became a media sensation by regularly showing up at the side of demonstrators amid the chaos of teargas and flying petrol bombs.
Called “Loukanikos” in Greek, he was named runner up for Time Magazine’s “Animal of the Year” in 2011 – only beaten to the top spot by the army dog that accompanied the US Navy SEAL team which took down Osama Bin Laden.
“He was Greek. Like all stray animals, Loukanikos somehow reflected the restlessness of Greeks who refuse to bow down,” Anna Makri, a veterinarian who heads the stray animal service in Athens, told Reuters.
Taken in by an animal welfare group two years ago, Sausage actually died in May.
But only now has the passing of this activist who stood up to authority on all four legs finally been announced.
The leftist Avgi newspaper said that he had been buried under a tree on a hill in the city centre.