Apologies now to anyone who really dislikes parentheses.

This is one of those “in case you missed it” posts, because this story broke earlier this year. Because it’s Saturday and because I find this completely fascinating, here’s a video of the Riot Dog in Greece.

While the destructive element of the Black Bloc angers me to no end, there are members who have saved a lot of protesters from harm’s way, which is never a bad thing. So I’m not posting this in solidarity of them, who feature in many images in the video, but for the fascinating repeated attendance of this dog.

But… This post is about the dog, not the Black Bloc. The fluffy, furry 4-legged pal who has shown up at riots in Greece over the past few years. Riot Dog was in the news a lot earlier this year and even has his own Facebook page. Apparently there are several Riot Dogs depending on the source, the most famous being Kanellos, who died in 2008 according to some people. Others seem to think Kanellos is still with us.

Interestingly, I found a blog post reporting Kanellos died in 2008, and was eventually given his own wheelchair and, eventually, a proper grave. It seems like the dog in the video is Louk, who is rumored to be one of Kanellos’ pups. There is (a lot) more about the life of Kanellos over here. You can also decide for yourself whether his name is spelled Kanelos or Kanellos, it seems to vary.

What I like is the idea of these pups being “of the people.” Psychology Today even wrote a nice article about why these dogs get involved. A lot of the stories on (the) Riot Dog(s) have featured the same photos over and over, but for variety, here’s one with the dog and teargas one of the dog drinking milk (which is unrelated and therefore, weird) and (also somewhat weird) a photo of Kanelos’ reception -with cake!- on winning Dog of the Year over on his own personal Facebook page, where there many more photos of the supposed “original” Greek Riot Dog. And when you’re done with the photos, there are quite a few “Riot Dog” videos over on YouTube.

I like the thought of (a) pup(s) of the people joining them during all of the chaos, y’know, (wo)man’s best friend and all. Riot Dog is most likely several different dogs, but, that still doesn’t take away its mythical status, or make it less like a folktale. I like the thought of people speaking up (although not a fan of these types of protests) for their city and country and the dog(s) doing the same alongside them. Whatever his (her?) name is, or however many Riot Dogs there are, these dogs are widely celebrated for the loyalty, courage and energy they disperse among the chaos. Three traits in which anyone who wants true change must adopt, no matter how many feet.