Power to the pooches!

photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters

Back in the late sixties when I lived in New York City, there seemed to be a street demonstration every weekend against whatever the outrage du jour was.

But since it was the late sixties; more often than not the protests were against the Vietnam war; or maybe for equal rights for women.

I saw a lot of strange things at some of those protests but I'm pretty sure those sixties protesters never had a mascot.

But that was then and this is now.

If you've watched any amount of cable news in the past few days you've probably seen some of the protests in Greece.

I was watching the other day when all of the financial news channels were carrying live pictures of the protests in Athens, while simultaneously here in the U.S., the stock market seemed on the verge of a collapse.

But as I watched the stock market implode-albeit briefly-something in the live video from Greece caught my eye.

Every so often the cameras would show a dog running across a thoroughfare, oblivious to the fires, tear gas, rocks and bottles and the Greek police beating the crap out of whatever protester happened to be unlucky enough to get caught.

But, as it turns out, this wasn't just any dog.

Enter Louk, the Riot Dog.

Louk, it seems, has been attending and participating in Greek riots since 2008.

And because this is 2010, anyone or anything who happens to be on TV for more than 10 seconds is an instant celebrity. So it follows that Louk now has a following.

But unlike the cast of the "Jersey Shore," Louk actually has character and more importantly, a discernible personality.

He's even got a Facebook fan page, which lists his favorite activities as attending riots and barking at police.

A recent wall post says this about Louk:

"[he's] a mystery wrapped in an enigma, wrapped in a blue collar indicating he has his shots. What brings him to the riots? Does he believe in the overthrow of private ownership? Does he see the rioters as his pack? Does he just hope that the police are going to start throwing those big sticks for him to fetch."

Louk is also on Youtube

And there's a slide show at Newsweek.com with pics of Louk and other assorted Greek canine anarchists.

thanks to Tamara for the heads up!