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Troika-Barking Dog Ruby Free Again

Ruby_troikaA dog named Ruby who hounded and barked at envoys of international lenders has been set loose on the streets of Athens again after being “arrested” by authorities who said it was because of reports a dog had bitten someone, and not that his supporters said was for his keen sense of sniffing out austerity measures.
She’s now free to ready her considerable barking skills again when envoys from the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) return on April 4 with demands for more reforms that many Greeks despite, and that apparently Ruby can’t stand either.
The male stray gained fame this month after barking menacingly as part of a pack of dogs at the Troika inspectors, although it’s common in Athens for loose gangs of dogs to be allowed to roam free and threaten, and even bite people in some cases.
Ruby, who got closer to the Troika officials than any protester ever did, was later captured by municipal officials and freed on March 29 after being observed for two weeks and showing no signs of aggressiveness although there weren’t any Troika types around. A city statement said Ruby’s detention followed a complaint that he bit a man, and wasn’t linked with the ministry incident.
Dogs often follow anti-austerity protesters in Athens and have been prominently featured in photos during riots, even amid clouds of teargas and chemical weapons that riot police use to beat back demonstrators and anarchists who infiltrate crowds to take advantage of the disorder and attack cops.
“Our four-legged fellow citizen is back on Ermou Street,” the City of Athens tweeted in response to suggestions that his removal was due to political pressure, the newspaper Kathimerini reported. “The reports circulating are completely inaccurate.”
City of Athens officials said “the likeable dog was take to the municipal shelter following a complaint by a citizen that he had been bitten by him on Syntagma Square,” according to a statement from the municipality’s environment department.
The complainant had submitted a photograph of the bite mark on his calf, as well as a receipt from the pharmacy where he received a tetanus shot, according to sources, but apparently wasn’t able to identify Ruby, who’s now back in Syntagma Square waiting for the Troika envoys who hope he’ll stay off their tail for a change.

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