A stray mutt that has appeared at "nearly every demonstration in Athens over the last two years." He's always on the side of the protesters. He barks at the police. Locals call him and his ilk "dogs of the movement."

Apparently stray dogs are a hallmark of Athens' periodic riots. Dogs of the movement are drawn by the energy of the crowd, opportunities to scavenge, and protesters who are kind to them. Though mutts of all manner appear routinely in protest footage, one dog appears more than any other.

Guardian says the dog's name is Kanellos. He appeared most recently at deadly protests against Greece's new austerity measures, the Guardian writes. [Image via AP]

Maybe the commotion excites him. He always sides with the protesters, and has braved teargas and fire to be with them. [Image via Getty]

Crowds provide great treats for canine scavengers—like this milk bottle in Syntagma Square. [Image via AP]

Or maybe he just hates the police. [Image via Getty]

There are other protest dogs, too. A Reddit user who lives in the Exarxeia neighborhood of Athens says the Guardian misidentified this dog, whose name is actually Louk. The confusion, he says, stems from rich tradition of Athenian protest dogs:

These dogs live in Exarxeia and they don't belong to nobody. We call them "the dogs of the movement" and there many of them, such as ROZA, DICK, RIBO, PETROS, LOUCY. Its funny but they are our comrades, we protect and feed them and they protect us as well.

[Image via AP]