Charges filed in Arachova husky killing case

A prosecutor has filed charges against an unnamed individual over the killing and torture of an eight-year-old Husky named Oliver in the popular winter resort town of Arachova, central Greece, in November last year.

On November 26, after having been reported missing for 24 hours, Oliver was found by his owner in his garden in the village of Arachova, bloodied, with broken ribs and blows to the head.

The owner lodged a complaint and the police launched an investigation.

Greek Police had claimed last year that video footage from the area and witness statements that Oliver was attacked by a pack of dogs, while Kleoniki Tola, a veterinary surgeon who carried out the initial medical examination while the dog was still alive is adamant that his injuries revealed that it had been beaten, tortured.

Commenting on the development, Tola told Open TV that she “had no doubt” about what happened to the animal and that “justice has done its job.”

Anthoula Anasoglou, one of the two lawyers of the Panhellenic Union Against Cruelty to Animals, which is involved in the legal action against the unknown perpetrator, said “it is clear and established by evidence” that no pack of dogs attacked Oliver and that a person is behind the heinous crime.

Oliver’s killing caused an online boycott of the small village with animal groups citing a perceived refusal among locals to provide information to the police.