A knight in full body armor stood at the Central train station Saturday morning as a fair maiden unrolled a scroll and placed it in front of him. Behind him, his fellow knights stoically stood in a line, in their hands no weapons, but dog leashes.
”It is the code we live by, the code of chivalry. To protect the innocent, the weak and the downtrodden. But our code does not extend to man only, but to all forms of life. It is, therefore, our duty to protect man’s best friend, which the dog has been throughout the centuries, in their time of need’, proclaimed the knight whilst reading from the scroll.
Wardrums start banging and the group of knights, maidens and dogs proceed to Zrinjevac park, just one of the stops where the proclamation will be read. The medieval group is part of the Order of Guardians of Zagreb, a historical reenactment association who’s activities are usually reserved for different fairs, battle reenactments and other history based events.
This performance was part of the Friends Trough Centuries campaign started a few days ago by Friends of Animals NGO and Dumovec asylum for dogs. The campaign aims to sensitize public on the issue of abandoned pets, rise funds for the dog asylum and heighten the adoption rate of dogs held in Dumovec.
The idea behind the campaign was to focus on the bond men and dogs have that span trough centuries, and to assert chivalrous ideas of nobility, protection of the weak and kindness in the relationship between our two species.
After doing a tour around city center reading their proclamation, the troupe ended up at Cvjetni square where Dumovec had stands promoting dog adaptation, and held duels throughout the day, urging people to be kind to their pets and adopt a new one.
