Special delivery: Dead dog sent to agriculture minister

Justin Cremer

March 7, 2013 - 09:58

Mette Gjerskov's office received the ashes of a cremated dog in the second strange protest action of the week

First it was a delivery of horse crap, now it's the remains of a dead dog -this time aimed at the agriculture minister, Mette Gjerskov (Photo: Scanpix)

Not to be outdone by the protesters who delivered 100 kilos of horse dung to the doorsteps of the Employment Ministry, an angry dog owner sent the agriculture minister, Mette Gjerskov (Socialdemokraterne), the remains of his dead dog.

"Received the ashes of a cremated dog in the post at the office today. Hmmm…," Gjerskov wrote on Twitter last night.

However, like the giant steaming pile of horse crap, this too missed its intended target as Gjerskov was not in her office.

"I've been to meetings all day so I did not go by the office," she wrote on Facebook. "Still, I think it is weird."

This morning, Lasse Bøgvad stepped forward and told BT tabloid that he was the one who sent the package.

"The ashes were of my dead dog Gucci," Bøgvad told BT. "The dog law killed my beloved Gucci."

Gucci was an Amstaff, also known as an American Staffordshire Terrier. The nation's dog laws required that the dog wear a muzzle, which Bøgvad said sucked the life out of his dog. He decided therefore to put the dog down in July 2011.

He has held on to the ashes since the dog's death, but sent some of them to Gjerskov in the hopes that she would rethink the dog laws. He claims to be so affected by his dog's death that he has taken sick leave from his job. In his 'letter' to Gjerskov, he also included photos of Gucci and a link to a video of the dog on YouTube.

Dog laws were at the centre of media attention earlier this year when a German Shepherd named Thor was to be put down for biting another dog. After a public outcry, a rogue police officer dog-napped Thor and saved him at the last minute. The police officer, Lars Bo Lomholt, faces misconduct charges for his actions and the whereabouts of Thor remain unknown.

NOTE: This story was updated at 10:15 to identify the sender of the dead dog