Not many citizens of Zagreb, let alone tourists, know that a monument to a dog was, literally, for years hidden from the public eye within one of the courtyards in Oktogon. The monument was built to honour Pluto, the dog who came one day to the construction site, completely emaciated. The workers, and especially the architect Josip Vancaš, took to the dog immediately, fed him and gave him water. Soon the dog became the construction site's watch dog, which, apparently was not just a title, because looters came to the site to steal clay used to make pottery from the creek in Ilica. During one of these skirmishes, at the very end of construction, the legend says, Pluto lost his life. Mr Vancaš and the workers, grief- stricken, decided to put up a monument to honour the memory of Pluto forever. Fortunately, the monument was recently relocated to a more appropriate and visible place, on a building in Bogovićeva street, where every passer-by can see it and read about it.
Written by: Gordana Mijatovic
