LILA, THE CHARLIE HEBDO DOG WHO SURVIVED THE MASSACRE IS NOW THE OFFICE MASCOT

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Lila stuck close to her 'favourite' cartoonist, Jean Cabut, on the day he died

'Cabu' among six Charlie Hebdo journalists to be murdered that morning

One survivor described how masked gunmen massacred her colleagues

Sigolene Vinson heard Lila's 'tiny steps' searching for the deceased Cabu

Their first magazine since attack will show cartoon of Prophet Muhammad

Three million copies of the latest Charlie Hebdo edition will be printed

Baffled, bewildered and afraid, a little Cocker Spaniel padded around the bodies of her friends - the journalists and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo.  Running from office to office she was the silent witness of a horror unfolding that would rock the world.

 

As the 'house' dog and mascot of the staff, Lila was a familiar and much loved figure to staff and visitors alike.  She greeted all with a friendly wave of her tail but that morning, the day of the slayings, she was sticking close to her favourite - cartoonist Jean Cabut - known as Cabu.

CABU

 

He'd arrived in the office clutching a large dried ham wrapped in a bag, a gift for the magazine's first editorial conference of the New Year. 

 

Lila knew that the ever generous Cabu was a soft touch, so she stuck close by him as he took his place at the conference table where all were gathering.  Earlier, she had greeted the staff one by one as they came to the office, running between their legs, delighted to see them all together again.

 

In a moving interview with Le Monde, Sigolene Vinson, crime reporter with the satirical magazine, held on to the normality of the dog's pleasure as she described the horror that unfolded.  One by one, with no time to react, her colleagues were murdered. 

 

Sigolene, who had left the conference room for the kitchen, started to crawl on hands and knees to another office as the gunfire exploded.  From around the corner a masked man emerged, gun trained on her. It was Said Kouachi. His eyes she remembered were large, dark - and soft. 

 

She recalled: 'He looks into my eyes and says: "Do not be afraid. Stay calm. I won't kill you. We don't kill women.  But think about what you are doing. What you are doing is wrong. I'm sparing you but because of this you must read the Qur'an.'

 

Desperate not to inadvertently give away the still living - hidden men and women - Sigolene nodded.   She lay still until hearing the terrorists flee and then crawled to the horrific scene in the conference room.

 

'As I lay there, not sure if they were really gone, shots rang out in the distance, in the street.

'And then I heard Lila with her tiny steps.'  She pauses to mimic the click clack of the paws as the dog moved from office  to office searching for her beloved, now dead, Cabu.  

 

THE LAST CHARLIE HEBDO MEETING BEFORE THE MASSACRE

 

Charlie Hebdo's first edition since the attack will feature a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad on its front page - weeping while holding a 'Je Suis Charlie' placard. 

With the magazine's demand surging since the attack on January 7, they're planning to print three million copies of the controversial publication, which dwarfs its normal run of 60,000.

 

Digital versions of the magazine will also be available in English, Spanish and Arabic - while Italian and Turkish versions will be printed.

 

Thousands of extra police have been drafted in to provide security for the country after 17 innocent people were killed in three days of violence last week.

 

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2908766/Pictured-Lila-cocker-spaniel-survived-Paris-newsroom-massacre-Charlie-Hebdo-s-office-mascot.html

 

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