Eduardo Groh Riemersma, known in Santiago del Estero as “El Polaco”, died at age 49 following a motorcycle accident on August 27, 2026. He was traveling through a roundabout when he lost control and did not reach the hospital alive.
For nearly twenty years, he had dedicated his life to animals no one wanted. He founded the shelter “El Montecito de los Canichones”, where he eventually cared for more than 400 dogs rescued from the streets. It all began after an accident he himself suffered in 1998, at age 24, and the arrival of Beethoven, a dog who was the only one in his litter to survive being run over.
On the day of his farewell, some of those dogs he rescued approached the funeral procession and walked alongside the hearse, as if they knew they owed him that final stretch. Those who knew him say that was how he was: someone who gave entire years of his life to those who had no voice to thank him.