"White Bim Black Ear" by Gavriil Troepolsky, summary

This 1971 novel tells the tragic story of a Scottish setter with an atypical coloring and his elderly owner. It’s a story of canine loyalty, compassion, and human cruelty, told through the intelligent animal’s perspective. The text won the USSR State Prize in 1975. Stanislav Rostotsky’s film of the same name was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1978.

An atypical puppy and his owner

A purebred Scottish Setter was born with a breeding defect. According to cynological standards, a Gordon Setter must be black with a glossy sheen and red tan markings. The puppy, however, was white, with only one ear and one paw remaining raven. The breeder planned to cull the albino puppy. The puppy was rescued by an elderly writer and journalist, Ivan Ivanovich. He took the puppy home and named the dog Bim.

Bim grew up to be a smart dog. Ivan Ivanovich, a former front-line soldier who had lost his son and wife, found salvation from loneliness in the dog. His owner patiently taught Bim hunting commands. As a puppy, Bim tore a book to pieces after receiving his first stern lesson and mastering the command: "No." The dog quickly learned to understand human intonation. Bim accurately read Ivan Ivanovich’s mood, sympathizing with his friend in moments of sadness in front of a portrait of his late wife.

Ivan Ivanovich kept diaries. He collected evidence that Bim’s coloring could have been passed down from distant ancestors, hoping to obtain a pedigree for the dog. The writer found references to similar dogs in history, but the shows ended unsuccessfully — Bim was removed from the ring without being judged.

Hunting and neighbors

By the age of two, Bim had become an excellent hunting dog. When hunting quail and woodcock, the setter displayed a classic stance, freezing in front of the hidden bird. Ivan Ivanovich rarely shot. The hunter preferred to enjoy the beauty of the autumn forest, the scent of yellow leaves, and the impeccable work of his dog. Animal and man interacted as equals. The dog searched for game, and the man shot accurately, without demanding unnecessary aggression from the dog.

A problem arose in the apartment building. A grumpy neighbor disliked the dog. Bim called her "auntie" to himself. One day, the kindly dog licked her hand. The neighbor raised a fuss, falsely accusing the animal of trying to bite. The chairman of the building’s committee, Pavel Titych Rydayev, came to inspect it. The experienced manager saw the dog’s good nature, realized the woman’s lie, and tore up her complaint. The slanderer harbored a deep grudge.

The owner’s illness and the beginning of wanderings

An old shell fragment moved near Ivan Ivanovich’s heart. The elderly man required emergency surgery. Paramedics took him to Moscow. Bim fiercely defended his friend from the medics, but his owner ordered the dog to obey the command: "Wait." Ivan Ivanovich was left in the care of his kind neighbor, Stepanovna, and her granddaughter, Lucy.

Bim refused food. The faithful dog set out to find his friend. He explored the city streets, following tracks and scents. Along the way, Bim encountered various passersby. A kind girl named Dasha fed the dog. She attached a brass plaque to his collar explaining his status as a lost dog. Bim followed Dasha’s trail to the train station but missed the departing train.

A boy named Tolik became genuinely attached to Bim. The child wrote a school essay about his love for animals, thinking only of the missing setter. Tolik brought him food and walked him in the park. But the street was fraught with danger. A dog tag collector, a rough man in gray clothes, lured Bim into his home with cunning. The man removed the brass plate number 24. Bim tried to leave, but the collector brutally beat the dog with a stick. The dog bit the collector and broke free. The vengeful man and the angry neighbor filed reports with the veterinarian, spreading rumors that the animal had rabies.

Life in the village

A city bus driver caught a disoriented dog. The man sold Bim to a shepherd named Khrisan Andreevich for fifteen rubles. That’s how the setter ended up in the village. The new owners named the dog Black Ear. The dog became friends with the shepherd’s son, Alyosha, and began actively helping herd the sheep. Village life was plentiful; Bim slept in warm hay, ate his fill, made friends with the farmyard piglets, and became accustomed to cow’s milk. In the fall, the family worked harvesting beets, and Bim accompanied his new friends into the cold fields.

The village peace was disturbed by neighbor Klim. A local poacher had asked for the dog’s loan to go hunting. Bim quickly found a hare in the field and picked it off, but Klim missed several times. The undergrowth concealed the wounded animal. The cruel hunter ordered the dog to chase and strangle the hare. The intelligent setter refused to tear the game apart. In a rage, Klim kicked Bim in the chest with his heavy boot. The dog fell unconscious. The frightened poacher cowardly fled.

The way home

Bim came to during the night. Overcoming the terrible pain in his bruised chest and coughing up blood, the dog crawled toward the city. An ancestral instinct led the animal into the forest, where he searched for medicinal herbs. Bim ate valerian roots, dried chamomile, and burdock stems. Hunger forced the hunting dog to break the rules — Bim caught and ate a wounded woodcock.

In the night forest, the dog encountered a she-wolf. Bim hid in the hollow of an old oak tree and barked loudly. The she-wolf tried to reach the dog but soon retreated. The animal was frightened by the human scent emanating from a rope forgotten in a clearing. Bim saw the body of a dead wolf, which had died after a recent hunt.

Gathering his last strength, Bim continued on the long journey. The dog avoided cars on the highway, covering his tracks. He hid in trenches and slept in cold entryways. Tolik’s father, Semyon Petrovich, tricked Bim into taking him into the forest at night and tied him to a tree. The frightened dog chewed through the rope, avoided another encounter with the she-wolf, escaped a deep construction ditch, and returned to the city. Hungry and limping, Bim stubbornly made his way to his home. Early in the morning, the dog crossed a familiar street, anticipating a quick meeting with Ivan Ivanovich. At the garbage dump, Bim encountered a familiar homeless woman, Shaggy, and shared his meager food with her. The caretaker, Mikhey, also gave the dog some bread.

Iron van

Near the archway of his home, Bim’s path was blocked by an angry neighbor. The woman gleefully called a team of dog catchers. The workers arrived quickly in a gray van. They caught the weakened dog in a net and threw him into the metal shed of the van. The neighbor was triumphant.

The van was locked in the quarantine yard until morning. Bim found himself trapped in an iron cage with the homeless dog, Shaggy. That night, the dog heard a gunshot in the distance. The sound reminded him of hunting and his owner’s voice. Mustering up the last of his strength, Bim began gnawing at the metal door paneling. He scratched and bit the iron in the pitch darkness. Bim fought for freedom until his exhausted heart stopped beating.

Search and Memory

Ivan Ivanovich returned home after a successful operation. The old man learned of the dog’s disappearance from Stepanovna. The writer immediately began searching. At the city train station, the old man met Tolik and Alyosha. The boys had met while searching for Bim independently and joined forces. The children asked passersby about the white dog with the black ear.

Ivan Ivanovich drove to the quarantine yard. The guard let the war veteran into the closed area. The dog catchers opened the van doors for the writer. Bim lay dead. The dog’s lips and claws were torn and bloody by the hard metal. The workers, shocked by the owner’s grief and the animal’s incredible devotion, took the dog’s body into the autumn forest. The young dog catcher, in repentance, released Shaggy and refused his money.

Ivan Ivanovich buried his friend in their favorite forest clearing. Like a true hunter, the old man fired four shots into the air — one for each year of Bim’s life. The sounds echoed throughout the autumn forest.

Tolik and Alyosha became fast friends. The boys often visited the old writer. Ivan Ivanovich acquired an English setter puppy. The old man named the new dog Bim. The little dog became a shared favorite between Tolik and Ivan Ivanovich. In the spring, the old man returned to the awakened forest. The forest clearing was thickly overgrown with blue snowdrops. The owner stood near his friend’s burial site. The writer listened to the birds singing, gazed at the spring sky, and sincerely hoped that the new Bim would have a bright future.