The Plague Dogs (novel)
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 First edition cover from 1977 | |
| Author | Richard Adams |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | A. Wainwright |
| Cover artist | Martin White |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure fiction, science fiction, thriller fiction |
| Publisher | Allen Lane |
Publication date | 22 September 1977 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 461 (hardback edition) |
| ISBN | 978-0-7139-1055-1 (hardback edition) |
| OCLC | 3496427 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.A2163 Pl PR6051.D345 |
The Plague Dogs is a novel by English author Richard Adams, first published in 1977 by Allen Lane. The book centres on the friendship of two dogs that escape an animal testing facility and are subsequently pursued by both the government and the media. As in Adams' debut novel, Watership Down (1972), the animal characters in The Plague Dogs are anthropomorphised.
The Plague Dogs features location maps drawn by Alfred Wainwright, a fellwalker and author. The conclusion of the book involves two real-life characters, Adams' long-time friend Ronald Lockley, and the world-famous naturalist Sir Peter Scott. Having seen a manuscript, both men readily agreed to be identified with the characters and opinions that Adams had attributed to them, as is shown in Adams' preface to the book.
In 1982, The Plague Dogs was adapted into an animated feature film of the same name.
In the Lake District of England, Animal Research: Scientific and Experimental (or A.R.S.E.) conducts cruel and unusual experiments on animals, including the dogs Rowf and Snitter. Rowf, a mongrel who was born in the lab, is made to swim in a large water tank for extended periods. Snitter, a terrier who was domesticated until his owners’ death, is given brain surgery which impairs his sense of reality. He often presents as disoriented or delusional, with limited periods of lucidity.[1]
One night, Snitter squeezes out of his cage and into Rowf's, where they notice his door is unlatched. The dogs escape from the research station and roam the countryside. While the dogs are afraid of being caught by the "whitecoats" (doctors), Snitter is hopeful they will find a human who will give them food. Rowf, who has never experienced human kindness, is less sure. The next day, the people of a nearby village are indifferent towards the dogs. By nightfall, they resort to killing a sheep, embracing their new role as wild animals. However, the physical toll of killing sheep, and the angry farmers, present problems for the dogs.
They are approached by the Tod, a red fox with a Geordie accent, who offers to join them and help them kill sheep, while keeping them out of the way of angry farmers. The dogs accept.
Local farmers become outraged as more of their sheep are killed, and local businessman David Ephraim organizes a hunt. Before Mr. Ephraim sets off, Snitter approaches his truck. Struck by a sudden empathy for the dog, Mr. Ephraim calls him over. Snitter gets into his truck with him, but as he climbs in, he accidentally steps on the trigger of Mr. Ephraim’s gun, killing him. Snitter escapes, but enters a particularly bad mental state, and is found later by Rowf and the Tod.
Mr. Ephraim’s death prompts the arrival of Digby Driver, a sensationalist reporter from London who writes human interest pieces. Driver interviews several locals, including Stephen Prescott, who works at A.R.S.E. Not knowing Driver is a reporter, Prescott confirms that two dogs did recently escape from the lab. He also points Driver in the direction of Dr. Goodner, a German scientist who had been conducting experiments into the bubonic plague at the research station.
Driver also meets with Anne Moss, the sister of Snitter’s old owner Alan Wood. One day Snitter ran into the street, and Alan was struck while pushing him out of the way of a truck. Anne inherited Snitter, but quickly sold him to A.R.S.E. When asked whether she blamed Snitter for her brother’s death, she confirms that she does.
Snitter also recounts the loss of his master to Rowf, describing seeing him lying in the street, and people watching in horror. He thought Anne Moss (whom his master jokingly called "Annie Mossity", a play on "animosity") blamed him for her brother never having married, preferring to spend his time with his dog.
The dogs end their partnership with the Tod after he takes a nest of eggs for himself. Digby Driver publishes an article claiming that the dogs could have been exposed to the plague as they escaped the research station. The public's view of them shifts from anger to fear. Growing desperate for food, the dogs steal groceries from a car belonging to Geoffrey Westcott, who had stopped at the side of a road. An embarrassed Westcott sets out to kill the dogs himself.
Rowf and Snitter argue and separate. Snitter runs into the Tod, who is being hunted in a fox hunt. Tod thanks Snitter for his friendship, and asks him to pass a similar message to Rowf. Later, Westcott spots Rowf from atop Dow Crag. He leans over the edge to get a better shot, but a confused Snitter sees and approaches him. Startled by the other dog, Westcott slips and falls to his death. On the verge of starvation, Rowf and Snitter consume his corpse. The discovery of the mutilated body leads to more media frenzy and public outcry over the dogs.
Armed troops are deployed to kill Rowf and Snitter, who are chased to a beach. Despite his fear of water, Rowf gets into the sea with Snitter. While swimming, the two wonder whether they will make it to the Isle of Dog, a place where dogs are free from experiments and are only shown kindness. The dogs are on the verge of losing consciousness, when they are spotted by naturalists Sir Peter Scott and Ronald Lockley[2] who are out for a sail. The men get the dogs aboard and head for the shore.
Meanwhile, Digby Driver receives a letter from Alan Wood. He had never been dead, just badly injured and in hospital. When Driver assumed he was dead, Anne went along with it to avoid being ostracized for selling Snitter to A.R.S.E. After seeing Snitter's picture in the paper, Wood has been desperately trying to reach Driver. Driver meets Wood and breaks him out of the hospital. The two drive to the town the dogs were last seen in, but get lost along the way, ending up at the Drigg nature reserve.[3]
This is the place where Scott and Lockley bring in their boat. Snitter is finally reunited with his master, who quickly offers to adopt Rowf as well. The troops leave, having no reason to kill the dogs now. Rowf and Snitter look forward to their new lives, believing that they have made it to the Isle of Dog.
Basis in reality
Adams stated in the book's introduction that "There is no such place in the Lake District as Animal Research (Scientific and Experimental). In reality, no single testing or experimental station would cover so wide a range of work as Animal Research. However, every 'experiment' described is one which has actually been carried out on animals somewhere." The location of "ARSE" (an acronym for Animal Research, Scientific and Experimental, and British slang for buttocks) was based on the remote hill farm of Lawson Park, now run as an artist residence by the contemporary art organisation Grizedale Arts.
