''Kävik the Wolf Dog'' is a novel written in 1968 by
Walt Morey
Walter Morey (February 3, 1907 – January 12, 1992), was a writer of numerous works of children's fiction, set in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the places where Morey lived for all of his life. His book ''Gentle Ben'' was the basis fo ...
. It won the 1968
Dutton Animal Book Award as a draft, resulting in its subsequent publication.
[ Quote: Walt's books have twice won the Dutton Junior Animal Book Award.]
Made-for-TV movie
A
made-for-TV movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
called
The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog
''The Courage of Kavik the Wolf Dog'', also known as 'Kavik the Wolf Dog', is a 1980 made-for TV adventure film based on the novel Kävik the Wolf Dog.
Plot
Kavik, a champion sled dog, who has just won a race in Alaska, is sold for $4000 to Geor ...
based on the book aired under the ''Sunday Big Event'' umbrella on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in 1979.
Plot
Kävik, an
Alaskan malamute
The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Canad ...
sled dog, gets sold from Charlie One-eye to Mr. Hunter for $2,000 after winning the North American Sled-dog race and is loaded on a plane in an iron-barred cage. In the middle of the trip, something goes wrong and the plane crashes into the ground, killing pilot Smiley Johnson before he even has time to undo his seatbelt.
Kävik's cage makes a gaping hole in the side of the plane as it crashes in the eye of a storm. After being trapped in a cage for three days while starving, freezing, and getting multiple wounds from neighboring animals, Kävik is found by young Andy Evans, a teenage boy whose trapline was the location of the wreck.
Andy uses his belt axe to open the cage and uses a piece of the plane's wing to create a sled to carry the injured dog until they reach a cave, where Andy and Kävik spend the night. The next morning, Andy is shaken awake by his father, Kurt Evans, and they take Kävik back to their house. Laura Evans, Andy's mother, suggests that they take him over to Dr. Walker.
When Dr. Walker arrives, he is led to believe by Andy that Laura was sick, but he learns that Kävik was injured instead and refuses to operate on him because he is a people doctor, not a veterinarian. But with Laura's tricky ways, he is persuaded to help Kavik to the best of his abilities.
Over the period of a few weeks, Kävik almost fully recovers and heals. Andy notices he is as good as new when he climbs up the stairs and is able to open his door. One day, while Andy is at his job downtown, Kävik escapes to town and gets chased by a pack of dogs led by Blackie. It turns out he has lost his fighting courage due to the horrible plane wreck.
A few weeks later, Andy comes home and notices that Kävik is nowhere to be found. His dad tells Andy that Mr. Hunter came by earlier that day and took Kävik back with him to his home in Washington, despite being told by Andy's father that Kävik is a complete coward and that he had lost his wolflike courage.
When Mr. Hunter goes to show Kävik off, Kävik escapes out of a window and sets out over 2,000 miles to return to Andy, the only person who ever loved him enough to take care of him. While he was traveling he found a mate who later got killed. The return journey comprises most of the second half of the novel.
See also
*
Walt Morey
Walter Morey (February 3, 1907 – January 12, 1992), was a writer of numerous works of children's fiction, set in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the places where Morey lived for all of his life. His book ''Gentle Ben'' was the basis fo ...
*
Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben is a bear character created by author Walt Morey and first introduced in a 1965 children's novel, ''Gentle Ben''. The original novel told the story of the friendship between a large male bear named Ben and a boy named Mark. The story pr ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavik The Wolf Dog
1968 American novels
American children's novels
Children's novels about animals
Fictional dogs
American novels adapted into films
1968 children's books