White Dog

Julie Sawyer hits a stray dog while driving through the Los Angeles hills at night. A veterinarian treats the dog, and she brings him home while searching for his owners. The encounter seeds an uneasy bond that drives the early choices in the story.

A rapist breaks into Julie's house and tries to attack her, but the dog defends her. The incident strengthens Julie's resolve to keep the dog as a protector. Her boyfriend Roland Graele strongly disagrees with adopting him.

Unbeknownst to Julie, the dog has been trained by a white racist to attack Black people on sight. The training remains hidden as the dog forms a bond with Julie. The threat behind the dog's loyalty begins to loom over her life.

The dog sneaks out and kills a Black truck driver on the street. The act demonstrates the lethal potential of the conditioning. Julie remains unaware of the full background behind the dog's violence.

Julie takes the dog to work, but on the film set the dog mauls a Black actress. The incident draws public and professional alarm about the dog’s dangerous temperament. Julie must confront what keeping him means for others' safety.

Julie seeks help from Carruthers, a dog trainer who tells her to euthanize the animal. He argues that the dog’s violence cannot be controlled. This meeting sharpens the moral stakes and tests Julie's commitment.

A Black trainer named Keys offers to retrain the dog. He uses protective gear, confines the dog in a large enclosure, and is the sole caregiver feeding and supervising it. The process reveals a controversial approach to remolding a conditioned killer.

The dog escapes during training and kills an elderly Black man inside a church. The act shocks everyone and escalates the fear surrounding the retraining attempt. Keys recovers the dog and debates whether to hand it over to authorities.

Keys chooses to keep training the dog and prevents authorities from taking it away. He warns Julie that the training has reached a tipping point where the dog could be cured or driven insane. He believes success could undermine white racist programs that breed such dogs.

Gradually the dog becomes friendly toward Keys, suggesting progress in the retraining effort. Julie remains wary but begins to hope that a cure might be possible. The evolving bond adds complexity to the story's themes.

Another dog owner arrives to claim the dog, and Julie publicly tells him that the dog has been cured by a Black person in front of his grandchildren. The confrontation underscores the film's provocative stance on race and redemption. It also marks a turning point in how the dog is perceived.

Just as Julie and Keys think the danger is over, the dog turns on Carruthers and attacks him. Keys shoots and kills the dog to save Carruthers. The ending delivers a brutal twist about the limits and costs of attempting to reshape violence.