The Call of the Wild Classic Children's Book characters

Appears from the start

A powerful four-year-old dog raised in comfort on Judge Miller's California estate. Part Saint Bernard and part Scotch shepherd, Buck begins proud, trusting, and unfamiliar with cruelty. His size and adaptable intelligence make him valuable after he is stolen and sold into the northern sled trade.

Appears from the start

The wealthy owner of the Santa Clara Valley estate where Buck spends his early life as the favored household dog.

Appears from the start

One of Judge Miller's gardeners, whose gambling debts lead him to betray Buck and secretly sell him to a dog dealer.

Also known as the man in the red sweater

Appears from the start

A dog breaker who receives the stolen Buck and uses a club to teach him that a human with a weapon cannot be challenged by strength alone.

Appears from the start

A Canadian government courier who buys Buck for work on the Klondike mail routes. He is experienced with sled dogs and values Buck's unusual potential.

Appears from the start

Perrault's companion and the driver responsible for training and managing the government dog team. He is stern but knowledgeable and fair by the standards of the trail.

Appears from the start

A large white sled dog who leads François's team. Spitz is seasoned, calculating, and immediately hostile to Buck, recognizing a possible rival for command.

Appears from the start

A friendly Newfoundland bought for the northern journey alongside Buck. Her fate on first meeting the established sled dogs gives Buck an abrupt lesson in the violence of the trail.

First appears in chapter 2

An experienced, gloomy sled dog who works steadily in the traces and prefers to be left alone. He helps Buck learn the routine of pulling a sled.

First appears in chapter 2

A scarred, one-eyed husky whose reserved manner conceals no desire for conflict. Like Dave, he is a dependable member of the team and an example from whom Buck learns trail discipline.

First appears in chapter 5

An inexperienced American prospector who buys the exhausted mail dogs with Charles and Mercedes. He relies on force instead of judgment and refuses advice about the dangerous spring trail.

First appears in chapter 5

A seasoned outdoorsman camped beside the trail when Hal's failing team arrives. Thornton recognizes that Buck has been driven past endurance and intervenes when Hal attacks him.