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The Plague Dogs
Rowf, a labrador - mix, and Snitter, a smooth fox-terrier, are two of many dogs used for experimental purposes at an animal research facility in the Lake District of north-western England. Snitter has had his brain surgically experimented upon (leaving the top of his head scarred and covered with bandages), while Rowf has been drowned and resuscitated repeatedly. One evening, Snitter squeezes under the netting of his cage and into Rowf's, where they discover his cage is unlatched. They explore the facility in order to escape until they sneak into the incinerator, where they narrowly escape in time before it ignites.
Initially relieved and eager to experience their new freedom, the dogs are soon faced not only with the realities of life in the wild but with the fact they are being hunted by their former captors. They come to befriend the Tod, a nameless Geordie -accented fox who goes by the local slang term for a wild fox. The Tod teaches them to hunt in the wild in exchange for a share of their kills. Snitter hopes for a new home as he once had a master, but loses hope after accidentally killing a man by stepping onto the trigger of his shotgun as he climbs up onto him.
As time passes, the two dogs grow emaciated, having to steal more and more food while still avoiding capture. The Tod is also proven to be difficult for the dogs to understand and cooperate. When the Tod finds a nest of eggs, he eats them all himself, enraging Rowf. The Tod himself disapproves of their risky behavior, like killing domestic sheep grazing on the local hills. They go their separate ways for a time, but the Tod eventually returns to assist them by distracting a lab-hired gunman who then falls to his death, allowing the starving dogs to consume his corpse. The three reconcile and wander about aimlessly, with the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment and the media roped into the pursuit, driven by rumors of the two dogs carrying bubonic plague.
The Tod parts company with the two dogs after leading them to a train pulled by River Irt on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. While the dogs escape on the train, the Tod sacrifices his life by distracting the military in order to allow Snitter and Rowf to escape. Thanks to the Tod's distraction, Snitter and Rowf arrive at the coastal village of Ravenglass, but upon departing the train, the two dogs are spotted by an RAF Sea King helicopter and are pursued by it until they reach the shoreline and can run no farther. Meanwhile, the research facility receives a call from a senior civil servant, who demands the complete cessation of all experiments.
As armed troops approach and prepare to shoot the dogs, Snitter looks out over the water and claims to see an island—he jumps into the sea and begins to swim to it. Rowf is hesitant to follow due to his conditioned fear of water, but his greater fear of the gunmen drives him to jump in as well and catch up with Snitter. Two gunshots are fired at the dogs but seemingly miss; immediately a white mist envelops the pair, and the troops disappear. The dogs swim through the mist towards the island Snitter claims to see, but Rowf cannot spot. Snitter eventually begins to doubt that there is any island and he stops paddling, losing hope. Rowf, however, claims to finally spot the island and urges Snitter to continue. During the credits, the mist lifts, revealing an island on the horizon while the clouds slowly part and the sky ultimately clears.