“The Heart of a Dog” is a story by Mikhail Bulgakov. The story is about a wounded stray dog who was found and rescued by Filip Filippovich, who is depicted as a successful surgeon. Later, the doctor operates on the dog, giving it human organs including testicles and a pituitary gland. The operation turns out to be a mishap as the dog becomes unruly and the professor is compelled to reverse the operation. There are various themes that come out in the story and some of them are discussed below.

Scientific experiment

The story lays emphasis on the operation that was conducted on Sharik. As a result, the dog was given human testicles and a pituitary gland. The operation on the dog was conducted by Dr. Peobrazhensky and his protégé, Dr. Bormenthal. After the operation, the dog starts turning into a primitive human who is named Sharikov. Sharikov turns to be unruly and chaotic but Filip prefers to keep him as opposed to his termination. However, after Sharikov pulls a revolver on him, Dr. Filip decides to conduct another operation to restore the dog into its original nature, which he does successfully. Thus, scientific experimentation comes out as a strong theme in the story.

Love and Care

These are two themes that are clearly depicted in the story. Dr. Filip is depicted as loving and caring towards the stray dog when he offers it some sausage. The doctor goes further to accommodate the dog in his apartment as an extension of his love and care for the dog. Later in the story, Filip is still depicted as loving and caring towards the dog when he warns Bormenthal against causing it any harm despite its unruly behavior. Additionally, Sharikov’s female co-worker is depicted as loving and caring towards him. She cries in pain after Filip explains to her that Sharikov was a result of an experiment that had gone wrong. This breaks the woman’s heart and she painfully cries after learning the truth. This is a clear indication that the woman loved and cared for Sharikov.