 A fictionalized memoir set in both the United States and France during the 1960s American civil rights movement , White Dog focuses on the events that occur after Gary and his then @-@ wife Jean <unk> , an actress and an activist , adopt a handsome and clearly well @-@ trained German Shepherd dog who comes back to their home with one of their other dogs . At first , the dog , which they name <unk> , is an ideal new member of the family : intelligent , devoted , and quickly befriending the couple 's assortment of other animals . To their dismay , they discover that the dog , a former Alabama police dog , was trained to attack black people on sight . Although they are told the dog is too old to be <unk> , they take him to a black dog trainer to try . Instead , the man trains the dog to attack white people , including Gary himself . Gary states that he changed the ending of the American version to be more optimistic . 
