The Call of the Wild by Jack London is about a dog named Buck who was living a mellow life in California at the story's opening, but who's kidnapped and taken to Alaska to work as a sled dog in the Klondike Gold Rush. It's London's most popular work, and though it's sometimes considered a children's book, it can be somewhat dark and violent in places.

Buck is bought and sold several times as a sled dog, but is eventually rescued from his inept owners by John Thornton, who's an experienced outdoorsman. The two bond immediately and carry on as companions in the great Alaska wild, but when disaster strikes, Buck is drawn back into the wilderness with a pack of wolves.