Did the dog commit suicide by jumping out of the window? Do dogs actually do that?
Or was it a hint that someone has searched the apartment and threw the poor creature down?
I don't see the point of including a dog in the plot; in the book Vladi had no dog at all.
This is a good point. In my view the shot of the lifeless dog thrown from the top of the fire escape, was to demonstrate the extreme barbarity of the KGB searchers and killers. I seem to remember the investigating Police Officer that Smiley spoke to commenting that there were dog tooth marks on Vladimir's walking stick and saying something like "I don't associate foreigners liking dogs." All these touches of detail are there to illustrate the extreme brutality of the killers.
When George Smiley eventually arrives at the safe house on Hampstead Heath, he looks deeply shaken by what he has seen - hence his angry outburst at the indifference shown to the old General by the two others who asked him to investigate what they saw as an embarrasing and inconsequential event from which the Circus (under Sir Saul Enderby's leadership) wished to distance themselves.
Such is my interpretation of this skilfully acted scene. While on this subject, why not visit this link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/finnegansword/5621597056/in/photostream/
I doubt if the dog committed suicide as he didn't leave a note in Estonian. If the dog did leave a note in English it would probably be an obvious fake as he was an Estonian dog. Oh, wait, dogs don't read or write. Nevermind.
shareThe dog was probably thrown down by the hoods who came to the General's house. He probably barked and perhaps even tried to attack the strangers, and rather than shooting it and drawing unnecessary attention, they must have thrown it down.
Also note Smiley's grim expression when he sees the dog dead. He had probably met the dog before (he calls it by its name when he first enters the flat). I'm not sure, but somebody said something in another post about Smiley getting a dog after retirement. So he obviously liked dogs, and was sorry to see one die that way.
What was that line in one of the Planet of The Apes movies, the fourth one I think? Something like "Humans didn't care that much over the death of one another, even their relatives. But they became very sad when their pets died."
Never be complete.
Did the dog commit suicide by jumping out of the window? Do dogs actually do that?
I don't see the point of including a dog in the plot;