Summary of Vanya and the Dog Witch by Walter J. Wiese
Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Issue #447, December 11, 2025
Fourteen-year-old Vanya lives with his abusive father Ivan and twelve-year-old stepsister Zila at the edge of a village. After Zila’s mother Yoraslava mysteriously disappeared a year ago, Vanya has tried to protect his sister from their increasingly violent father. When Zila asks him to teach her mushroom foraging in the forest, he realizes she has another motive—she’s terrified that Ivan, who has begun hugging her inappropriately, intends to assault her. Though Vanya is himself frequently beaten, leaving fresh bruises on his face, he vows to protect Zila and decides to seek help from Alyona, the dog witch who lives by the river.
Alyona is a wise woman who lives in a house on stilts decorated with collars of beloved and unjustly killed dogs. She brews potions from dog hair, herbs, and mushrooms. Years ago, she befriended Yoraslava and was teaching her the craft before she vanished. When Vanya and Zila arrive, Alyona agrees to help after Vanya tells her stories about dogs he has loved—payment the witch always requires. She gives him a potion to pour into Ivan’s vodka that will make him gentler, warning it takes six months of nightly doses to permanently change a man.
Key Plot Points
- The first night’s dose makes Ivan docile and giggly, but by morning he’s worse than before, complaining and violent
- Vanya returns for a second potion that will dull pain and make him brave so he can endure protecting Zila
- When Ivan corners Zila by the cooking pot, Vanya drinks the brew and confronts his father, enduring a savage beating that leaves him barely able to walk
- On their third visit, Alyona demands the truth: Vanya reveals he believes Ivan killed Yoraslava and dumped her body in the river, and that Ivan had also killed Vanya’s beloved three-legged dog Mishka
- Zila finally speaks her trauma aloud: Ivan exposed himself to her in spring and demanded sexual acts; Mishka attacked him to protect Zila, so Ivan killed the dog with his hatchet
After hearing these truths, Alyona creates a final, most powerful potion infused with hair from Mishka’s severed leg—which she had saved knowing Ivan would never give her the dog’s collar or hide. She adds the children’s fear, anger, and righteous fury to the brew, telling them it contains “enough magic it needs nothing else.” She gives Vanya the bottle with instructions to simply pour it at Ivan’s feet, warning that what happens will be hard to witness. Despite this, Zila insists on being present.
When they return home, Ivan stands shirtless in the yard demanding breakfast. Vanya gives him one last chance, warning him never to strike again or mistreat Zila. Instead, Ivan laughs and reaches for his hatchet. Vanya uncorks the bottle and pours it into the dirt. Steam rises, coalescing into the ghostly forms of dogs—Vladimir, Bobshi, Mishka, and countless others who were loved and lost or killed unjustly. The spectral pack leaps upon Ivan and devours him completely in moments, leaving nothing behind—not blood, not hair, only his clean hatchet in the dirt.
By fall, the siblings have rebuilt Ivan’s house into their own home, planted a garden, and gathered herbs for Alyona. Zila has learned to laugh again and accept joy. When Alyona asks Zila to become her apprentice, she accepts with delight. Vanya, who has secretly gathered and dried extra mushrooms and herbs all summer, presents them to help Zila begin her own apothecary. She is a witch now, but she will always be his sister, and he will keep helping her however he can.