The Pet by Nadine Gordimer

The story was published in The New Yorker in March of 1962. Nadine Gordimer included it in her collection Not for Publication and Other Stories, published by Viking in 1965. Joseph O'Neill: We have a pet, this miserable bulldog that won't live up to any of the expectations placed on it. Why is that dog there? Is he a symbol or metaphor for gradwell? What is he doing in this story? He seems to be up to a poor old dog.