: A new senior officer arrives on a ship shining with cleanliness and notices a dog, a crew favorite. He orders to drown the dog, but the captain stands up for the animal, and the officer resigns.

A new senior officer, Baron von der Bering, arrives on the corvette in the Singapore raid. The ship has been around the world for two years, is kept in exemplary order and shines with breathtaking purity. Suddenly, in a secluded corner, the baron is horrified to see a plain, unbred dog with gnawed ears and a stump of tail, but with unusually smart and kind eyes. To justify the boatswain that Kutsyi is a working dog, and the crew loves her, the baron agrees to leave her. But if she will dirty the deck, he will order to throw the dog overboard.

The tedious senior officer immediately gets the nickname “Damn Itch” from the crew. His threat to throw overboard Kutsego, the universal favorite who gives sailors so much pleasure among the monotony of their difficult life, causes a dull murmur.

A month passes. The new senior officer does not punish anyone, but he is too picky. According to the sailors, he does not know the point to the subtleties and during the storm he is a little cowardly. For condescending contempt do not like the Baron and the officers. Kutsy tries not to show himself to his eyes.Hearing “Itching goes,” the dog tightens its chopped tail and flies off to a safe place.

Once Kutsy, being sick, spoils the deck, and the baron orders to throw him overboard. Midshipman, at the request of the sailors, is trying to intercede for the dog, but the baron is adamant. Then the midshipman turns to the captain, whom the senior officer also does not like. The captain demands to leave the dog alone and not annoy people. The baron responded by submitting a resignation report, justifying his departure by illness.

Another officer is assigned to the corvette, and the sailors sigh more freely. Kutsy is still amusing the crew, with a shout, "Itching!" swiftly flies down, but immediately returns, realizing that his enemy is no longer there.