Manuel

Manuel is a minor antagonist in Jack London's 1903 short adventure novel The Call of the Wild. He is Judge Miller's Mexican housekeeper who kidnaps Buck and sells him in order to pay off his gambling debts.

He was portrayed by Charly Bravo in the 1972 version and Eric Hoziel in Call of the Wild: Dog the the Yukon.

Background
Buck is a dog living a charmed life on the estate of Judge Miller, during the time of the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. He is the king of all the animals on the estate and as such enjoys special privileges, such as the run of the estate and the admirable position of being the Judge's favorite dog.

This all ends the day he accompanies Manuel on a walk through the orchard to a flag station, where Manuel sells him to a stranger. Manuel sells Buck, because he has gambling debts he needs to pay and a family to support.

This one act changes Buck's life irrevocably. It is the catalyst for the rest of the story about Buck and his transformation from domestic pet to wild animal.