Reasons Why I Love My Dog

I saw the movie "Marley and Me" for the very first time today. I haven't read the book, but will probably borrow it from the library sometime soon.

I was in tears by the end of the movie. I couldn't help it. Everyone knows how much I love animals, especially my pets. I was hugging my puppy for a very long time after the movie. Just like Marley, she is quite the little terror.

She's not a bad dog, she's just one big ball of puppy energy. She doesn't mean to chew things up, she does it only because she's a puppy. She doesn't mean to scare the cats, she just wants to play and doesn't realize how big she is. I value the time when I can just sit next to her and watch her happily chew on a stick, a bone, or a ball. She has bad breath, and gets pretty stinky from rolling in the mud. She runs into walls, furniture, and people because she doesn't know how to put on the brakes when she's zooming all over the place.

I adopted Charlie two weeks after ending my eight year relationship. She has helped me tremendously in my transition into my new life and moving on. I am indebted to my dog for the companionship, trust, and unconditional love that she provides me with. The next man in my life will have to be able to appreciate my dog and my relationship with her. He will need to understand how much I love my dog, and how much she loves me.

I think that the author of the book, John Grogan, summarized it best when he wrote this piece which was read as a monologue at the end of the movie:

"A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."

John Grogan