"Marley & Me"

Kevin Coolidge


In the beginning…, the great spirit created man and the beasts, but man was different. He walked on two feet, used tools and fire, created language and learned to brew beer. “I MUST SEPARATE MANKIND FROM THE ANIMALS,” boomed the creator, “HE’S DIFFERENT FROM THE BEASTS, AND IF I DON’T DO SOMETHING, HE’S GONNA SCREW EVERYTHING UP.” And so he caused a great rift to open between man and the animals of the world. The beasts watched in wild-eyed wonder, and relief. But the dog leaped the chasm, before his master and the free lunch disappeared. Hey, it sure beats cold nights and an empty stomach….

Canis lupus familiaris, the domestic dog, the family pooch, always makes a great subject for a book. I mean, dogs are loyal, dedicated, well-mannered, truly man’s best friend. But anyone who has ever owned and raised a puppy knows that isn’t always so. Marley & Me, life and love with the world’s worst dog by John Grogan is proof.

Marley & Me is a memoir, with dog, and recounts the years the author and his family spent with his Labrador Retriever. Marley isn’t a bad dog. In fact, he’s loyal and playful-a wiggly yellow fur ball of a puppy that grew into a barreling bulldozer of a dog. If anything, Marley is too energetic, too playful, and sometimes just too, too much.

The book is filled with anecdotes of Marley’s household adventures from his role in a movie to flunking out of obedience school to swallowing various inedible objects. The book is laugh-out-loud, snort-milk-through-your-nose-funny, well written, touching and a great read for any pet or animal lover. I think every dog owner has had a Marley in his life, that special dog that stands apart from all the rest.

I think that’s what I liked best about Marley & Me. I remembered my own dog and his crazy antics. Yes, I share my apartment with a cat, but I’m a dog person at heart I mean have you ever tried walking a cat? I loved taking my dog for walks. When is the last time you saw a dog on a walk that wasn’t grinning? Sure, he chewed my favorite pair of shoes, made the back lawn into a mine field and made it look like an artillery range, and well don’t even ask about the rose bushes. But he was loyal and loving and appreciated the simple things in life. He savored each stolen tidbit, every late-night walk, and lived life with a certain silly dignity that only a truly great dog seems to be able to master. Yep, the only real fault of dogs is that their lives are just too short.