This past Saturday my husband and I saw the movie “Marley and Me” during an early showing before those large crowds descended upon the movie theaters. The theater was fairly empty and boy was I glad. More on that later.
This is not a movie review but as I watched this movie I felt so compelled to write about Marley’s story as written by his “dad” John Grogan. John Grogan was a columnist writing about his escapades about his Labrador Retriever, Marley. John and his wife, Jen, purchased Marley who was the runt of the litter and sold for $200.00 which was $50.00 less than the other male Labs. Before John and his wife named him Marley, his nickname was “clearance baby” because of his discounted price.
Marley’s tale (no pun intended) with the Grogan family ensued immediately. John called him the world’s worst dog. Marley’s story is one of humor mixed with the reality of owning a puppy. Having a puppy is no easy task but Marley took it to a whole new level. As Marley chewed everything in sight, I leaned over to my husband and commented how he reminds me of our dog, Jazz. Jazz certainly has his issues. He came from a hoarder. He chews our shoes, particularly my husband’s. I learned to keep my shoes at a level Jazz can’t reach. Jazz chews holes in blankets that are kept in one of our bedrooms. I can’t tell you how many blankets I have replaced only in this one room. I cannot figure out why he only chews blankets in this room only but I’m thankful. He chews on bags, purses etc.. We’ve learned to keep things out of his reach although we aren’t always successful.
Jazz is always overly excited when I arrive home that he will jump up high and flip on his side. He has never hurt himself doing this. I swear he reminds of a cat in that respect. He calms down much quicker than when I first got him. That has happened because I continually work on this problem.
Jazz loves to be held by me (he’s such a baby) but sometimes when I go to pick him up he flips out. He contorts his body and bucks like a horse- very strange. I talk to him calmly and then he lets me pick him up. I can’t imagine the life he had with the hoarder. I had seen video footage from the place where he lived prior to living with us. It was so filthy and dogs everywhere. He’s come a long way from those days. Jazz will still charge my husband never attempting to bite him but we feel it’s his way of protecting me. BUT, Jazz loves my husband too and he shows it. Yes, Jazz has issues but we will never give up on him and never give him back. He’s part of our family and always will be.
This is how I related to Marley and Me. Despite Marley’s mischievous ways, the Grogans never gave him away or surrendered him to a shelter. Believe me, people have given their pets away for far less bad behavior. They kept Marley through thick and thin throughout his 13 years.
I feel the big lesson to be learned from this movie is when you adopt or purchase a puppy from a reputable breeder, it is a lifetime commitment. This was demonstrated so well in this movie. I hope anyone who is considering adopting or purchasing a puppy would see Marley and Me.
John Grogan and his family have since adopted two more Labrador Retrievers. One is Gracie who is considered boring compared to Marley according to Grogan. Their other dog is Woodson. Woodson became their dog during the filming of the movie. Woodson was one of the dogs used as a young Marley.
Shortly after Woodson was in the Grogan family, they soon discovered something wasn’t right with him. A veterinarian discovered Woodson had a severe birth defect. Both of his rear hips were so malformed, the balls and sockets didn’t connect. This means bone was scraping against bone. According to Grogan, the breeder was mortified and offered him to choose another puppy. After he and his wife slept on it, they realized they already knew the answer. Woodson was part of the family for better or worse.
Woodson is being treated by an orthopedic specialist at the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school (I have been there and it’s an unbelievable place for serious health issues with your pet. The staff is great and they do amazing work!). Woodson has a special diet and receives a regimen of cartilage builders and other medicines. The Grogans realize Woodson will never go on long walks or hikes. They accept and love him as he is.
And that is the moral of this entry. For better or worse, a pet is a lifetime commitment and if you can’t do that, don’t adopt or purchase a puppy from a reputable breeder.
FYI~ I wrote in the beginning of this entry that I was glad the movie theater was fairly empty. This movie depicts Marley’s entire life from beginning to end and let’s just say I wasn’t the only one with red eyes. I could hear other people sniffling in that theater. I recommend this movie!
And John Grogan has admitted that Marley was NOT the worst dog ever!
To see a trailer and clips behind the scenes look of the movie, click here http://www.youtube.com/v/GtAEAfLzMGE&hl=en&fs=1.