Marley and Me

7 hours. 289 pgs. I know..It took me a long time to read it(Ty I know you could have read it in 3). Best book I have read in years. DH asked me what I was reading. Must have been because I was laughing so hard. He didn't get to witness the tears running down my face as I read about Marley's last days.

Marley is a very large yellow lab. 97 lbs big. Goofy, dorky, trouble, watchdog, loyal. A story of a family and their dog. The lessons that we can learn from our four legged friends. How they love unconditionally. Amuse us. Torment us. And that old age /disease sucks.

Mr. Grogan makes a great point as he belatedly researches the Labrador retriever breed, always find out as much about a breed as you can BEFORE you decide on what to get. I learned that there are 2 versions of labs these days. English and American. Of course it is the qualities of the American kind that Marley demonstrates. The English version is more compact and calm. Thinking back on my 13 years in the Vet world it makes sense. The bigger they are the goofier they are.

Marley gets kicked out of his 1st round of obedience training. Chews up the garage when a thunder storm comes along while his people are at work. A truly ADHD dog.

As Marley moves through his life he experiences the sorrows and joys of his family. He learns how to accept little people as his own. Even how to comfort a stranger.

Maybe this book affected me the way is has because we put our 11 year old Aussie down this year. I remember watching Fisher grow old as well as diseased. I remember him as a puppy with more energy than the sun. His gawky teen age years. The dog that met us at the door with a smile and a stuffy. He really didn't understand "No" when it was time to quit playing. The old man that had a hard time getting up. He was the son we didn't have. Fisher was the dog that would never die. We loved him...Unconditionally as he love us.

We live with just Jasper now. She misses Fisher too. She meets us with a smile and a rawhide bone that she will not chew on with out Fisher around. She just carries it with her. Jasper is 5 now and getting grey. She is the American kind of yellow lab. And no matter what we say....We love her too. Unconditionally.