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The story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.--From publisher description.
I laughed & I cried while reading this book. There were a few parts that did irritate me, like when Marley was ill and Grogan was talking about the cost of treatment, etc. All in all, though, I think this book was fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good read. ( )
Darrell recommended this book to me. It's not extremely well written or all that interesting but if you're not completely heartless it'll probably make you feel something.
In memory of my father, Richard Frank Grogan, whose gentle spirit infuses every page of this book
First words
In the summer of 1967, when I was ten years old, my father caved in to my persistent pleas and took me to get my own dog.
Quotations
...the expression on his face gave him away. It almost screamed out, Good God, man! For the sake of future generations, we must contain this genetic mistake at all costs!
I had quickly reverted to my premarriage (read: slovenly) lifestyle. By the power vested in me as the only adult in the house, I suspended the Married Couple Domesticity Act and proclaimed the once banished Bachelor Rules to be the law of the land. While Jenny was in the hospital, shirts would be worn twice, even three times, barring obvious mustard stains, between washes; milk could be drunk directly from the carton, and toilet seats would remain in the upright position unless being sat on.
As with so many of his misdeeds, this one was not malicious or pre-meditated. It wasn’t as though he had disobeyed a command or set out to intentionally humiliate me. He simply had to go and he went. True, at the wrong place and the wrong time and in front of all the wrong people. I knew he was a victim of his own diminished mental capacity. … The dog was defective. How could I hold that against him?
Marley was a funny, bigger-than-life pain in the ass who never quite got the hang of the whole chain-of-command thing. Honestly, he might well have been the world’s worst-behaved dog. Yet he intuitively grasped from the start what it meant to be man’s best friend.
Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things – a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in the shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.
He became part of our melded fabric, a tightly woven and inseparable strand in the weave that was us. Just as we had helped shape him into the family pet he would become, he helped to shape us, as well – as a couple,l as parents, as animal lovers, as adults. Despite everything, all the disappointments and unmet expectations, Marley had given us a gift, at once priceless and free. He taught us the art of unqualified love. How to give it, how to accept it. Where there is that, most of the other pieces fall into place.
The story of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.--From publisher description.
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Book description
John and Jenny were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy - and their life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound steamroller of a Labrador Retriever who crashed through screen doors, drooled on guests, stole women's undergarments, devoured couches and fine jewelry, and was expelled from obedience school. Yet Marley's heart was pure, and he remained a steadfast model of love and devotion for a growing family through pregnancy, birth, heartbreak, and joy, right to the inevitable goodbye.
Haiku summary
Witty tribute to Marley, beloved pet and worst dog in the world. (passion4reading)