Just saw the movie Marley & Me and would definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed the book and had the privilege of interviewing the author for Guide Dogs for the Blind. John Grogan is a very nice guy. He took some pix with my puppy-in-training, Brent. As you can see, he was stunned by Brent’s “mellowness.” (Brent is exceptionally mellow. Kind of the opposite of Marley.)

I liked the movie better than I thought I would. It stayed fairly true to the book, which is basically a story about a guy and his dog.

For most of the movie, the dog plays a secondary character to the main theme of John Grogan’s vague discontent with his career.
Toward the end, Marley takes center stage. In some ways, the end was really the best part.

Sad, though. If you’ve ever gone through the loss of a beloved pet, it will churn up those memories. Take a couple of hankies.

I do think they shortchanged the audience with Marley’s puppyhood…which lasted only about five minutes.

Turns out that the adorable little pup (whose real name is Woodson)who played Marley in the movie was offered as a gift to the Grogan family. After a few weeks, the Grogans noticed that he didn’t seem to jump and run quite like a normal lab. The vet discovered that Woodson has a severe genetic defect. The breeders offered the Grogans a pup in exchange…but the Grogans declined the offer. They’re committed to Woodson.

This is a quote from John Grogan: “Woodson will never go hunting or hiking or even on long walks, and that’s OK. Some dogs are put on this Earth just to love you.”

Kind of sums up why the movie (or book, or both) is well worth your time.