By Anamika Sengupta
“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”
― John Grogan, Marley & Me
― John Grogan, Marley & Me
It was a quiet Sunday afternoon and I was looking for a movie to watch. After what seemed like an hour of futile searching & going through synopses of over 20 movies that did not appeal to me in the least, I decided to pick one from the ones in my hard disk. I finally went with ‘Marley & me’. This would be the 28th time I would be watching it. Yup, you read it right…..twenty-eighth! (& NO, I am not a bit loose in the head!). For all those who have already figured out that I am one of those ‘crazy-about-dogs’ kinda people, a not-so-subtle reaffirmation that YES, I am and always have been completely, utterly & irrevocably in love with all the adorableness and the craziness that comes with having pets.
So as I settled down to fall in love with Marley all over again, I tried to tell myself not to cry once the movie ended with Marley being put to sleep.(I am pretty sure anybody who has loved & lost a pet would bawl like a kid whose lolly has been ripped from his teeny hands, once he finished the movie, even if it was, mind you for the 28th time..) As the movie unfolded before my eyes, I concluded Marley could not have had better parents than Josh & Jenny Grogan (portrayed by Owen Wilson & Jennifer Aniston). They loved him, fed him, played with him, yelled at him when he did something absolutely insane, fed him again, let him hang his head out of the window during a car ride, took him out for walks and then fed him all over again. I ask you, could there be a life more blissful for a dog? (And you could say that in Chandler Bing’s tone).
As the Grogan’s family grew, so did Marley. He grew up from an incorrigible pup to an even more rambunctious adult who scared away the dog-sitter and humiliated the dog-trainer. His eyes always had a mischievous twinkle that was probably the reason why Josh & Jenny kept sprinting after him yelling “MARLEY!!!!!” throughout the movie. A beautiful scene where Josh Grogan lists out all the things Marley taught him is perhaps one of my most favourite scenes-
“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. 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 a 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.”
I guess the reason why Marley & me manages to strike a chord every single time I watch it, is because I have loved & lost three dogs in my life. Owning a dog always ends in sadness, because dogs never live as long as us. Such short lives our pets spend on this planet and most of it they spend waiting for us to come home. Every time I watch the movie, it makes me walk down memory lane and relive all those wonderful moments I spent growing as a person, learning from my little darlings. Yes, it gets me teary-eyed every time, but I do not mind it in the least.
“Animal lovers are a special breed of humans, generous of spirit, full of empathy, perhaps a little prone to sentimentality, and with hearts as big as a cloudless sky”
All those animal lovers who haven’t watched this work of pure beauty, I urge you to go watch it right this instant. It will reaffirm your faith in the fact that ‘life is more beautiful with a furry, panting, bouncing and forever sprinting four-legged friend in it.’
All those animal lovers who haven’t watched this work of pure beauty, I urge you to go watch it right this instant. It will reaffirm your faith in the fact that ‘life is more beautiful with a furry, panting, bouncing and forever sprinting four-legged friend in it.’