At Christmas time, we put our puppy, Harley, in a kennel when many of the members of my family came to visit. It really would have been a major pain if we hadn't. In fact, we had to take Harley along when we went to visit my husband's family for their Christmas gathering (since we only acquired Harley in October, there was no way in the world we were going to find a kennel opening for Christmas Day). It turned out to be quite a fiasco.
For one thing, my husband's older brother brought their small dog Cocoa (otherwise known to my kids, fondly, as "Coco-Loco") along with their family. Harley is to Coco-Loco as a watermelon is to a grape. Harley was out of control with excitement, jumping up on everyone and peeing a few times in the process. For most of our visit, he remained on the porch, spitting saliva at the sliding glass doors, wishing he could get up-close and personal.
Thankfully, we had planned for me to return with Harley and ES early, so that I could begin to prepare for my family's visit. That evening, after we left, my sister-in-law insisted that my husband and younger sons must see the movie "Marley and Me." I'm sure, at 3 and 5, they didn't watch all of the movie, but whatever they did watch certainly made an impression. They talked about it for weeks afterwards.
Side note: When my family visited, my brother and sister-in-law brought their calm, obedient, lovely dog, Maddie, along. At one point, MS was playfully petting Maddie. He looked up at the rest of us and proclaimed, "We used to have a dog." We cracked up and reminded him that we still have a dog IN A KENNEL. Too funny!
With all the talk about the movie (plus, my friend, Jennifer, had read the book and loved it), I decided to select Marley and Me as my next audio book. It was a good choice, because for the most part I could listen even when the boys were along for the ride.
John Grogan tells the story of his family's experience with "the world's worst dog." My boys very quickly decided that Harley was not nearly as naughty as Marley. He may be a nuisance, but not the worst dog in the world.
I chuckled along as I listened to the tale of how John and his wife, Jenny, responded to an ad in the paper without much training in how best to select a pet. Granted, I had done research on the Goldendoodle and felt quite confident that this was the breed for us. However, I think we made a knee-jerk decision in taking him home the very day we met him.
The book was a pure delight to listen to. John Grogan is a gripping storyteller. Many times, I would pull into the garage and sit there for minutes, unwilling to pull away from the book.
Moreover, I will admit that I cried. I was driving to Aldi this morning, when I finished the book, and had to take a moment to compose myself before I went into the store. Although, even as I shed tears for the Grogans' loss of Marley, I could not fully admit that I would feel the same pain at the loss of our Harley Dog. Life is just too darn stressful with the dog in the picture. I think people with dogs have to be willing to chill on aspects of cleanliness and not everyone in our family can do that.
There was a point in the book where the author summed up all the benefits gained in Marley's absence. He mentioned the ability to move about without the hovering, constant presence of the dog. The children no longer had to be on vigilant guard when eating food. His wife mentioned how much easier it was to keep the house. Although dog hair continued to surface for months, it was far less of a problem. These are the many things that make me long to return to our pre-dog status.
I'm glad I could learn the life-lessons Marley taught the Grogans. I'm even glad my boys are experiencing a bit of that special bond between boys and their dogs. I'm just not sure I can make it for the long haul - 13-15 year dog life expectancy. At this point, we'll be ready to claim the lessons learned and be done with it at 6 months. I know that may sound harsh to true, dog-lovers, but that is quite honestly where my husband and I are at.
It was interesting to read an article by John Grogan which was featured in Parade magazine in January of this year. My favorite line from the whole piece was when Grogan celebrated Marley as his inspiration. He wrote, "Had he been a better dog, more controllable and behaved, there would have been no story."
Harley has given us plenty of stories. In fact, this afternoon, MS begged to bring Harley along when we went to pick ES up from wrestling practice. I figured it couldn't hurt; he'd walk through the garage to the van, ride along and return through the garage to the house. This was quite important to me, since outside is such a slushy, filthy mess and I just bathed Harley last night.
Alas, it could and did hurt. ES's practice went longer than anticipated and we ended up waiting for 20 minutes. I allowed MS to come up near the driver's seat to watch for the first sight of ES. His head must have accidentally pushed against the overhead button which opens the automatic side door (that, or the dog figured out how to push the release button near the door). In seconds, Harley leaped from the van and began splashing through the puddles of the parking lot towards a girl who was standing near the door. I hopped out and began to hobble after him.
Thankfully, the girl was unafraid of large, bounding dogs. She helped me capture him and exclaimed, "Oh, what a beautiful dog." I felt compelled to throw back, "He's beautiful, but he's also a royal pain in the butt." When I got him successfully back in the van, I told him to lie down on the floor and "stay." Of course, by the time I reached the driver's side, Harley had already jumped up to sit, with his filthy paws, on the middle seat. When I yelled "Down!," he heard, "get down and go back to sit on the back seat with MS," thus soiling two upholstered seats! I now have a date with the spot-bot!
I can't say that I don't appreciate our Harley stories. I love a good story. But, I'm pretty sure I have plenty of story fodder already with my house full of boys.
What I can say is that anyone will love this book. If you are a dog-lover or dog-owner, you will eat up every morsel. And if you are not a dog-lover and hope to never be saddled with the dog hair, the boundless energy, the ravenous appetite, the ruined furniture and the wealth of stories to tell, check out this book and learn the lessons dogs can teach us without having to encounter a single compromise. It will be well worth your time.
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