marley & me by john grogan

Another book I finished this summer? Marley & Me.

A first-time dog owner with a dog whose owner called him the World’s Worst Dog – does anyone see a resemblance here?

The cover of the book alone wouldn’t let me leave the book sitting there on the shelf of my local Barnes & Noble. For a fleeting moment, I thought about taking them all home, so each book would have a home. Yes, that’s how obsessed with dogs I’ve become since The Riley Arrival.

While scaring the shit out of a litter of puppies isn’t exactly how I came to pick my goofy dog as mine, it seemed to have work for author John Grogan. Besides, mine was the only one left – if I would have tried to scare him, he would have just sat and stared at me just as long as I wasn’t carrying the new floor lamp I bought that scaries the living hell out of him when I touch it to power it on and off.

With each chapter I read, the similiarities I found between Marley and Riley were… well, scary. The jumping, the chewing, the destruction, and the fierce loyalty – yeah, I had no problem visualizing and connecting with every experience mentioned. Any dog owner that hasn’t experienced at least one thing in this book must have a dog that was put together mechcanically. Separation anxiety, barrier frustration — been there, done that, if you’ll recall. Now, i’m beginning to think those were just fancy words for ‘desperately seeking every ounce of your attention’.

I started this book as I boarded a flight a couple of weeks ago and finished it up before landing in Newark, NJ. Except for the last chapter. I needed a break from the book before finishing the book, as I would imagine any dog-owner/dog-lover would.

When I found out John Grogan had a blog, I had to add it to my RSS reader. I was in hysterics today when I read about his new Golden Retriever’s run-in with Cesar Milan.

Read the blog and read the book; they’re both more than worth your time.