Marley & Me by John Grogan

Melanie is a mum of one of Sebastian's school mates, Michael. Mel and her family have a beautiful Labrador named Doogie. Mel was excited when we joined the Labrador owner's club when we acquired Bailey.

One numerous occasions Mel has listened to me rant about the destructive and boisterous nature of our beloved family pet. There is not an aggressive bone in this dog's body. But it is a big body. And it knocks over everything in its path. And it is a large path. If you include the animal's tail, the path of destruction is a mile wide.

And this dog is so loving. He knocks over Abigail every time she walks through the door. Not because he is being mean but just because he wants to say "Hello. I missed you. Did you miss me?" Abigail is not impressed.

He has destroyed my kitchen and my beautiful lawn in the back garden. Walks work tiring him out for oh, I don't know, about 20 minutes!

Listening to my doggie complaints (yet again), Melanie loaned me this book, Marley & Me. It is the true tale of an American journalist and his wife and their journey through life with their yellow Labrador. The tales had me laughing. No, not just sniggering. I mean laughing out loud and snorting through my nose laughing. And it had me crying: sobbing incoherently.

Grogran does an excellent job of weaving the growth of his family with the aging of his dog. He doesn't get all mushy and overly sentimental. No, he just tells it like it is. And this telling has taught me that I need to find the joy in owning our dog. I need to spend a little more time appreciating how wonderful he is in spite of his behaviour!

I really recommend this book to all dog owners. And I recommend it even more highly to people thinking of welcoming a dog into their home. If you already have a dog and this dog is aging, bring out the tissue box and prepare for a heart wrenching read.