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<p class=MsoNormal>I have seen ‘Marley & Me” twice now –
once with my two granddaughters, ages 14 and 9, and the second time with 5
other basset hound rescue friends. I loved watching it both times….laughed
and cried both times, too.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I never saw Marley beaten by the fists of any of the actors.
Nor was the dog euthanized due to the family in the movie wanting to go
to Disneyland (Marley suffered a second round of bloat that could not be
corrected as it was the first time…and Marley was 13 years old by this
time, too). Marley was left in the garage for an hour during the first
week after he had been purchased (from someone who had adopted a female and
wasn’t told the dog was pregnant….or that was the line the ‘breeder’
spoke anyway….those of us in rescue sort of snickered ‘yeah, right’…..)
when John (Owen Wilson) drove to the airport to pick up Jenny (Jennifer Aniston)
from a business trip. This was the first time Marley had been left alone,
a thunderstorm took place, and Marley went berserk destroying things in the
garage, chewing a hole in the drywall, etc. I thought these two accepted
the destruction that had taken place quite well for not being experienced dog
owners….John just scratched his head, said ‘I was only gone for
about an hour…..’, and Jenny just loved on her new ‘baby’
and commented that maybe he was afraid of thunderstorms…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Marley was given as a birthday gift by John to Jenny. We
all know that isn’t a good thing, but these two kept the commitment they
made to Marley, and from all the destruction Marley did, I must say that most
people would have tried to give Marley to a farm many more times than the one
time John and Jenny consider doing it. And this was said in the heat of
the moment by an overwhelmed young mother, who decided within just a few hours
that sending Marley to a farm is NOT what she wanted to do, nor would it help with
her feelings of being overwhelmed and tired.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>The entire story is about how Marley is thought to be the ‘world’s
worst dog’ for a number of years as he was thrown out of obedience class,
literally eats furniture, devours a lovely necklace 2 seconds after John gives
it to Jenny….the dog was a handful! By the end of the movie, John
is telling Marley that he was the ‘world’s best dog’ and
thanked him for being such a wonderful part of their lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>My granddaughters asked me a lot of questions about Marley’s
euthanization as they know that I’ve had to make this decision with 4 of
my own basset hounds over the past 4 years (as well as witness some of NTBHR’s
rescued basset hounds being euthanized due to a variety of reasons). I
thought the euthanization scene was very loving and touching, the vet was very
sensitive and caring, and I told my granddaughters that is exactly how it has
been with every one of my basset hounds that have gone to the Rainbow
Bridge. The act of euthanizing the terminally ill dog is the last act of
love that a human can give to that dog – even though it breaks your heart
and you miss them terribly. You are able to help end the suffering and
pain that the dog cannot tell you it is going through. Now that they’ve
seen for themselves that it was peaceful for Marley, they don’t seem to
be as frightened about what happens when a dog is euthanized.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>We rescue gals all began to weep when Marley started showing
signs of aging and being ill. Of course, it made each of us think of the
dogs we’ve experienced this with ourselves….one of us lost her yellow
Labrador a year or two ago so Marley reminded her of that dog….each of us
has had to make the decision to euthanization a senior basset hound…..I
had to do it as recent as 12/05/08…..we passed around the napkins from
the concession stand, then we stood outside the theater for about 30 minutes
afterwards just sharing our feelings about the movie and how we were feeling at
that moment. I don’t think we could have chosen a better movie to
go see together.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>I have had the book for awhile, but have yet to read
it. I look forward to reading it now as everyone always says the movies
are never as good as the books from which they’re made…..I loved
the movie ‘Marley & Me’, so the book should be something else!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Janet Dean<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Jackie, Kim and Lincoln - the cat!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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