Dear all,
I just finished reading a book called ‘Marley and Me’. Authored by John Grogan, ‘M & M’ is all about the experiences of the Grogan family with its Labrador retriever, Marley. Now, Marley is all the things a pet shouldn’t be; he is destructive, disobedient, messy and in serious need of tranquilizers most of the time, but as you read on, you realize that everything apart, one thing that doesn’t change is Marley’s loyalty. Despite thick and thin, despite good and bad, and despite the changing behaviours of his caretakers Marley the dog continues to stand by his best friends-his family.
The Grogans, John and Jenny bring home a little yellow ball of fur shortly after they get married. What encourages them to bring home a puppy, apart from the fact that they are both dog-lovers, is that neither of them has taken up the responsibility of ‘nurturing’ a living being per se, and they both feel that before they start a family, raising a dog would be ‘good practice’. Shortly after that the subject of the book comes home. And from there begins the story of ‘the world’s worst dog’. A MUST read for all dog-lovers.
The book isn’t only about the unforgettable canine, though. It is interspersed with the life of the family; of the tough phases the couple’s marriage goes through, of blood-curdling incidents in the neighbourhood, of the author’s career…in short, the author has compressed about thirteen years of his life beautifully in this three-hundred page creation.
The book touched me in many ways, so much so that towards the end, when Marley is about to die, I started crying. I remembered the time my first dog Candy had died and realized, yet again, the value of my present dog Pixie, who is also in the evening of his dog-life.
Speaking of the book and giving in to the emotions that are surging within me now, I really want to share this little something with you. In today’s times, when you have such few people you can actually, seriously count on, undying loyalty and unconditional love are synonymous to heaven. When I look back on my twenty-one year old life, I see many things, both good and bad. I see people who have stood by their family and friends no matter what. I see people who have left them right when they needed them the most. I see the laughter and I see the tears. But what I see most is the need for loyalty and love. In everybody.
Some days when I am really low, I try and feed biscuits to stray dogs. Or else if I am broke or feeling stingy, I simply call out to them and stroke them affectionately. Either way, they accept my gesture with all their heart and soul, not once demanding anything more than that love and concern. And the best part is, the next time I walk down that same road, even if I don’t see them, they see me. And they come to me on their own wagging their tails away to glory. They recognize me, and tell me in their own special way that they love me because I have spent a few minutes of my life trying to make them feel loved and cared for. They always have time for me, and when I don’t have time for them, they understand. They come back another day, all prepared to forget my lack of attention and finding no need to forgive because I have committed no crime according to them. In other words, they harbour no spite. And that is the basic difference between them, the ‘silent’ species, and us, the ‘intelligent’ species. This might sound funny, but if even a fraction of the humans in this world can be as clean at heart as these ‘dumb’ animals, the world will become a much more beautiful place to live in.
Thank you for your time.
Much Love,
Misha.
