Marley and Me

I'm sure by now all of you have seen the movie (or read the book) Marley and Me. It's all the things that make for a good film. It's honest and funny, relatable, has moments that make you feel all warm and fuzzy and moments that pull at the heartstrings. In the movie an attractive couple, played by Jen Aniston and Owen Wilson, adopt what they call "the world's worst dog". Marley is flawed but loveable. He eats and chews on everything, including the drywall. He's impossible to train as his attention span is short and his energy is everlasting. But they love him. He is a part of their family. Their kids grow up with Marley as their furry big brother.

Then comes the part in the movie I always find tough to watch. Marley gets old and as with people, old age brings health problems. The family is forced to make the heart wrenching decision to get rid of Marley's pain and put him down. It was the last gift they could give him.

I come from a family of dog lovers. We always had at least one furry friend as kids and now that my sister, brother, and I are older, we've all adopted dogs into our families. Watching that scene in the film made me hug my dogs tightly and pray that that day would be very far off in the future. No pet owner wants to think of the day that they have to bury their best friend.

A couple of weeks ago, though, that day arrived for me. My very spoiled and very loving chihuahua mix, Layla, ventured out in the road for the first time in her short life and a careless driver hit her. I watched it happened, feeling totally powerless and utterly hopeless. She didn't suffer and it's a comfort to know that at least one dog in the world was loved and taken care of.

At this point in the movie version of life, things would fast forward a couple months. The screen would go black and in white letters it would say "Six Months Later...” The shot would be of the outside of the house and it would slowly tighten, taking us through the front window and into the family room. There we would see the family sitting around, enjoying each other's company. Suddenly, a puppy bursts through the doorway and heads straight for the kids that are playing on the floor. All is well as the family has coped with the loss of their dog and found room in their hearts for another.

Unfortunately, time doesn't fast forward though all the hard parts of life. We all have to find ways to deal with our grief, disappointment, and sadness. That's what I'm trying to do....deal with the loss of one of my best pals while I try to shower my surviving dog, Becky, with all the love she deserves. I can't wait until I finally get to the "six months later". Until then, I'm going to keep watching my movies……