Marley and Me

When it comes to dogs, my favorite breed is Yellow Labrador. Nick's friend Evan has one yellow lab named Haley. Nobody knows her exact age, since she was adopted from Humane Society (a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing abondaned animals). Someone told me that Haley must be 11 years old, but I doubt it. Why? She is so energetic: she plays hockey with Nick and Evan, she chases hockey pucks without any stops, and she runs for a soccer ball when the boys are outside playing soccer. Besides, she is the best trained dog I have ever seen. She can shake hands with you, she wait patiently when you prepare her food, she never barks at any friends, and she knows exactly where to go to bathroom. One afternoon, Nick and I took her out to a park in Fort Collins. Unleashed, Haley was indulged in playing with the sand and enjoying the sunset with us. Oh, I miss Haley.

I heard from many people that Lab is the most desired breed by families. What makes a Lab an ideal dog? "Kindly, outgoing, tractable nature, eager to please and non-aggresive towards man or animal." Yes, that's exactly what Haley is like.

The movie Marley and Me is adopted from John Grogan's book. John and his wife Jenny were young and in love, with a perfect littl house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy-"a clearance puppy", and their life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barreling, one-hunderd-pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever who crashed through screen doors, flung drool on guests, devoured couches and fine jewelry, and was expelled from obedience school. Yet Marley's heart was pure, and he remained a steadfast model of love and devotion for a growing family through pregnency, birth, heartbreak, and joy, right to the inevitable goodbye.

The movie was over, the lights were turned on. When I turned around, I saw that a lot of people had tears in their eyes.