Introduction

A dog isn’t interested in fast cars or big houses or expensive clothes. Give a dog your love, and he will give you his.

Marley and Me is about a dog, but it is also about a family and their love for their dog, Marley. John Grogan and his wife, Jenny, are young and in love. They have good jobs on newspapers. Then, one day, they go out and buy a puppy. From that day, their lives are never the same again.

Marley is not an easy dog. He isn’t obedient and he doesn’t listen. He pushes things off tables with his strong, heavy tail, and he eats everything—flowers, pens, and bottle tops. He goes crazy in thunderstorms, and he breaks things in the home.

But life with Marley is never boring. Many funny things happen when he is there. And, most important, he brings John and Jenny a lot of love. He helps them understand the important things in life.

The story follows Marley’s life from a puppy to an old dog. In that time, we see many changes, not only in Marley but in the family, too. At the start, John and Jenny are living in a busy city in Florida. Thirteen years later, they have three children and are living a quieter life in Pennsylvania.

John Grogan worked on newspapers for more than twenty-five years. When he wrote funny stories about Marley, readers wrote to him about their love for their dogs—and their problems, too. Later, John made his stories into a book, Marley & Me. Then, in 2009, a film company made a movie of the book, with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. Now people around the world are enjoying the story of “the world’s worst dog.”