"Marley & Me" with John Grogan

John Grogan, a metropolitan columnist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife, Jenny, were newlyweds when they brought home an irresistible yellow Labrador retriever puppy and named him after a mellow reggae star. But Marley soon would grow into a 97-pound powerhouse of nervous, pulsating intensity and mischief. Marley, the incorrigible, excitable, destructive, and intensely loyal creature that graced the Grogan home for thirteen years, was not the mellow, well-behaved pet his owners had envisioned. His slobber was legendary, his manners appalling, and his fear of thunderstorms expensive. He decimated walls, screen doors, car upholstery, and dinner parties. Evan as the Grogans tried everything to mold him to their will, Marley, with his utter devotion and unharnessed zeal for life, helped shape them into the family they would become. He was kicked out of obedience training, and the veterinarian prescribed tranquilizers to no effect. But his heart was pure. As he crashed through life, he taught two newlyweds about faithfulness and commitment, two parents about patience and perseverance, and a five-person family about the greatest gift of all- the gift of unconditional love. Award-winning journalist John Grogan is a columnist with the Philadelphia Inquirer and former metropolitan columnist and urban-sprawl reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He is also a former editor of the magazine Organic Gardening. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania.