Marley and Me - John Grogan

Ok - I never judge a book by its cover, but if I did the cover of this book would tell you this is one cute story!

I was initially drawn to the book after the arrival of our two trouble makers - Toby and Elvis, four month old puppies. (OK, I admit the cover was really cute too!) I guess I was hoping to find secrets in dog wrangling from someone who had been there and done that. What I did find out was what not to do!

Marley is a lab retriever who went for a small cute pup to a massive, dopey handful of a dog. Marley was lovable though, and this was evident throughout the book. John wrote about Marley, but also included the most intimate details of his family's life that occur during the "Marley Period". This included the birth of his three children, a bout of post natal depression (which nearly saw Marley searching for a new home), relocation from Florida to Pennsylvania and the inevitable aging and passing of Marley.

This was a funny, touching story about a man and his love for his family and a four legged, neurotic beast! Although I didn't find out how to tame the trouble makers at my house, I was directed to Cesar's Way. Cesar is a National Geographic Star and Dog Psychologist. Let's hope he has some tips, because at the moment I am getting less sleep if we had a new born here!