A Dog's Journey

You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him.

Dog’ is ‘God’ spelled backward; you know that. That’s why you’re here, to help the nuns do God’s work.

Some people just don’t appreciate having a dog around. It’s sad to think there are people like that. I knew Gloria was that way—maybe that’s why she could never be truly happy.

I nuzzled them both to remind them that there was really no need to grieve, since I was okay and really a much better pet than Smokey ever was.

This was, I decided, my purpose as a dog, to comfort the boy whenever he needed me.

But humans drive the cars and decide when dogs eat and where dogs live and clearly this was something else in their power - they could find their dogs when they needed them.

A bouquet of wonderful scents met my nose, and my heart leaped when I realized who I was smelling. 'Molly!' I heard someone call. I whipped my head around everywhere and there they were, the people I'd been smelling. Everyone I'd ever loved in my life, standing at the edge of the water, smiling and clapping. I saw Ethan and Hannah and Trent and CJ standing in front, along with Andi and Maya and Jakob and all the others. 'Bailey!' Ethan yelled waving. My names was Toby, and Buddy, and Molly and Max and Bailey and Ellie. I was a good dog, and this was my reward. Now I would get to be with the people I loved. I turned, whimpering with you, and swam toward those golden shores.

You remind me in so many ways of my dog Molly, her gentleness, but also Max, with his self-assurance. Will you tell my angel dogs I'm coming to be with them soon? And will you be with me in my final moments? I don't wan to be afraid- and if you're there, I know I'll be brave. You're my forever friend, Toby.

It cannot be a dog's purpose to understand what people want because it is impossible.

It cannot be a dog’s purpose to understand what people want because it is impossible.

What happened to the Ford?” “God, Gloria made me sell it. Supposedly, I had too much independence—that’s the new theory, that I ran off because of independence. Also, she wants me to see a shrink. She’s convinced that anyone who wouldn’t want to live with her has to be crazy.

but it also had an odd metallic tang to it that I instantly recognized from when I was Buddy and had a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of. The bald man probably had the same taste in his mouth, because it was on his breath.

I so wanted her to feel the happiness that I felt whenever we touched each other, but people are more complicated creatures than dogs. We always love them joyfully, but sometimes they’re mad at us, like when I chewed the sad shoes.

Humans know everything, not just how to take car rides or where to find bacon but also when dogs are good or bad and where dogs should sleep and what toys they should play with.

Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009) and Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (Mariner Books, 2006).

She taught me that it was a good thing to love more than just my boy, Ethan, opening my eyes to the fact that I’d actually loved many people in my lives, that loving humans was my ultimate purpose.

I knew we were supposed to bark because CJ was always angry when someone knocked. “Hey! Stop! Quiet! Enough!” she would yell. I didn’t understand the words, but the meaning was clear: she was upset with the knocking and we should keep barking.

Now what? Was I to be reborn over and over, forever? Could a dog have more than one purpose? How was that possible?