The Lovely Marley Learn English through story level 2

chapter one

the new puppy

my name is john grogan and i love dogs

when i was 10 years old my father gave

me my first dog

i called him sean

sean was my best friend

he went everywhere with me and he was

very obedient

when i called him he came to me

he played with me and he walked next to

me without a leash

in the car

he sat next to me quietly

after many years

sean died

he was 14 years old

by that time

i wasn’t a boy

i was a man

i had my first job

shawn was a great dog

i wanted to get another dog

but it had to be as wonderful as sean

some years later i moved to florida and

married jenny

jenny and i had jobs with newspapers

we were very happy

we were young and in love and life was

wonderful

one day i bought a plant for jenny

it was very large with beautiful white

flowers

jenny loved it maybe too much

every day she gave it water

in the end the plant got sick and died

some days later i woke up early jenny

wasn’t in bed

i found her at the table with a

newspaper

she had a red pen in her hand

jenny i said

what are you doing

she showed me the newspaper

it was open at a page of ads

look at this john she said

i saw an ad with a big red line under it

beautiful labrador puppies

five weeks old

i can’t forget about that plant jenny

said

why couldn’t i look after a plant

i only had to give it water

but i killed it

she looked sad

but then she smiled

i can’t look after a plant

but maybe i can look after a dog and

later

maybe i’ll be ready for a baby

i thought about that

jenny and i wanted to have children one

day

but we love dogs too

our little house was a good place for a

dog

we lived near a park and near a beach

and the house had a big yard with lots

of trees

okay i said

i put my arms around jenny

let’s get a dog

so some days later we drove to the

address in the ad

the house was in the middle of some

woods

a woman came to the door and there was a

beautiful yellow labrador with her

i’m laurie

said the woman

and this is lily she’s the puppy’s

mother

where’s the father i asked

oh

said laurie

sammy boy

he’s uh around here somewhere

then she said quickly

do you want to see the puppies

laurie took us into a room behind the

kitchen

there were a lot of newspapers on the

floor and a large box by the wall

in the box were nine yellow puppies

oh

cried jenny

aren’t they beautiful

we sat on the floor with the puppies

one little puppy really liked us

he climbed up our shirts and looked into

our eyes

the puppies are

375 dollars each said lori

but you can have that puppy for 350

dollars

i stood up and turned away from the

puppies

then i turned back quickly and shouted

loudly

the other puppies ran away

but the little puppy ran to me and

climbed over my shoes

that’s our puppy

jenny laughed

i held him in front of my face

i looked at him and he looked at me

he had very large brown eyes

i gave him to jenny and she held him too

i think he likes us i said

we paid lori for him

come back for him in three weeks she

said

he’ll be eight weeks old so you can take

him then

we thanked lori and said goodbye

on our way to the car i put my arm

around jenny

isn’t it wonderful i said

we got our dog

yes

she said

i can’t wait to bring him home

suddenly we heard a loud noise in the

woods

something ran out of the trees

something large and yellow

it was a big labrador

but this dog was very different from

lily

this dog was wild and dirty

it had a crazy look in its eyes

it ran quickly past us and around the

back of the house

i think

i said slowly

that’s dad

jenny and i tried to think of a name for

our puppy but each of us liked different

names

one morning

we heard a song by bob marley the

jamaican singer on the radio

bob marley was dead

but people played his music everywhere

in florida

jenny and i liked his music too

suddenly at the same time we shouted

marley

that’s it i cried

that’s his name

marley

jenny smiled

some days later jenny’s sister called

her from boston

we’re visiting disney world next week

with the children she said

would you like to come with us

jenny wanted to go to disney world very

much

but i won’t be here when marley comes

home she said

that’s okay i said

i’ll go and get marley

a week later jenny left for orlando

that evening after work i drove to

laurie’s house

marley was a very large puppy now

he eats a lot

said laurie

are you ready for your new home marley i

said

i used his name for the first time and

it felt right

marley sat next to me in the car

he tried to climb on me but each time he

fell back on the floor

in the end he climbed up and sat on me

he wagged his tail happily

when we got home i took off his leash

marley began to sniff

he went around the house and sniffed

everything

then he sat back and looked at me with

his large brown eyes

i could read marley’s thoughts

this place is great

but where are my brothers and sisters

i took marley to the garage next to the

house

it was a warm dry room

marley i said

this is your room now

i put some newspapers down on the floor

i put some playthings down too

then i put some water in a bowl and made

a bed from a large box

you’re going to sleep here i said

i put marley into the box

he looked sadly up at me

i went back into the house and closed

the door

i stood and listened

i could hear nothing

then i heard a cry

and then another cry

the cries got louder and louder

when i opened the door again marley

stopped crying

i petted him for some time

then i left again and closed the door

marley started to cry again

i was very tired so i went to my bedroom

my bedroom wasn’t near the garage but i

could hear marley’s cries

i felt sorry for him

his family wasn’t there

after i got into bed i listened to

marley’s cries for half an hour

then i got up and went back to the

garage

marley stopped crying and wagged his

tail

i carried his box into my bedroom and

put it on the floor next to my bed

then i got into bed and put my hand down

into the box

some minutes later

marley was asleep

i slept too

chapter 2

life with marley

for the next three days i played with

marley

i lay on the floor and he climbed on me

he followed me everywhere

and he tried to chew on everything

when jenny came back from disney world

she played with marley too

she held him and petted him

she got up in the night and took him

outside

most of all

she gave him food

marley ate three large bowls of puppy

food every day

he got bigger all the time

his head and his paws were very large

and his tail was thick and heavy

when he wagged his tail he pushed

everything onto the floor

magazines and glasses and photos

marley loved to grab things and hold

them in his mouth

he grabbed things from the floor and

from the dining room table

he grabbed shoes pens bottle tops and

many other things

all right what have you got this time i

asked

when i opened his mouth i always found

something new inside

every morning i took marley for a walk

on the beach

then i put him in the garage with a bowl

of water and some play things

after that i went to work

i always said

be a good boy marley

jenny came home at lunch time and gave

him food

in the evenings we took marley down to

the beach again

but our walks weren’t easy

marley ran in front of us and pulled on

his leash

we pulled him back then he pulled us

again

he went this way and that way and he

sniffed everything

we tried to teach marley come

stay

sit

down

no

but he didn’t listen to us

he wasn’t obedient

he was like an excited child but every

day he got bigger and stronger

i killed the plant but i’m good with

marley

jenny said happily

one day jenny invited a friend to our

house

her friend brought her old dog buddy

with her

buddy and marley ran and played

then they were tired so they laid down

in the yard

some days later jenny was with marley

when she said

come and look at this john

i looked and i saw something small and

black in marley’s fur

oh no

i said

marley has fleas

they were on his paws inside his ears

and under his tail

buddy had fleas and he gave them to

marley

said jenny angrily

she ran out and got into her car

half an hour later she came back with

bags of chemicals

first she washed marley’s fur with the

chemicals then she put him in the garage

and cleaned the house carefully

i cleaned the yard

every day after that we looked in

marley’s fur

but we couldn’t see any more fleas

some weeks later jenny said

john

i’m going to have a baby

that’s wonderful i said

i was very happy

we were ready for a baby now

then jenny said

but will those chemicals be a problem

what chemicals i asked

what do you mean

don’t you remember

i used very strong chemicals when marley

had fleas

they can’t be good for a baby she said

she talked to her doctor about the

chemicals

it’s all right jenny he said

everything will be okay

jenny got up early every day and took

marley for a walk

she ate lots of fruits and vegetables

after 10 weeks she and i saw the doctor

again

would you like to see your baby he asked

yes please we said

we felt very excited

the doctor took us into a room at the

back and jenny lay down

he moved something over jenny

on a machine next to him we could see

something like a small gray bag

but we couldn’t see a baby inside

is there anything in there

asked jenny

after a time

the doctor said quietly

i’m very sorry jenny

your baby’s dead

i felt sick

i sat and held jenny’s hand

we didn’t say anything for a long time

when the doctor left i put my arms

around my wife

later i took her home

she was very quiet in the car

her eyes were red but she didn’t cry

back home

jenny went into the dining room and sat

down quietly on a chair

i got marley from the garage

he was very excited

he jumped up and wagged his tail

he wanted to play

not today marley

i said sadly

marley ran into the yard

he came back into the house and drank

water from his bowl

then he ran into the dining room and i

followed him

but at the door of the dining room i

stopped

i saw a wonderful thing

marley stood quietly in front of jenny

with his tail between his legs

he put his big head on her legs

he looked at her with his large eyes and

made small cries

marley understands i thought

jenny petted his head and put her face

in his fur

then

suddenly she began to cry

i went to them and put my arms around

them the three of us stayed there for a

long time

jenny marley

and me

chapter 3

the obedience class

when marley was six months old dr j the

animal doctor told us about an obedience

class

we loved marley very much

but he wasn’t an obedient dog every day

he got bigger and stronger and he didn’t

listen to us

he jumped up on us

he grabbed things in the house and

chewed them

when i bought flowers for jenny marley

ate them

we met the teacher of the obedience

class

she had a cold face and she didn’t smile

there are no bad dogs she said but there

are some very weak people

the class was every tuesday evening

we put marley into the car and drove to

the first class

when marley saw the other dogs he got

very excited

a party

he jumped out of the car

i ran after him but i couldn’t catch him

marley sniffed every dog before i caught

his leash

take that dog back to his place in the

line said the teacher

who is going to be his boss you or your

wife

i am

i said

me too

said jenny

no

said the teacher

a dog can only have one boss

okay

said jenny

i’ll do it

the other dog sat quietly in a line

jenny took marley to his place

i stood and watched

suddenly marley saw another dog at the

end of the line

that dog looked interesting

he started to pull jenny

she tried to stop him

but she couldn’t

marley was stronger than jenny

so he pulled her to the other dog

then he sniffed around it

that dog thinks he’s the boss

said the teacher coldly

she started to teach the class sit

and

down

sit

jenny told marley

but marley didn’t want to sit

he jumped up and put his paws on jenny

after the class the teacher said

you have to be strong with that animal

you’re the boss

show him that

when we got home

jenny said you can take marley to the

class next week

the next tuesday marley and i went back

to the class

jenny stayed at home

in the car i said to marley

i’m the boss

you’re not the boss

i’m the boss

do you understand

but marley only looked at me and wagged

his tail

then he tried to chew my hands

in this lesson the dogs had to walk

quietly next to us

it was a very important lesson for

marley

when he went for a walk with jenny and

me he always pulled us

the teacher gave us chains

put the chain over your dog’s head she

said

when he pulls you pull him back with it

it will hurt him so he’ll stop pulling

i tried to put the chain over marley’s

head but marley of course got very

excited

a new game

he grabbed the chain with his teeth

i tried again

but each time

marley grabbed it

in the end i got the chain over marley’s

head and started to walk with him

when marley pulled in front of me i

pulled him back with the chain

but then he pulled away again

here

said the teacher

i’ll show you

she took marley’s leash and started to

walk with him

marley pulled the chain

and the teacher pulled him back

but then marley pulled the chain again

this new game was great

then marley saw me

he started to run to me and he pulled

the teacher after him

marley was bigger and stronger than the

teacher

so she couldn’t stop him

she was very angry

after the class the teacher said

your dog isn’t ready for this class he’s

too young

you can bring him back in six or eight

months

are you telling us that we have to leave

the class i said

that’s right she said

you have to leave

because marley couldn’t go back to the

class i started to teach him at home

but it was difficult

marley wasn’t a fast learner

we had another problem with marley

in florida there were often

thunderstorms

marley was afraid of loud noises

he went crazy in a storm

he broke things and made everything

dirty

after each storm marley quickly forgot

about it

he was happy again and wanted to play

but in the next storm the same thing

happened

he was afraid

so he went crazy again

we talked to dr jay about the problem

dr j was young and he understood dogs

very well

what can we do we asked

when marley gets crazy he breaks things

one day he’ll get hurt in a storm

marley is seven months old said dr j

i’ll neuter him

then he won’t get so excited

he’ll be a quieter happier dog

i thought about that

oh

i said

i don’t really know

yes

said jenny that’s a great idea

bring marley here on your way to work

said dr j

it doesn’t take long he’ll be ready by

the afternoon

you can get him again on your way home

a week later we took marley to dr j

marley ran from the house and jumped

into the car

he was very happy

he loved to go out with jenny and me his

two best friends

jenny drove and i sat next to her with

marley he pushed at the window with his

nose he wanted to sniff outside the car

i opened the window and marley put his

nose outside

i feel sorry for marley i said to jenny

then i looked at him

his front paws were out of the window

john

said jenny

what’s marley doing

please be careful

he’s fine i said

he only wants to put his head outside

marley put his head out of the window

then suddenly he pushed his front legs

out too

he tried to jump down on the road

but the road was very busy with cars

john

shouted jenny hold him

jenny tried to stop the car but she

couldn’t

the other cars drove around us very fast

it was very dangerous

now

marley’s front paws were down on the

road

he ran next to the car

i grabbed him by his tail and jenny

stopped the car

now what

i shouted

i couldn’t pull marley back into the car

i couldn’t open the door

i couldn’t get my other arm out

and there were cars all around us

the other drivers looked at us angrily

jenny opened her door and got out of the

car

she ran around it and grabbed marley

i opened my door and got out too in the

end we got marley back into the car

when we got to dr jay’s i took marley

inside

he sniffed everywhere

then he pushed over a table with

magazines on it

i gave marley’s lease to dr j

please neuter him as quickly as possible

i said

please

that evening when i took marley home

i saw a change in him

he wasn’t excited and crazy

he moved quietly and slowly

good

i thought

chapter 4

changes at home

jenny and i worked hard at our jobs

we also worked hard at home

so one evening i said

let’s go on vacation jenny

the next day i bought two airplane

tickets

they were for a three-week vacation in

ireland

what are we going to do about marley

asked jenny

we can leave him in the house i said

somebody can stay here with him

marley is a difficult dog said jenny

that person will have to be kind but

also strong

he or she will have to be his boss

i know

i said

then i had an idea

kathy loves animals

kathy worked in my office

the next day i asked her and she said

yes

before she arrived i wrote some notes

for her about marley

there were six pages of notes

i showed them to jenny

did i forget anything i asked

jenny read the notes then she said

you can’t tell kathy all that

she won’t want to stay with marley

but when kathy read the notes she smiled

marley and i will be fine she said

have a great vacation

jenny and i had a wonderful vacation in

ireland

the weather was fine and warm

we drove on small country roads and

walked by the ocean

at night we stayed in the houses of

irish families

we forgot about our jobs in florida

when we arrived home marley ran outside

to us

kathy stood at the door

she looked very tired

her bag was next to her

i’m sorry she said

but marley broke a lot of things in the

house

he wasn’t obedient and he didn’t listen

to me

we thanked kathy but she wanted to leave

very quickly

i turned to marley

all right marley i said

tomorrow you’re going to learn about

obedience

the next morning jenny and i went back

to work but first i put the chain around

marley’s neck and took him for a walk

marley started to pull me

sit marley i said

marley

sat okay

let’s try that again i said

we started to walk and marley pulled me

again

i made the chain very short and pulled

him back

it hurt him

but it was the only way

in the end

he learned his lesson

he walked next to me and didn’t pull me

i felt very happy

good marley i said

i’m the boss

some days later jenny called me at the

office

john

she said

i went to see the doctor

i’m going to have a baby

this time jenny and i were very careful

and we put away every chemical in the

house

jenny looked well

she got up early each morning and took

marley for a walk by the ocean

when we went to the doctor we saw our

baby on the machine

but i didn’t forget about marley

i worked with him every day

marley was more obedient now

but he didn’t listen to me all the time

he came when i called him

sometimes

in our yard we had a fruit tree

marley loved eating fruit

but it went through him quickly

his poop was everywhere in the yard

he ate a lot of other things too these

went through him and came out in his

poop

toys pens and bottle tops

i bought jenny a beautiful chain for her

birthday

she loved it and she put it around her

neck

but some hours later she cried

my chain

where is it

maybe i didn’t put it on right

we didn’t go outside i said

so it’s here in the house

we looked in every room but we couldn’t

find the chain

suddenly jenny said

what’s that in marley’s mouth

i saw the end of a thin chain

oh no

i cried

okay marley it’s all right

come here now

please give us the chain

but marley only looked at us

suddenly he threw his head back

he’s eating the chain

cried jenny

i opened his mouth and pushed my hand

down

but i couldn’t find the chain

we’ll have to wait i said

the chain will go through marley and

come out in his poop

i gave marley lots of fruit we waited

for three days

i followed marley everywhere

when he pooped i looked for the chain

but it wasn’t there

on the fourth day i found it after i

washed it it was very clean

it had a beautiful shine

that’s wonderful jenny said

it shines better than before

jenny wore that chain for years

when i saw it i always thought of marley

our son was born in saint mary’s

hospital in palm beach

we called him patrick an irish name

things are going to change at home for

marley now said jenny

maybe he won’t like the changes

i brought jenny and patrick home from

the hospital

patrick was asleep and we put him on our

bed

then we went to the garage and brought

marley into the house

he followed jenny into the bedroom but

he didn’t see patrick on the bed

then patrick made a small noise and

marley’s ears went up

where did that noise come from

patrick made another noise marley held

up a paw

and jenny and i watched him

what’s marley going to do

i thought

marley jumped up onto the bed

i pulled him back quickly and held him

patrick’s eyes were very wide

but marley didn’t want to hurt patrick

he sniffed all around him

now marley had a new best friend

when he was near patrick he wasn’t wild

and crazy

at night he slept under patrick’s bed

six months later patrick started to move

around

marley lay on the floor and patrick

climbed over him

sometimes patrick pulled marley’s fur

but marley lay quietly and didn’t move

we were parents now and we were happy

we had our wonderful baby

we had our dog

we had our house by the ocean

life was good

then when patrick was nine months old

jenny said

i’m going to have another baby

chapter 5

difficult days

sometimes

bad things happened in our street

one night in october jenny and i were in

bed

marley lay on the floor next to me

suddenly i heard a cry

the cry of a girl

it came from the street outside

i felt afraid but i jumped out of bed

come with me marley i said

please john

don’t go out there said jenny

call the police i said

i’ll be careful

i held marley by the end of his chain

the girl cried again

we went outside and a man ran away down

the street

two young men ran to me

go and stay with the girl they shouted

help her we’re going after the man

i ran to the girl

she was my neighbor’s daughter lisa

she was 17 years old

her shirt was red and wet

what happened

i asked

i was in my car she said

a man got in and put his hand over my

mouth

he said

don’t make a noise

but i did

and he cut me with his knife

i held lisa in my arms

it’s going to be all right i said

but i didn’t really think that

lisa’s face was gray and she was very

weak

i looked at marley

he stood and looked down the street

he looked strong and ready for a fight

nobody could get past him

some minutes later the police arrived

with doctors

and they took lisa away

a policeman asked me questions

then i went home with marley

jenny met us at the door

marley was a different dog tonight i

said

nothing can hurt us when he’s with us

i looked at marley

you did well tonight i said

lisa didn’t die

she got well again

but i never forgot that night

one night when jenny and i were in bed

she said

john

i think the baby is coming

please call the doctor

something’s wrong i thought

it’s too early for the baby

i took jenny to the hospital

your baby is too small the doctor said

to her

we have to stop him coming out

you’ll have to stay in the hospital

jenny was in the hospital for 12 days

i stayed at home with patrick and marley

i did the housework i cooked and washed

clothes

in the evenings i was very tired

marley sat and looked at me sadly

i could read his thoughts

i don’t understand

why doesn’t john want to play with me

why doesn’t he take me for walks

and where’s jenny

i didn’t do things at home very well

i left the bathroom door open all the

time

marley loved to go into the bathroom and

to drink water from the shower

one day i took patrick on a visit to the

hospital

what did you do to patrick

jenny asked

what do you mean i asked

he’s fine

look at him

said jenny

i looked

his arms were in the legs of his baby

clothes

jenny called my aunt anita

she also lived in florida but in a

different town

please can you look after john and

patrick

she said

two days later aunt anita arrived

she did the housework and everything at

home was fine again

when jenny came home she had to stay in

bed all day

this was a very difficult time for her

she couldn’t cook or go for a walk

worst of all

she couldn’t hold patrick

marley brought his playthings into the

bedroom and lay on the floor next to

jenny

he stayed there day and night

aunt anita had to go home to her husband

so i had to look after the house again

then one day when the doctor visited

jenny he said

you can get up now

the baby is bigger

jenny was very happy

she got up and played with patrick and

marley she started to do the housework

the next day we went to a greek

restaurant for lunch but suddenly the

baby started to come

so i took jenny to the hospital

then everything happened very quickly

one hour later i held my beautiful new

son in my arms

jenny and i had two sons now patrick and

connor

one was 17 months old and one was a baby

we were very happy with our sons but we

were tired all the time

the babies woke us every night

we couldn’t sleep for more than two

hours

conor had problems with jenny’s milk

after he drank he was sick

so jenny was very sad

what’s wrong with me she said

connor doesn’t like my milk

maybe i’m not a good mom

she started to get angry quickly

she didn’t get angry with patrick and

connor but she was often angry with

marley and me

marley could do nothing right i bought a

plant and planted it in the yard

the next day marley pulled it out and

ate it

then he broke a door in the house

he went crazy when there was a

thunderstorm

one day when i got home from work i

found marley with jenny

jenny was very very angry

why do you break everything she shouted

you’re a very bad dog

marley stood with his head down and she

hit him again and again

i went and grabbed jenny’s arms

hey hey hey i shouted stop stop

i looked into jenny’s face

but the look in her eyes was new to me

her face was the face of a stranger

get him out of here she said

get him out of here now

i opened the front door and marley ran

outside

when i turned back for his leash jenny

said

you have to find marley a new home

she couldn’t mean it

she loved this dog

i walked out of the door

marley ran and jumped around

he wasn’t hurt

i took marley into the street and said

sit

he sat

i put his chain over his head with the

leash

then i took him for a very long walk

when we got home marley was very tired

i took off marley’s leash and he ran to

his bowl

the water went everywhere on the floor

i cleaned it

jenny sat in a chair with patrick and

connor

when i walked past her she said quietly

i want that dog to leave

i felt very sad

marley was my friend and i loved him

i didn’t want to find a new home for him

but i also had a wife and two small

children

i had to think about them

i talked to my friends and neighbors

about marley

do you want a labrador i asked

but nobody did

i looked in the newspapers

they were full of ads from people with

dogs and a lot of the ads were for

labradors

these people paid a lot of money for

their dogs i thought

but now they’re looking for new homes

for them

maybe labradors are too difficult

too big and strong

marley wasn’t an easy dog

he wasn’t obedient and he broke things

but we brought him to our home when he

was a puppy

he loved us and we loved him

he was our dog

i took marley back to the obedience

class

a different teacher was there now this

time things went better

i said sit and marly sat

i put the chain around his neck and he

walked quietly next to me

i said stay and he stayed

i walked away from him but he didn’t

move

then i turned and said come

marley ran quickly to me

good boy marley i said

good good good boy

at the end of the eight weeks the

teacher gave me a paper

it said marley did well in the obedience

class

i was very happy

on the way home i sang

after this a wonderful thing happened

jenny got better

she stopped being sad and was strong and

happy

she was a good mother to patrick and

connor and she was kind to marley again

she danced around the room with him

sometimes at night when he was quiet

she lay on the floor with him her head

on his neck

jenny’s here with us again i thought

that’s great

chapter 6

marley makes a movie

jenny’s friend colleen worked for a film

company

one day colleen called jenny

my company is making a film about a

family in florida she said

they want pictures of a family home

can i come and take some pictures of

your house

colleen came and took photos of our home

and the children and of marley too

she showed them to her boss bob goss

some days later jenny called me at work

bob goss is making a movie about a

family with a dog she said excitedly

so he’s looking for a dog a big family

dog

he saw colleen’s photos and he’s

interested in marley

really

i said

you mean

marley

our

marley

the next day colleen came to our house

and took marley to her boss

two hours later she brought him back

again

marley was great she said

everybody loved him

some days later the company started

filming

bring marley to the gulfstream hotel at

nine o’clock

bob goss told us

we put the children and marley into the

car and drove to the hotel

a lot of people stood outside

the police were there too

one of the policemen looked inside the

car

he saw jenny two small children and a

large dog

you can’t come this way he said

you have to turn back

but

we’re with the film company i said

our dog is in the movie

really

the police officer said

then he looked at a paper in his hand

you have the dog marley’s name was on

the paper

i have the dog

i said

marley the dog

oh

said the policeman

he turned to another policeman and

shouted he has the dog marley the dog

then he turned to us again

you can come in he said

i felt very important

marley was famous

the cameraman started to film marley but

marley wasn’t obedient he ran and jumped

he chewed through his leash

cut cut cut

shouted bob goss

at the end of the day we took marley

home

marley i said sadly

you’re not going to be famous

but the next day the film company called

again please bring marley back here they

said

when we got back to the hotel bob goss

said

on film marley was great

marley had a very good time with the

people in the film company

everybody played with him and petted him

after four days the cameraman stopped

filming

call us after eight months said bob goss

the movie will be ready then

after eight months we called the company

the name of the movie was the last home

run

but we couldn’t learn anything about it

i called the company again and again

two years later i was in a store and

there were a lot of movies on the

shelves

suddenly i saw the last home run

marley’s movie

i bought it and took it home

come and watch this

i shouted to jenny and the children

we saw marley in the movie

he was only there for two minutes but it

was very exciting

we all laughed and cried

we’re famous

shouted patrick

marley’s name came at the end of the

film

in big letters it said

marley the dog

some time later we said goodbye to our

home in west palm beach

the place got more and more dangerous

and our house was too small for two

children and a large dog so we moved to

a bigger house in another city boca

raton

a lot of rich people lived in boca raton

they had expensive cars big houses and

beautiful clothes

there were many good things about our

new house

near the house was a small park

but best of all

it had a pool

we all loved the pool

but marley loved it most

he jumped in with me and climbed on me

but there was a problem with the garage

in our new house

it had no windows and it got very hot in

summer

so we couldn’t put marley in it when

there was a thunderstorm

i took patrick and connor to the pet

store and we bought a strong cage from

marley

we put it next to the washing machine

i put some food in the cage

come here marley i called

marley went inside and i closed the door

of the cage after him

he lay down on the floor and chewed his

food happily

this is going to be your new home when

we’re away i said

that evening we went out for dinner

before we left i opened the door of the

cage

marley walked inside and i closed the

door

be a good boy marley

i said

we had dinner in a restaurant then we

went for a walk

this is great said jenny

we can forget about marley we know he’s

fine in the cage

she smiled happily

we went home and walked to the front

door

i looked at the window next to it

something was there

in the window

something black and wet

it was marley’s nose

what’s that i said

how could

marley

when i opened the front door marley ran

to us happily

everything in the house was fine

then we looked at the cage

the door was open

but

how did marley get out

asked jenny

he opened the door from inside i said

he’s smart and he’s very strong

day after day when we left the house

we’d put marley into the cage

when we came home

sometimes he was there

sometimes he was at the window

we tried to make the cage stronger but

marley was stronger than the cage

when he wanted to get out he pushed the

door open

chapter 7

the world’s worst dog

many people in boca raton had dogs but

their dogs were very different from

marley

most of these dogs were very very small

rich women carried them in their

handbags and took them into expensive

stores and in their fast cars

marley wanted very much to be friends

with these small dogs but the dogs

didn’t want to be friends with marley

the weather in boca raton was very good

so lots of restaurants had tables and

chairs outside

customers brought their dogs with them

to the restaurants

people ate their food or drank coffee

and their dogs lay quietly on the ground

one sunday afternoon we went out for

lunch

we parked our car and walked up and down

the street

many other people were out with their

dogs too

marley walked next to me on his leash

we found a restaurant and sat down

outside

i put marley’s leash around one of the

legs of the strong heavy table

the waiter came and we asked for some

drinks

then jenny held up her glass happily

to a beautiful day with my beautiful

family she

said suddenly our table started to move

it moved quickly between the other

tables and the other customers

what’s happening i thought

then i saw a small white dog across the

street

marley’s going to that dog i shouted

we have to stop him

we jumped up and ran after marley and

the table

sorry sorry

sorry

we shouted to the other customers

i ran and grabbed the table

jenny grabbed it too

we held it and it stopped moving

i turned around and saw the faces of the

other customers

everybody looked at us with their mouths

open

we carried the table back to its place

and a waiter came

i’ll get some more drinks for you he

said

no

said jenny

we’ll pay for our drinks and leave

jenny and i had another baby

this time it was a girl and we named her

colleen

when colleen was two months old i had my

40th birthday

i wanted to do something exciting on my

birthday but it was a very quiet day

when i arrived home from work jenny was

tired

by 8 30 all three children were asleep

and jenny was two

i felt a little sad

i took a drink outside

i sat and looked at the ocean

marley lay on the ground next to me

i thought about my life then i thought

about marley

he wasn’t a puppy now

he was six years old

but he loved life and he was very happy

marley i said

it’s only you and me tonight

i held up my glass

we’re not young

but we’re having a good time

some days later my friend jim called me

let’s go out for a drink on saturday he

said

jim came for me at six o’clock and we

went out to a bar we talked and laughed

then the barman called out

is john grogan here

there’s a phone call for john grogan

it was jenny

the baby’s crying she said

can you come and help me

i’ll take you home

jim said

when we turned into my street i saw a

lot of cars

somebody’s having a party i said

jim stopped the car outside my house and

i invited him inside

then suddenly the front door opened

jenny stood there with colleen in her

arms she had a big smile on her face

i looked into the yard

there were lots of people around the

pool

my friends and neighbors

happy birthday john they shouted

i wanted to take marley to the beach

you couldn’t take pets onto most beaches

in south florida

but one small beach was different

everybody called it dog beach

on dog beach dogs could run freely

they didn’t have to be on a leash

one morning in june i took marley to dog

beach

there were lots of people with dogs

but the dogs were on leashes

what happened i asked a man

the police came

the man said

we have to use a

so i walked marley on his leash

but i felt sorry for him

after our walk i gave marley a bowl of

water

then a man arrived with a big black dog

it looked dangerous

don’t be afraid of him said the man

this is killer

but he’s very friendly he doesn’t fight

other dogs

i told the man about the police

that’s stupid he shouted

this is dog beach

he took off killer’s leash and killer

ran into the water

marley looked at killer and then he

looked at me

i could read his thoughts

please please please

i’ll be good

i looked around the beach

i couldn’t see any policemen

i took off marley’s leash and he ran

into the ocean after killer

marley and killer played happily in the

water

other people watched them

then they took off their dog’s leashes

too

the dogs ran into the water

but then marley started to drink from

the ocean

stop that marley i cried

you’ll be sick

but marley didn’t listen to me and he

didn’t stop drinking

then

he started to turn around in the water

oh no i thought

i ran into the water

but it was too late

marley pooped everywhere

hey

somebody shouted angrily

get your dog

marley no

i shouted i could feel everybody’s eyes

on me and on marley

no marley no

no

no

no

marley’s poop was everywhere

the other people grabbed their dogs

marley came out of the dirty water and

looked at me happily

but we had to leave

that wasn’t nice

the man with killer said

sorry

i said

i put marley’s leash on him

other dogs didn’t drink water from the

ocean

marley wasn’t a bad dog but sometimes he

did stupid things

what’s wrong with you marley i said on

the drive home

sometimes you’re the worst dog in the

world

i never took marley to the beach again

chapter eight

we move north

when colleen was two years old i got a

job with a magazine in pennsylvania in

the northeast of the united states

we were ready for a change from florida

there were too many people and cars

the weather was always hot with a lot of

thunderstorms

we wanted to live in a quiet place in

the country

we wanted to see summer winter spring

and fall

most of all

we wanted to see snow

our new home was very beautiful

there was a small river near our house

and there were woods all around it

marley was very happy

he loved playing in the woods and

running after small animals

three weeks after new year it snowed

the children were very excited because

it was their first time

we put on warm jackets and ran outside

marley followed us

marley was very funny in the snow

he fell down all the time

snow lay on his fur and his face

i could only see a black nose and two

brown eyes

i could read his thoughts

i don’t

understand what’s this

it feels so cold and wet

but then marley jumped up again

he ran around the yard and jumped

through the snow

the children laughed happily and marley

was happy too

we had a great time

it was almost the end of our first

winter in pennsylvania

we were very happy in our new house

but marley was nine years old now

he moved more slowly and he slept for

most of the day

sometimes when i took him for a walk he

got very tired

his fur in many places was gray not

yellow

life with marley wasn’t easy

he cost us a lot of money

he ate a lot of food and he broke a lot

of our things

we could never change him we knew that

but he was one of our family

he loved us and we loved him

that spring i said to jenny

let’s get some farm animals

okay

she said

but we don’t have a place for big

animals

let’s get some chickens

then we can have eggs every day

jenny talked to one of the moms at the

children’s school

donna lived on a farm she gave jenny

four baby chickens

the chickens lived in a box in the

kitchen

they ate and pooped

then they ate some more

and they got bigger

one morning i woke up early when i heard

a call from downstairs

i woke jenny up and asked

what’s that noise

oh

she said

i don’t know

she turned over and slept

every morning the chickens made a lot of

noise

sometimes they made loud noises very

near marley

marley was usually afraid of loud noises

but he didn’t move away from the

chickens

that’s strange i thought

can’t marley hear the chickens

one afternoon when marley was asleep in

the kitchen i walked up behind him

marley i said

but marley didn’t move

marley i said again

nothing

marley

i shouted

marley turned

he stood up and wagged his tail

oh no

i thought

marley can’t hear

but marley could hear some things

when we put food in his bowl he always

heard the sound of his dinner

he ran in from the next room

marley was always hungry

he ate four big bowls of dog food every

day

and he also ate our food

labradors are big dogs and marley was a

very large labrador

but he never got fat

one day i came home from work early and

i went into the kitchen

marley was there

he didn’t see me and he didn’t hear me

there was a sandwich on the kitchen

table marley stood up and put his paws

on the table

then he ate the sandwich

what are you doing marley i asked

you are a bad dog

but he didn’t hear me

he ate the sandwich happily

i put my hand on marley’s fur and he

jumped

when he saw me he laid down on the floor

he looked up at me and i started to

laugh

i couldn’t be angry with marley

he was old now and he couldn’t hear

i couldn’t change him

the chickens weren’t afraid of marley

and he never tried to catch them

they walked around the yard and marley

went with them

chapter 9

marley gets older

jenny and i had a good life our children

were young

we felt young too

but when we looked at marley we saw many

changes

the years went past and he was 12 years

old

by this time he couldn’t hear anything

his fur was gray his teeth were brown

late one night i took marley outside for

his walk before bed

it was winter and there was a cold rain

i went back into the house for my jacket

when i came out again

marley wasn’t there

i looked for him everywhere but i

couldn’t find him

i went back inside

then i walked upstairs and woke up jenny

i can’t find marley i said

he’s out there in the rain

jenny pulled on her jeans and shoes and

we went outside again

i walked slowly through the woods and

called for marley

jenny went a different way

we were very wet and cold

let’s go home and get warm i said

i’ll get the car and come out again

we walked back to our house

suddenly we saw marley

he stood outside the house out of the

rain

when he saw us he was very happy

i felt angry with him but then i was

happy too

i brought him inside and dried him

marley was very tired

he went to sleep and woke up at noon the

next day

marley couldn’t see well now

his fur started to fall out too

jenny cleaned the house every day but

his hairs were everywhere

but marley’s biggest problem was his

hips

they hurt him a lot and he couldn’t move

quickly

he couldn’t climb the stairs easily

but he tried to follow us

everywhere marley had good days and bad

days

one spring evening i took him for a

short walk around the yard

the night was cold and there was a light

wind

i ran and marley ran with me

marley i said you’re a puppy again

we ran back to the house

there were two small stairs in front of

the door

when marley tried to climb the stairs he

fell down he lay on the stairs and

looked sadly up at me

marley was too heavy for me i couldn’t

carry him so i had to push him up the

stairs

then he stood up and went into the house

when i looked at marley i thought

we only have one life and it can change

very quickly

i enjoyed my job on the magazine but i

really wanted to work for a newspaper

again

newspapers were more exciting and i

liked writing about big stories

i also liked getting letters and calls

from readers

a friend told me about a job on the

philadelphia inquirer

this was one of the best newspapers in

the united states

i wrote to the newspaper and i got the

job

i was very happy

in the summer jenny visited her sister

in boston

she took the children with her

i didn’t go because i was busy with my

new job

every day i was away from home for 10 or

12 hours

so we took marley to a vacation home for

dogs

some days later an animal doctor called

me from the home

i’m sorry she said

but marley’s very sick

when he saw the other dogs he got very

excited he ate his food too quickly

then he had a bad problem with his

stomach and he almost died

he’s a little better now but it will

happen again

oh i said

what are you saying

do you want us to help end marley’s life

she said

i’m sorry

oh i said

i couldn’t think

i have to talk to my wife

i called jenny in boston and we had a

long conversation about marley

in the end jenny

said the doctor’s right

we have to do the best thing for marley

i called the doctor back

yes marley’s a very old dog i said

life isn’t so good for him now

he doesn’t have many teeth and he can’t

hear

his hips hurt him too

yes she said

maybe we have to put him to sleep but

i’ll call you again in an hour

when the doctor called again she said

marley’s a very sick dog but he isn’t

getting worse

the next morning she called again

we can wait she said marley’s eating

you can take him home tomorrow

i was very happy the next evening after

work i went to the dog’s home

marley was very thin and weak

i thanked the doctor

everybody here loves marley she said

one of the workers helped me put marley

into the car

then i drove him home

he couldn’t climb the stairs to the

bedroom and i didn’t want to leave him

so that night i put a sleeping bag on

the floor and laid down next to him

tomorrow jenny and the children are

coming back i said

but tonight marley it’s only you and me

i thought about my first night with

marley when he was a small puppy

that night he cried for his mother and

then he slept in a box next to my bed

now 13 years later here we were again

i put out my hand and petted him

in the next weeks marley got a little

better

a lot of the time he lay on the floor in

the family room asleep in the sun

but one morning when i was in the

bedroom i heard a noise

then connor shouted help marley fell

down the stairs

marley lay at the bottom of the stairs

jenny and i ran to him but then he got

up and walked away

marley had a bad fall i told the

children

but he’s okay

but marley was hurt

when i got home from work that evening

he couldn’t move

when he saw me he tried to get up

but he fell down again on the floor

i don’t think marley can go upstairs

again i said

but i was wrong

the next day i was upstairs at my

computer in my bedroom when i heard a

sound

i turned around marley stood at the

bedroom door

marley i said

what are you doing here

i went to him and petted him

then i looked into his eyes

marley i said

you’re going to tell me when it’s time

right

chapter 10

a great dog

winter arrived early that year

the children waited for the snow

can marley live through another winter i

thought

jenny and i took the children to disney

world in florida

it was their first christmas away from

home and they were very excited

jenny took marley to the animal doctor’s

office

they gave him a home there and watched

him carefully

we had a great family vacation

but on the way home somebody called us

from the doctor’s office

marley’s very tired she said and his

hips are really hurting him

the next day jenny went from marley

he got out of the car but he couldn’t

walk into the house

he lay on the ground outside

jenny called me at work

i can’t get marley inside she said he

can’t get up

i left my office and went home

when i arrived marley was inside the

house but he was very sick

he lay on the floor

for the first time in 13 years he didn’t

get up when he saw me

his eyes followed me but he didn’t move

his head

i looked at his stomach

it was very big

i called the animal doctors

bring marley here now

a young woman doctor said

i looked at jenny and she looked at me

marley has to go to the hospital we told

the children

the doctors are going to try to make him

better

but he’s very sick

with jenny’s help i put marley into the

back of the car

he lay on the floor

i petted his head

oh marley i said again and again

at the hospital i helped him out of the

car and took him inside

the young doctor took him away

then she came back and showed me some

pictures of the inside of marley’s

stomach

i’m very sorry she said quietly

we can’t do anything for marley now

i understand i said

please can i say goodbye to him

yes of course she said

have as much time with him as you want

marley was asleep

i got down next to him and ran my

fingers through his fur

i held up each ear in my hands

i opened his mouth and looked at his

teeth

then i held up his front paw

i want you to understand something

marley i said

sometimes we called you the world’s

worst dog

but you’re not

we never told you this before

but you’re a great dog marley

a great dog

i sat with marley for a long time

then i called the doctor

i’m ready now i said

i held marley’s head and the doctor gave

marley something

it didn’t hurt him

he died quietly

i want to take marley home i said

two people brought a large black bag out

to my car

then i thanked the doctor and drove away

when i got home the children were in bed

i put my arms around jenny and we cried

for a long time

later we went outside

we took the black bag out of the car and

put it into the garage

next morning jenny told the children

about marley

they were very sad and started to cry

it’s okay i said

when you have a dog this always happens

dogs don’t live as long as people

connor made a picture and wrote a letter

for marley

to marley

i loved you all my life

you were always there when i wanted you

your brother connor richard grogan

colleen made a picture of a girl with a

big yellow dog she wrote under the

picture

i will never forget you marley

i found a very good place for marley in

the ground under two big fruit trees

i put the black bag in the ground and

jenny and the children watched

after i finished everybody said

we love you marley

then we went back to the kitchen and

told stories about marley sometimes we

laughed and sometimes we cried

the next days were very difficult

the house was very quiet

when i came home at night there was no

marley

jenny cleaned the house but his fur was

everywhere

one morning when i put on my shoes i

found some of marley’s fur inside them

marley was my dog for 13 years

he wasn’t an obedient dog

but he was important in my life

i wanted to tell other people about him

so i wrote about him in my newspaper

nobody called marley a great dog

or a good dog

he was wild and crazy

he had to leave obedience school

he chewed things and he wasn’t very

intelligent

but he understood people’s feelings and

he was very good with children

a person can learn a lot from a dog

because of him i listened to my feelings

because of him i enjoyed winter sunlight

and the snow and a walk in the woods

because of him

i can be a good friend

a dog can show us the important things

in life

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

many people read about marley in the

newspaper

animal lovers called me and wrote to me

they wrote to me about their love for

dogs

they wrote about their feelings when

their dogs died

many people wrote funny stories about

their dogs

some people wrote

marley wasn’t the worst dog in the world

my dog’s the worst dog in the world

i began to feel better

i took the letters home and showed them

to jenny

she laughed too

winter came to an end and it was spring

our yard was full of flowers

i didn’t think about marley all the time

when i thought about him i usually

remembered the happy days

in many ways life without a dog was

easier

the house and the yard were clean

we could enjoy going out to dinner

but something about our family wasn’t

right

one morning jenny showed me the

newspaper

look at this

she said

it was an ad for a dog

i saw a photo of a big yellow labrador

i looked at the photo

then i looked again

that’s marley i said

it isn’t marley said jenny

look

under the photo was the dog’s name

lucky

i read

i’m looking for a new home and a new

family

i want a quiet home because i’m a little

wild

we read the ad and looked at the photo

again

we didn’t say anything for some time

then i said

we can go and look at him

yes

said jenny

why not

you