Introduction
A prevalent question that comes to mind in today’s stressful and daunting times is who is man’s best companion? My answer is a Dog without batting an eyelid. I am certain there are millions of pet parents worldwide who would agree with me. Dog Gone available on Netflix for viewing is an inspirational story of the Marshall family who went to great lengths to look for their lost dog Gonker. This review is my first post of 2023 as I felt the need after my recent relocation to India by writing about something which truly touched my heart and soul. It took me a while to sift through several other commercial movies which did not strike a chord initially to finally mark a new start to 2023 with Dog Gone.
Story Synopsis Feilding Marshall (Johnny Berchtold) is leading a relatively mundane existence in university. He feels lost when surrounded by intellectual friends who have set career goals for themselves. His insecurities are heightened when he sees his ex – girlfriend dating someone much more good looking compared to himself. Constantly confused about his lifegoals, he notices how human behavior changes when they interact with dogs and decides to adopt a yellow Labrador puppy when he visits a nearby dog shelter. Gonker and Fielding become best buddies in no time. The combination of Fielding and Gonker resembles Mary and her lamb as Gonker attends classes in university with Fielding, being unleashed most of the time. Upon graduating, Fielding and Gonker move back to his parents’ place as Fielding takes his time to figure out what he wants to work as. Fielding’s parents, played by Rob Lowe (John Marshall, Fielding’s Father), Kimberly Williams – Paisley (Ginny Marshall, Fielding’s Mother) and Savannah Bruffey (Peyton Marshall, Fielding’s Sister) are all worried about Fielding’s future and hope he can figure out his future career plans. In the meanwhile, John and Ginny begin to bond with Gonker. Being a daughter born to parents from the military, Ginny was gifted a Golden Shepherd called Oji by a Japanese Army Official. Unfortunately, Oji passed away in an accident which assisted in strengthening Ginny’s instincts towards Gonker’s needs. She realized a few weeks later that Gonker was not eating which led to the discovery that Gonker had Addisson’s disease and would require life-saving inoculation to be administered monthly. A few weeks after, Fielding and his friend take Gonker on a trek of the Appalachian trail where Gonker begins to chase a fox and gets lost on the trail. When they are unable to locate Gonker, Fielding rushes home to his parents and requests for further assistance. Considering his inoculation was administered 10 days earlier they have only 20 days to find him if not he could lose his life. The remainder movie is about how the family works together to find Gonker in this short time span.
Battling Demons
The story line is sensitive to say the least in helping the main characters dealing with issues they were once unable to face. Ginny’s faith in humanity was restored when Gonker was found given how her search was wreaked with flashbacks about her parent’s mistreatment towards Oji and his unfortunate death which she felt responsible for. As Ginny managed the search for Gonker by requesting assistance through word of mouth and advertising through phone and social media, she overcame her inability to deal with computers in this search by becoming adaptable to using social media to spread the word of Gonker’s disappearance on the trail. This was an essential aspect of the search considering how big the Appalachian trail was and Gonker could have wandered off the trail into civilization to look for food and water.
Man’s Best Companion
Dog Gone excels in reflecting on basic but essential human feelings that really struck a chord with me. Fielding is surrounded by friends who are crystal clear about what they expect from life. His closest friends all have jobs even before their graduation ceremony takes place. Fielding unfortunately, is not in the same boat. His parent’s have discussions with their friends about Fielding’s future in hushed tones which certainly did not alleviate this situation. This phenomenon is a very identifiable emotion that many of us grapple with today. Most of today’s population choose to work in fields which fetch the best remuneration. Very few work in a field they are passionate about because it simply does not tend to pay well. The choice Fielding made was to wait until he realized his passion and subsequently found employment in that field. Unfortunately, those around him did not respect his decision initially. Fortunately the only saving grace for Fieldling was the presence of Gonker in his life because he did not feel judged around him. It also explains why he went to such great lengths to look for Gonker despite falling seriously unwell about 10 days into the search. This clearly shows how the presence of such a companion is literal therapy for us.
Interpersonal Relations
John Marshall plays the inspiring role of being Fielding’s father in Dog Gone. The father – son relationship begins on a stereotypical note where Fielding feels like he is constantly judged by his father as far as his career and life choices are concerned. Being confused about what he wishes to do with his life after graduation, he seeks solace in Gonker who makes him feel loved and wanted at any given time. Life gives father and son a fair chance to repair their relationship when they are thrown together after Gonker’s disappearance to conduct the physical search. The journey of how their estranged relationship is repaired is worth marveling where John finally realizes that Fielding is not going to settle for becoming a corporate slave unlike himself in a run of the mill office bound job. Gonker’s disappearance presented father and son with several opportunities to meet people from varied walks of life which made John understand how Fielding wishes to live his life. Dog Gone is remarkable at highlighting how parents give their offspring time to understand and decide how they wish to lead their lives without much judgement, a rare sight in patriarchal Asian countries. After watching Dog Gone I am glad to note that millennial parents have assumed the responsibility of being a guide rather a disciplinarian.
Life without Dog’s / Conclusion The release of a movie like Dog Gone on Netflix could not have been better timed considering life took a sharp turn during the pandemic. As a person who started working right after graduation, I could not have imagined being a working person and being able to manage a pet dog effectively regardless of my love for dogs since childhood. The pandemic paved the way for many to work from home which allowed millions of pet lovers to become pet parents. For many, life became more stressful in the pandemic because there were no boundaries between working in the office and working from home. In such instances, pets became a stress buster instead of close colleagues. Pet care and Pet life videos and pictures are a rage over social media with several pet parents establishing Instagram pages about their pets’ lives. It is needless for me to remark how man’s life would change if their pet went missing. The emotions which I saw in Dog Gone are heart wrenching and are so relatable regardless of being a pet parent or otherwise. For once I felt, the media had a good role to play in the Marshall’s search for Gonker. On this emotional closing note, I grant this movie a 4/5 rating.
Thanks for the lovely write up.Dog is truly man’s best friend!!!!!
Thank you so much!
Very good review, how a dog brings the family together is so touching. Been a dog parent myself I can absolutely relate to the writers view.
Thank you so much!