Marley and Me Chapter 1-5 (2)
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 THREE
The Obedience Class
When Marley was six months old, Dr. Jay, 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."
"OK," said Jenny. "I'll do it."
The other dogs 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 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. Jay 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. Jay. "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. Jay. "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. Jay. 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 leash to Dr. Jay.
"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 FOUR
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.
"OK, 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. "OK, 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.
