“As always, Marley was faithfully by my side,  and as I scratched his ears, it occurred to me that he was at about the same turning point in life.  We had brought him home six years earlier.  In dog years, that would put him somewhere  in his early forties now.  He had crossed unnoticed into middle age but still acted every bit the puppy.  Except for a string of stubborn ear infections that required Dr. Jay’s repeated intervention, he was healthy.  He showed no signs whatsoever of growing up or winding down.  I had never thought of Marley as any kind of role model but sitting there sipping my beer, I was aware that maybe he held the secret for a good life.  Never slow down, never look back, live each day with adolescent verve and spunk and curiosity and playfulness.  If you think you’re still a young pup, then maybe you are, no matter what the calendar says.  Not a bad philosophy for life, though I’d take a pass on the part that involved vandalizing couches and laundry rooms.”

–John Grogan,  Marley & Me