After a somewhat stressful Saturday, I decided the Paw Pack needed some relaxing downtime. It’s been especially snowy here in the frozen north, so an adventure outside was out. Netflix had been recommending a movie called Dog Gone to me for a bit. I decided that a movie was the perfect way to spend a cold, dark Sunday afternoon. After waiting a few minutes for Kit and Fen to pick their perfect snuggle spots next to me on the couch, it was movie time!
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Dog Gone Movie Summary
Dog Gone is the story of the Marshall family and their dog Gonker. It’s based on a true story that was originally published as a book in 2017. In the movie, Gonker is a lab puppy adopted by college student Fielding Marshall to help soothe his heart after a breakup. Fast forward a year and Fielding, who, unlike his friends, doesn’t have any plans about what he wants to do after graduating, moves back in with his parents. Gonker in tow, of course, which his parents don’t seem overly happy about at first. Thankfully, the Marshall’s quickly bond with the adorable lab.
The family becomes concerned when, one morning, Gonker doesn’t seem to be his normal, rambunctious self. They rush him to the vet where they discover that Gonker is suffering from Addison’s Disease. Thankfully, although this is a lifelong condition, with a monthly injection Gonker will be able to continue enjoying life with the Marshall’s.
However, things go awry when Feilding takes Gonker hiking, unleashed, on the Appalachian Trail. Gonker takes off after a fox, and Feilding is unable to find him. He enlists the help of his parents, and before you know it an entire community is searching for Gonker. But time, unfortunately, is running out. If Gonker doesn’t receive his medication on time he’ll likely pass away from Addison’s Disease. And that’s if the wilderness of the Appalachian Trail doesn’t claim him first.
Will the Marshall’s find Gonker in time? And, perhaps, strengthen as people along the way?
Not Just a Movie About a Dog
Although, on it’s face, Dog Gone is a movie about the search for a missing dog, it’s about people too. Fielding and his parent’s, his father especially, don’t start off having the best of relationships. Fielding’s mom, scared from a traumatic experience with her childhood dog, takes Gonker’s disappearance especially hard. And Fielding himself is hiding a health issue that is making his search for Gonker all the more harrowing.
Will Fielding be ok? Will the time he spends searching for Gonker with his dad bring them closer together, or tear them apart? Will Fielding’s mom finally be able to come to terms with her childhood trauma, or will losing another dog in a horrible way make things even worse? And, most importantly (at least on a dog blog!),
Does the Dog Survive!?
I know this is going to be an epic spoiler. But I was happy that, in this movie at least, the dog does not die. Enough with the dogs dying in dog themed movies am I right?
My Thoughts on Dog Gone
Being a Netflix movie, I think a bit of cheesiness was expected from Dog Gone. Is it a perfect movie? No. But I did enjoy watching it, cheesiness and all. It’s rated PG. I don’t have kids myself so may not be the best judge, but in my opinion this movie is family friendly.
I cringed at some of the scenes that portrayed how Fielding cared for Gonker. He feeds Gonker donuts, and I don’t recall seeing anyone use a leash on Gonker a single time in the entire movie. Apparently, though, the real life Gonker really did eat donuts. And the whole leash thing is what leads to Gonker going missing, so I guess this movie wouldn’t exist if Fielding had been a more responsible dog owner.
It was especially interesting to me that Gonker had Addison’s Disease because Addison’s is, basically, the opposite of Cushing’s Disease. I’ve been (potentially) dealing with Cushing’s Disease in my own dog, Kitsune, recently. I’ve been doing SO much research on Cushing’s and Addison’s Disease. It was interesting seeing Addison’s Disease being portrayed in a dog on the big(ish) screen.
I Enjoyed Dog Gone
Some cringy dog care, and cheesy scenes aside, I enjoyed this movie! It was ultimately heart warming and more than “just” a movie about a dog gone missing. Seeing the ways that Gonker, in a round about way, healed the Marshall family was really sweet. I loved how even side characters in this movie really seemed to relate to how much the Marshall’s loved their dog. No one seemed to think it was crazy that the Marshalls were pulling out all the stops to find Gonker. Sometimes us animal lovers can feel a bit ostracized by people who don’t understand why we love our furry family members as much as we do. Dog Gone will make even the craziest of dog ladies (or men) feel a bit more accepted.
What do you think? If you’ve seen this movie, do you agree with my review? Comment below! We always love hearing from our readers! 🙂
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