What's Your Purpose?

      What’s your purpose?

A Dog’s Purpose

By: W. Bruce Cameron

Mariana Fry

Picture this, you're a newly born pup who has to make a decision. Either you stay in the kennel with the nice owners, or you walk out with your mother, who's taught you everything, and never return. What do you chose? This will determine your journey for the rest of your life, or lives to come. This will determine your purpose. So just like Bailey asked, what is your purpose?

In my opinion, A Dog’s Purpose is a must read. No this book isn't just for dog lovers, although it is highly recommended for those who are, but this book also takes you through a dog’s life narrated by the dog, making it still interesting for others. It’s a touching story that will melt your heart and change your point of view when looking at a dog the next time you see one.

The book starts off with the narrator, Toby as a puppy who is homeless with his three other siblings, and his mother of course. His first thoughts consisted of him thinking of food, and his annoying siblings. “One day it occurred to me that the warm, squeaky, smelly things squirming around next to me were my brothers and sister…”(1).  For a short amount of time, you can live through Toby’s struggles with him through laughs and tears. You’ll come to find he is more of an independent pup, for he does spend most of his time alone. One day, a little later in his life, he comes across the biggest challenge he’ll ever face, and because he does not overcome it, Toby wakes up as a new dog. “I remembered becoming sleepy, and then there was a sense that much time had passed, the way a nap in the afternoon sun will span the day and suddenly it will be time for the evening feed. This nap, though, brought me not just to a new time but to a new place”(55).  In this new life, Toby’s name becomes Bailey. Bailey is smarter than Toby ever was, because he uses everything he had learned in his past life. He is happier now because he lives in a safe home with three loving owners, Ethan being one of them. The two become inseparable, giving Bailey a purpose. Bailey’s purpose was to always be there for Ethan, but why was this his purpose? How did he get here?  Bailey and Ethan grow up together, but Bailey unfortunately leaves Ethan's life a little while after he goes to school. Bailey then becomes Ellie. W. Bruce Cameron comically transitions to the next dog by writing “...I stopped and squatted and all at once realized I was a female!”(182) Using everything Ellie has learned in her past lives, her purpose changes to be a service dog. Ellie’s life lasts about 75 pages, but you’ll have to read the book to live through her life. Next we move on to Buddy, the last, and second-most important dog in the book. Buddy isn’t treated the best by his initial owners, and he is eventually left on the streets. So, using everything he’s learned from past lives he finds his way back to a familiar face. This is the ending of the dog’s life, so everything ties together here. You MUST read this to find out who Buddy’s “familiar face” is.

I think one of the reasons why I loved this book so much was because I love dogs to the moon and back, and because of this, reading about four different dogs in one book was pretty cool. W. Bruce Cameron does a wonderful job including humor, and tragedy. Multiple times throughout these pages. I found myself crying and laughing, and sometimes both at the same time. Because of this, I feel that this book is a must read for all ages. If all this dog stuff is boring, it also includes romance, and major conflicts. These conflicts include houses burning down, permanent injuries, lost children, and dying. In case you couldn’t figure this out, I’d definitely rate this book 11/10 stars to everyone who knows how to read.