In the fifth grade, my favorite book was A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron.

My teacher read it to the class as a read-aloud, and, lucky for me, a movie based on the book was released later in the school year.

I had never watched a movie based around a dog before then—except for Scooby Doo, but I don’t count that. People would gasp in horror over the fact that I had never seen a single Marley and Me movie, so I felt as if I was stepping out of the box I had built around myself and watched a movie about dogs.

I saw the movie with my dad, and we were both in tears. It quickly became my favorite movie. I told myself that no other dog movie would top that one, and I hadn’t watched another one since then.

Flashing forward to the present: I watched another movie about dogs. Dog Gone is a Netflix original film, and the preview made it hard to pass on. On top of that, this movie is based on a true story, and those ones always pull on my heart strings. 

Dog Gone is about Fielding Marshall (Johnny Berchtold) who is fresh out of college with no job, with his dog, Gonker, as his closest friend. He is living with his parents, and he and his dad (Rob Lowe) don’t get along the best, especially since Fielding is unemployed. One day, while Fielding was hiking with his dog and his best friend Nate (Nick Peine), Gonker chased after a fox and didn’t come back. For the rest of the film, Fielding and his father traverse through the Appalachian Mountains searching for Gonker, while his mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) makes calls and aids the search from home. 

This film is very endearing, as it shows how much a dog can truly impact someone’s life. People all over the country began to help Fielding and his family find Gonker, and I loved watching it all unfold on the screen. The dedication that both of his parents put into the search was also amazing, especially since they were completely against their son getting a dog at the beginning of the movie. 

The portrayal of this true story as a movie was remarkable. While there were some moments where I was cringing at the cheesy acting, I was still hooked the entire time. Furthermore, the cinematography was exceptional, as it got many different angles of scenes and it was of fantastic quality. 

Along with telling the story of a family trying to find their dog, the movie also does well showing the development of Fielding and his father’s relationship. There is a clear difference between how they acted together at the beginning compared to the end, which adds to the quality of the movie as a whole.

Unlike A Dog’s Purpose, I did not cry during Dog Gone, which is surprising, considering how easy it is for me to cry during a movie. Now, don’t get me wrong, I did get a little choked up toward the end, but no tears were shed.

Dog Gone was a wholesome movie to watch with the family. It shows how a dog can bring families and communities together, and this movie is a perfect example of such.