Dog Gone is a real-life story of Feilding Marshall and his family who left no stone unturned to find their dog who got lost in the woods. The challenge here was to find Gonker within a limited number of days as his recent diagnosis of Addison’s disease only meant he would die if he missed his next shot to keep the condition under control.
The only difference between the real and reel story of Fielding Marshall was that he had gotten himself a dog to heal from trauma – his baby died after which his girlfriend left without a goodbye. Looks like Netflix didn’t want any tragedy to be near a story that might already scare people away as they would suspect it had tears involved. So from the beginning to the very end, the storytelling of Dog Gone has been kept light. No heavy emotions involved. Though as the story progresses, you get to know what Fielding Marshall has been going through emotionally after he lost Gonker. He had stopped eating, sleeping and had been an emotional mess. While the boy kept looking for his dog with blisters on his feet, bleeding feet, collapsing body, and vomiting blood time and again; the story still doesn’t weigh heavy on you.
Even though Dog Gone is about finding a lost dog, I enjoyed watching the changing dynamics between Fielding Marshall and his father, John Marshall. Nothing can bring you together the way trauma or a shared cause brings. It’s good to watch how finding Gonker gave father and son a reason to spend time together leading to healthy communication. The duo better understood each other’s perspectives and got a chance to mend their unnecessarily strained relationship.
I also loved how the story spoke about other dog owners who have lost their dogs some time in their life. And how grief related to a pet lasts a lifetime. We only underline, understand, and give importance to losing another human being but what about losing a pet? I never had a pet but I have heard that the loss of a pet is much more gruesome and painful. So bringing pet owners from different walks of life and discussing their pain in a subtle way was something I really liked and appreciated.
But it was about Gonker and Fielding, so it stayed that way. No complaints there because it wasn’t a group story and whatever came out from it was, anyway, worth watching.
Now, the question here is:
Did Fielding and John Marshall find Gonker? Since Netflix has already announced it – Yes, they found Gonker. He was not just alive but also healthy.
If you are a dog lover or want to watch a pet story, Dog Gone is for you. It’s a one time watch but you won’t regret watching it.