Must Love Dogs
Ever since Argos waited two decades for the return of his master and friend Odysseus, dogs have held the corner in culture as the quintessential loyal, dependent, and loving companion to man. In heart-wrenching fashion, Argos gets excited when is owner returns and has just enough energy to wag his tail before he drops dead with excitement. Odysseus cannot reach out to his dog, for fear of giving away his identity. But he does shed one of the saddest tears in all of literature. Dogs are the impetus for the highest of highs, as well as the lowest of lows. Film, art, and literature have long exploited the tender little paw prints they leave on our hearts.
Dogs are empathetic. They have a healing power that has been around for thousands of years. Psychologist Debbie Custance frames this perfectly: “When humans show us affection, it’s quite a complicated thing that involves expectations and judgments. But with a dog, it’s a very uncomplicated, nonchallenging [sic] interaction with no consequences. And if you’ve been through a hard time, it’s lovely to have that.” That is exactly what these troubled souls in the movies in this article need: uncomplicated, non-challenging love and affection. And their dogs offer that.
In David Michôd ‘s 2014 film The Rover, Guy Pearce’s Eric traverses a dystopic Australian desert in order to take back the titular rover, stolen by a group of punks. In this futuristic wasteland, Eric cares about little other than the rover, stopping at nothing to get it back. He has nothing else to care about. One of the punks who stole it is related to Robert Pattinson’s Rey, who teams up with Eric to track down the car. After their hellish journey, the film climaxes in a shootout of which Eric is the only survivor. In the final moments of the film, Eric is driving away in his rover, and pulls to the side of the road. The audience then discovers Eric’s real reason for his obsession with getting this car back: in the trunk is the corpse of his dog. The film closes with Eric preparing to bury his deceased canine.
In John Wick, we learn of Wick’s wife Helen. In her passing, she instructs Wick to take care of a beagle named Daisy in order to help him cope with her death. Naturally, they bond and form a strong relationship, one which ends when ticked-off Russian mobsters follow him to his house, steal his car, and kill Daisy. With his tie to his dead wife exterminated, Wick has no choice but to revert to his old ways. He may have been okay with his car getting stolen. But killing the dog his wife gave him? That cannot go unpunished. Notably, in the end of the movie, Wick finds a pitbull scheduled to be put down, only to be seen walking with it where he and his wife had their first date.
What do we learn from these examples? We already know that dog is man’s best friend. I mean, there is no way Guy Pearce goes through hell for a cat. Same with Reeves. It had to be a dog. These dogs are their anchors. In the case of The Rover, the audience is not privy to their history. How the dog died, if it was a family dog, we just don’t know! But we do know because of what he does. This dog symbolizes everything that was good about life before the pseudo-apocalypse occurred (the audience isn’t privy to that either). It is not difficult to imagine Eric’s family being taken from him or dying, leaving him and the dog to carry on the legacy.
In John Wick, it is clear: the dog is a gift entrusted to John by his dying wife. And the dog’s name is Daisy! You don’t kill dogs named Daisy! The dog is the last vestige of the happy days with his wife. He was changed as a married man. Daisy kept him in the safety of his new life. That is what dogs do. They make life more simple, helping us focus on the important things. They keep us tethered to the good times, past and present.
And just in case you are worried you might watch a movie with scenes of a dog getting injured or dying, the website “Does the Dog Die” helps you figure that out before you sit down and allow your dog feelings be exploited. In the opening scene of one of my favorite films, 25th Hour, Edward Norton’s character comes across an injured dog. Initially wanting to shoot the dog and put it out of its misery, he looks it in the eyes and decides to take it in. Years later, they still have a fruitful relationship. Why include this in the film? It’s a seemingly minor detail. It is because dogs allow us exhibit compassion and kindness, which is hard when you are a reformed hit man, surviving an Australian dystopia, or going away to jail. Dogs help us feel more human to ourselves and to one another.
