But as life has a tendency to do, the book swings from comic to tragic territory. After a few happy years, Ethan experiences a brain aneurism and begins to die. Buddy knows that his purpose this time isnt to fetch Hannah. Shes away, and that would be impossible. Instead, his job is remain Ethans stalwart companion until the end.
But a dogs work is never done. Bailey vows to support the family through the grieving period; Ethan would have wanted it that way. The book ends, so were left assuming that this is the dogs last life in a series of epic adventures, but who knows? Maybe he was reincarnated as your dog.
Ethan hallucinates that Buddy is his childhood dog, Bailey, which is pretty much true. Buddy thinks, “I wanted to let him know that, yes, I was Bailey. I was his one and only dog” (32.34). So he fetches their favorite childhood toy one last time to convince Ethan he is the same dog. In his final moments, Ethan says, “I will miss you, doodle dog” (32.43), which was Baileys nickname. In that moment, Bailey knows, “I had fulfilled my purpose” (32.48).
At the end of A Dogs Purpose, the dogs purpose is revealed to be the role of wingman for his human companion, Ethan. The book veers into Must Love Dogs romantic comedy territory as the dog follows home another dog who smells like Ethans childhood sweetheart, Hannah. Once at Hannahs house, Buddy the dog finds his way in. She reads his collar, learns he belongs to her high school love, and the two reunite to live happily ever after.
6. Tino, the corgi, eats lots of junk food and is told by a vet that he needs more exercise, which made me worry that he might develop canine diabetes or heart disease.
7. Buddy, the St. Bernard–Australian shepherd mix, is adopted by a woman and man who chain him to a tree in the yard and neglect him for years.
A Dog’s Purpose is not a good movie. Its characters, both human and canine, are two-dimensional. Its narrative structure, which jumps from one unrelated dog owner to the next, is lumpy. Its premise, that dogs are reincarnated and retain memories and habits from their past lives, is highly dubious. If you are an even mildly discriminating filmgoer, you will roll your eyes throughout A Dog’s Purpose.
4. The fourth dog, a corgi named Tino, dies of old age and heartbreak after his longtime canine companion, Roxie, is put to sleep.
8. Eventually, the man drives Buddy to a rail yard and abandons him there with nothing to eat.
Warning – Spoilers Ahead for A Dog’s Journey
I’ll start by saying I refuse to rewatch A Dog’s Purpose to list the very frequent and often gruesome deaths Bailey experiences there. Honestly, why anyone thought that was supposed to be uplifting and inspiring enough to make two more similarly-themed films mystifies me. But, as I wrote about them elsewhere (follow the links above), I won’t go into that.
Bear with me as I recount Bailey and his kinder, gentler deaths in A Dog’s Journey — the finale and cherry on the cake of this manipulatively sentimental/cathartic dog celluloid extravaganza.