Dog Gone: Learn the Heart-Touching Story Behind the Movie

Today we want to tell you about a popular Netflix release: Dog Gone. It’s the story of a family that’s desperately searching for their pet. Practically, it’s a fight against the clock given the condition that Gonker, the protagonist of the story, suffers from.

Keep reading to learn all the details about this audiovisual production that begins when Fielding Marshall, a college student who, after going through a romantic breakup, decides to adopt a dog to give him all his love. Don’t miss a thing!

Discover the story of Dog Gone

Gonker is a golden Labrador who becomes the inseparable friend of Fielding Marshall, a college student. In the audiovisual production, it’s clear that for Fielding’s family, this wasn’t a good decision and they didn’t take the adoption of the animal very well. However, over time, they fell in love with his personality.

This dog stood out because he has a special condition for which he needs to take medication on a very precise schedule that can’t be delayed. Other than that, everything was completely normal until one morning, everything changed. During a walk, the dog got lost, so father and son set out to find him.

A film that goes beyond fiction

Dog Gone is a story based on true events. Fielding Marshall actually existed, and yes, he suffered a great loss: When his daughter was only 10 years old, in 1991, she died during heart surgery. It was then that he decided to adopt a Golden Retriever, whom he named Gonker.

The dog suffered from Addison’s disease, so he needed a monthly injection to prevent it from worsening and falling into a coma. One October day in 1998, in the middle of a hike in Appalachia, very close to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the dog entered the woods, and Fielding lost track of him.

The Marshalls began a tireless search. Fielding was accompanied by John, his father, on the trek. As shown in the Netflix adaptation, many people accompanied the family–so much so that a man traveled from Vienna to Virginia to join in the task.

Two weeks after his disappearance, Gonker was found looking for food in some garbage cans. The sighting was reported and he was taken to the police station while his owner arrived.

Gonker was quite a warrior

The animal had walked more than 110 miles, and his paws had been injured during the hike. The Marshalls were reunited with their pet a few hours after the notification, and the embrace between Gonker and his human was almost endless.

Their life together continued for a few more years, until 2003 when the dog passed away. Fielding now lives in Chile with his wife, two children, and a puppy. The story was first captured in the book Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home, written by Pauls Toutonghi.