Is ‘Dog Gone’ Movie Based on a True Story? – The family film “Dog Gone,” which provides about as much nutrition as a rubber bone, is based on the 1990s exploits of a yellow Lab named Gonker. The puppy is adopted by Fielding Marshall (Johnny Berchtold), a bohemian college senior whose irresponsibility is hinted at by his tie-dye clothing and the claim that he smells like patchouli. The pup spends his youth slurping from beer bongs before being carelessly released onto the Appalachian Trail and disappearing.
The story’s dramatic conceit is that it’s about two lost souls: the dog, who veteran director Stephen Herek (“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure”) films tiptoeing through the woods under rumbling storm clouds, and the slacker, who reluctantly learns to respect his stiff father (Rob Lowe) as they walk the trail handing out missing-dog flyers. If you gave the dog a wig with ringlets of blonde hair, he could make a decent parody of Lillian Gish.
“Everyone needs one person who accepts them for who they are. For me, Gonker represented that “The protagonist in John Berchtold’s (A Hard Problem) movie states. We’re not crying, that’s for sure. Keep to yourself. So Everybody wants to know whether the “Dog Gone” movie is based on a true story.
Must Read: Netflix’s “Dog Gone” Release Date, Time, Cast and Spoiler
Is ‘Dog Gone’ Movie a True Story?
The 2016 book Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s Extraordinary Journey and the Family Who Brought Him Home by author Pauls Toutonghi served as the inspiration for the movie.
In 1998, Fielding Marshall and his 6-year-old golden retriever mix, Gonker, trek the Appalachian Trail together. Fielding Marshall is the subject of the biographical book. Gonker’s unexpected disappearance is considered particularly serious because he has Addison’s disease, which “occurs when the adrenal glands fail to generate the hormones that they are in charge of in the body.” Without medication, he has a 23-day survival limit.
The race is now on for the Marshall family in light of this. The official synopsis for the book states, “As their quest continues, covered by news outlets and attracting the community at large, ancient scars reemerge, threatening to undo the Marshalls—but also presenting the possibility for long-overdue healing.”
Paul Toutonghi is close with the Marshall family, even though this is not his own tale. He actually married into the Marshall family, according to Lewis & Clark College, where Pauls is an assistant professor of English. Fielding’s wife, Peyton, is the daughter of Virginia and John Marshall, also known as Fielding’s parents. Fielding Marshall Pauls is now his in-law.
He told the college, “This was the legendary family narrative of the Marshalls. “When they told me the story, I was completely enthralled. Ginny and John are both excellent storytellers in person. Together, they two are kind of a force of nature.
Though Pauls had intended to write up the tale and deliver it to the Marshalls as a Christmas gift, he soon realized a greater chance was waiting for him. Pauls understood that Gonker was more than just a dog to the family when Ginny told him about her own childhood recollections of parental violence and the blessing of having a calm dog named Oji in a chaotic home. Gonker stood for harmony and love.
Pauls decided to write a book on the incident after realizing that Gonker’s disappearance had an extremely significant effect. The book’s discovery startled writer and producer Nick Santora to the point where he approached Paul for approval to present it to Netflix. What follows is history.
“I’m not sure how that happened, but Rob Lowe was eager to do it and really enjoyed the concept. Paul expressed his disbelief at Rob Lowe’s participation in the movie. That was really bizarre because Lowe portrayed Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, one of my all-time favorite series.
On Friday, January 13, 2023, Dog Gone makes its Netflix debut.