Summary
Fielding is a college kid with a bad social background who decides to adopt a puppy after being bitten. A woman refuses. He found a yellow lab puppy in the local pound and adopted it. He named the dogs Gonker and they were inseparable for his college career. The dog always runs with him to the classroom on campus without a leash. By the end of college, all of Fielding's friends had jobs, but Fielding did not know what he wanted to do with his life, which worried his father, John. Fielding moves in with his parents with Gonker. A few weeks later, Gonker was diagnosed with Addison's disease and needed a life-saving injection every month for the rest of his life. His best friend from college came to visit him a few weeks later and they went out with Gonker who chased the fox. When he did not return, they started looking for him but could not find him. Panicked, they hurried home and told Fielding's parents that Gonker might be missing. Remembering Fielding's mother, Ginny had a dog named Oji when she was young that was run away when she was at school. Her parents were shown cold and numb and encouraged her not to make big things about it. She buried the pain and wounds, but it was caused by the loss of the Gonker and the bubbles rising to the surface. She set up a control room in their home by calling local newspapers, animal sanctuaries, hospitals and starting sending leaflets across the state. Local newspapers and then national newspapers took Gonker's story and now many are looking for Gonker. They had to find him before he needed his next shot in three weeks. During the extensive search, Fielding's health worsened. He did not eat much, could not sleep, and became weaker during the day. They received a call about a dog with Addison disease from the shelter and rushed there to find out it was not Gonker. They kept looking, but not much luck. Seeing Fielding's health deteriorating, his father decided to drive home and call for help. Suddenly they received a call from another sight, and this time it was Gonker. He was taken home immediately. But Fielding had to rush to the hospital where he was diagnosed with colitis and had a successful emergency operation. The film ends with optimism, with both Gonker and Fielding lying together in his hospital bed and recover.