W. Bruce Cameron > Quotes

“Because failure isn't an option if success is just a matter of more effort.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“You can usually tell that a man is good if he has a dog who loves him.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“Dogs have important jobs, like barking when the doorbell rings, but cats have no function in a house whatsoever.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“My purpose, my whole life, had been to love him and be with him, to make him happy. I didn’t want to cause any unhappiness now—in that way, I decided it was probably better than he wasn’t here to see this, though I missed him so much at that moment the ache of it was as bad as the strange pains in my belly.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“The job of a good dog was ultimately to be with them, remaining by their sides no matter what course their lives might take. All I could do now was offer him comfort, the assurance that as he left this life he was not alone but rather was tended by the dog who loved him more than anything in the whole world.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“Humans were capable of so many amazing things, but too often they just sat making words, not doing anything.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I remembered the boy crying the day they buried Smokey in the yard, and I hoped he wouldn’t cry over my death. My purpose, my whole life, had been to love him and be with him, to make him happy.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I realized that today I truly understood my purpose as Ellie: not just to Find people but to save them.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I guess I had never bothered to consider that there might such a thing as a boy, but now that I had found one, I thought it was just about the most wonderful concept in the world. He smelled of mud and sugar and an animal I'd never scented before, and a faint meaty odor clung to his fingers, so I licked them.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“As for me: I loyally remained right where I was, remembering the very first I had ever seen the boy and then just now, the very last time-and all the times in between. The deep aching grief I knew I would feel would come soon enough, but at that moment mostly what I felt was peace, secure in the knowledge that by living my life the way I had, everything had come down to this moment.
I had fulfilled my purpose.”
― W. Bruce Cameron

“Dog’ is ‘God’ spelled backward; you know that. That’s why you’re here, to help the nuns do God’s work.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“As I sat in the sun on the wooden dock that jutted out into the pond, I knew this to be true: my name was Buddy, and I was a good dog.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“All I could do now was offer him comfort, the assurance that as he left this life he was not alone but rather was tended by the dog who loved him more than anything in the whole world.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I was a good dog. I had fulfilled my purpose. Lessons I had learned from being feral had taught me how to escape and how to hide from people when it was necessary, scavenging for food from trash containers. Being with Ethan had taught me love and had taught me my most important purpose, which was taking care of my boy. Jakob and Maya had taught me Find, Show, and, most important of all, how to save people, and it was all of these things, everything I had learned as a dog, that had led me to find Ethan and Hannah and to bring them both together.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“For the next several minutes nothing much happened, biscuit wise.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“Some people just don’t appreciate having a dog around. It’s sad to think there are people like that. I knew Gloria was that way—maybe that’s why she could never be truly happy.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“A bouquet of wonderful scents met my nose, and my heart leaped when I realized who I was smelling.
'Molly!' I heard someone call.
I whipped my head around everywhere and there they were, the people I'd been smelling. Everyone I'd ever loved in my life, standing at the edge of the water, smiling and clapping. I saw Ethan and Hannah and Trent and CJ standing in front, along with Andi and Maya and Jakob and all the others.
'Bailey!' Ethan yelled waving.
My names was Toby, and Buddy, and Molly and Max and Bailey and Ellie. I was a good dog, and this was my reward. Now I would get to be with the people I loved.
I turned, whimpering with you, and swam toward those golden shores.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“Human motivation is unfathomable to dogs, so I wasn’t sure why the two of us were separated, but I knew that when the time came, Ethan would Find me.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“This was, I decided, my purpose as a dog, to comfort the boy whenever he needed me.”
― W Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“We would drive to Canada, where it would probably be legal for us to get married- it was Canada where they let people do whatever they wanted because it was too cold to bother stopping them.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, Emory's Gift

“I nuzzled them both to remind them that there was really no need to grieve, since I was okay and really a much better pet than Smokey ever was.”
― W Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“I wondered briefly if cats also came back after death, then dismissed the thought because as far as I had ever been able to tell, cats do not have a purpose.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“That's the lesson of the dogs, that it's important to both live in the moment and then go on to the next wonderful thing.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, The Dogs of Christmas

“This was, I decided, my purpose as a dog, to comfort the boy whenever he needed me. Sometimes”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“When she sat on the couch I jumped up to be with her and I put my head in her lap. I could feel some of the tension and sadness leave her. I was giving Mom comfort. This was more important than going for walks, more important than helping feed the cats—it was the most important job I had. I knew I should sit with Mom for as long as she needed me.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Way Home

“It cannot be a dog's purpose to understand what people want because it is impossible.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Journey

“Humans are so much more complex than dogs, with such a broad range of feelings—though there were many times I missed the Yard, for the most part I was now living a far richer life, even though I often didn’t know what was going on.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I knew, though, that life was never that easy, that instead of doors being opened for you, to get anywhere, you had to jump over fences.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Way Home

“I will miss you, doodle dog," Ethan said to me.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose

“I had fulfilled my purpose.”
― W. Bruce Cameron, A Dog's Purpose