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A Dog's Purpose Chapter 9 Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Last chapter's life-or-death cliffhanger turns out to be totally lacking in the "death" part.
  • Ethan is fine. He can swim just fine. But he calls Bailey a "good boy" (9.5) for attempting to save him.
  • Grandpa, Ethan, and Bailey spend the rest of the summer playing in the lake.
  • But time passes, the family returns home, Ethan returns to school, and Bailey returns to prison. Well, it's the garage, but Bailey acts like it's prison.
  • With the humans gone, however, the prisoners run the show.
  • Bailey ends up opening the door to the house and chasing Smokey the cat all around the place.
  • When the family comes home, they call Bailey a—you guessed it—"bad dog" (9.43).
  • Bailey wishes they'd call Smokey a bad cat, but Smokey's not the one who opened the door.