How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"None of them like it. The question is will she stop struggling and let me be the boss, or will she keep fighting? I got to have a dog that knows I'm the boss." (18.6)
Jakob isn't looking for a cuddle puppy: he wants a dog who is loyal and obedient. Ellie, as the dog is now known, can definitely be loyal—although we'd be lying if we said she didn't miss the snuggles a bit.
Quote #8
It was, I reflected, as close as Jakob could come to the unrestrained adoration I once felt from Ethan." (19.25)
When Jakob says "good dog" to Ellie, it means something different from what "good dog" meant when Ethan said it to Bailey (back when Ellie was Bailey). Jakob and Ellie have a working relationship, one based on professional bonds of loyalty instead of gooey notions of love.
Quote #9
I knew who he was: I would recognize that scent anywhere. Unmistakably Ethan. I'd found the boy. (29.32-29.34)
The bond between boy and dog—or at least this particular boy and this particular dog—literally transcends time. The dog is loyal to Ethan no matter what form he's in. We imagine if the dog were reincarnated as a tree, he would do his best to grow in Ethan's yard.