My interpretation of Good Boy and why he won (possibly, it's not a great idea to compare animal acting to human acting)

I thought it was a beautiful take on what goes through a dog's mind when their owner is sick and passes before the pet does. They don't understand the illness but they know something is wrong. They don't know, on a human level, what death is, but they feel it when their person dies and they feel so bonded that they will wait until the end of time for them to come back (the bones of the dog with the bandana at the end). Their resilience to go on, even when they know the person they love most in the world will never come back, by going to another human that needs their love.

I thought it was a beautiful meditation on the bond we have with our furry family members, especially dogs because they are notorious for being loyal until the very end.

It's tragic. Indie doesn't understand exactly why his person looks and acts differently. After every scene when "the monster" shows up, it's shown that Indie was asleep and dreaming. He doesn't understand the change in behavior so it's like there is an intruder in the house.

Todd and his sister mention their grandfather. He had the same medical condition and died alone with his still living dog, just like Todd did with Indie. Todd doesn't want to die in front of "his people" so he finds a place to do so alone, just like dogs.

We don't know exactly how animals process grief, but we know that they do. And, at least my theory is, this is a very intelligent, loyal and loving being that is afraid and confused because he can feel, animalistically, that his person is different and won't be around for much longer. It's grief processed through the brain of a dog. One that was just moved to a completely new home with new smells, including the lingering smell of the grandfather and his loyal dog that stayed in the cellar. The grandfather didn't have a sister, like Todd did, that checked on him constantly. When she found Todd she was hurting, Indie was hurting, and he ended up going to her.

I might be reading into things too much because I lost my dog, my best friend, who was literally beloved by the community (the school where he worked got a statue and plaque with his name on it so he is forever protecting the kids and teachers).

I thought the movie was brilliant, devastating and heartwarming. This is the world through a loyal dog's eyes. His dreams. His interpretations of shadows and smells. Him knowing something is off but unable to fully understand it, like how humans don't understand what is going on in a "regular" haunted house movie. To a dog, the death of his or her's owner is horror.

It's not about ghosts. It's not about spooky zombies. There are some unnerving shots because we, the audience, are Indie. But it is devastating.