Lee and Ted are a young, hip New York City couple living together in New York City whose lives consist of nothing but cool work assignments, long lunches, and evenings out with their equally hip and trendy friends. But, not yet feeling quite equipped for life or love, they’re vague about plans for “the future.” "Our relationship is like a French movie," Lee tells a friend. "There"s a lot of interesting character development, but no plot." One summer weekend, Lee and Ted stop at an animal shelter. They"ve always wanted a dog, and perhaps if they commit themselves to a loving pet, they reason, their lives will become more rooted. When they meet and fall in love with Rex, a beautiful, lively spaniel of mysterious origins abandoned on Doggie Death Row, they elatedly adopt him and bring him home, expecting to be flooded with doggie gratitude and exuberance. But Rex doesn’t romp and wiggle happily like the yellow Labs in Alpo commercials. He doesn’t greet Lee and Ted with exuberance or...