Welcome back to Friends Club Friday!!!
Today let’s meet Mollie Chase!
Mollie is an 8 year old, adorable apricot colored, standard poodle who is becoming widely known for her lively spirit and loving nature!
Mollie’s mom, Cara, tells us all about her: “Poodles can be stubborn by nature, but Mollie takes the cake! Pretty much whatever Mollie wants Mollie gets, even if she has to stare you down, hit you with her paw 10 times or wait it out. She always wins. I’m making Mollie sound bad, she’s really not. She is our world! We stare at her and talk to her all day. We couldn’t possibly love her any more!
‘Mollie’s most amazing trait is how very smart she is. People are always surprised at how human she seems, and how much she understands when we talk to her. For instance, if we are having a conversation and one of us mentions going to see Dr. Brion (her vet), Mollie jumps up and dances around excited to go. We actually have to wait to say his name until we are ready to leave the house because she’ll keep bugging us to go once she hears his name.”
(I have to say friends, this is one way Mollie and I are just alike! I am one pug who knows a whole host of words. Mommy spells in front of me so I can’t understand, but sometimes I even understand her spelling!!! Ok. I’m done my bragging…Back to sweet Mollie…)
Mollie has a playful side that can sometime be a bit mischievous. One thing she loves to do is steal her Mom’s socks! “If I am on the phone, she will get up from a sound sleep, walk slowly into our bedroom and come out prancing around with a sock in her mouth. She’ll toss it around like it’s a toy and try to get us to catch her. Then, she’ll run into her kennel and put the sock in the back and stand on it like it’s hers.”
Molly also has a special appetite for human snacks or food that does not belong to her. “She loves peanut butter, ice cream, and pretty much anything that drops on the floor. And if we leave any food in a table or countertop and step away for a moment, it’s gone!”
Oh my, what a character Mollie is! AND NOW she is also the inspiration behind a new and wonderful book!!!
The Radical Practice of Loving Everyone: A four legged approach to enlightenment is full of fun anecdotes and tales about Mollie’s zest for life, but the book is really about the unwavering and unconditional love that Mollie has for all beings.
It makes for a very touching and heartfelt read. And guess what?!
We have a copy to give to one lucky winner!!! (More on that at the end of the post…)
Mollie’s human dad, Michael is the author of the book. Michael, is affectionately known as “The Kindness Guy.” He is already a best selling author and founder of The Kindness Center. He is passionately following his life’s work; to use acts of love and kindness to create a flutter of positivity that will ripple around the world. (Pretty cool huh? I always kind of felt that that was my life’s work too. That and of course sunning myself and let’s not forget modeling…)
Anyhow, I bet you would you like to visit Michael on Facebook, right? Do stop by and say hi! We smile every time we go to his page!
For his new book, Michael wanted to explore exactly how humans can move towards loving unconditionally. In his reasearch, he looked for human teachers to guide and show him the way. Then, with one wet kiss from Mollie, he suddenly woke up to see that he had a very powerful teacher right beside him! It hit him: Mollie lives and breaths love without conditions!
Here’s how Michael tells it: “She is 50 pounds of fluffy love. Even though she’s been my constant companion over the past eight years, I didn’t realize that she has been the who and the how I had been searching for all along. Looking back, I now see that her lessons have shown me that it is possible to live with a heart wide open—even in today’s modern and sometimes unkind world. Each day I witness this phenomenon as she greets family, friends, and especially complete strangers with warmth and enthusiasm. No fear. No judgment. And no worries about what others may think of her crazy hair and zest for life—only love and affection toward all.” Chase, M. (2013).
So sweet, right?! We have to say, we loved reading this book! Mollie’s loving nature holds so many lessons for our humans and her mischievous ways make the book laugh out loud fun! While we were reading about her antics we laughed till we snorted and a then few times we gasped in fear. My gosh, one time she ate a needle!!! So scary!
As the book goes on, we felt uplifted and really hopeful. Michael narrates and examins Mollie’s open-hearted and ‘in the moment’ approach to life in a writing style that is fun, informal, and insightful. Reading his words about Mollie is like hanging out with easy-going and true friends!
You know what’s was one of our favorite parts of the book??? Even when Mollie’s behavior is making Michael and Cara scurry, or cringe (or maybe even mumble a course or two), they continue to be so loving toward Mollie (firm, but very loving). So even though Michael says he is writing about the lessons Mollie has to teach, this story of love without conditions is clearly the story of a give and take between Mollie and her humans!
(We dogs really bring out something very special in people, don’t we?! It warms our heart so, so much!)
This is a very touching passage we want to share with you: ”Each day Mollie is reminding me that living with less allows the much-needed space for doing inner work and cultivating loving relationships. Even right now, as I look down where she is sitting to my left, the contentment in her eyes appears to be telling me, ‘Everything you need is right here, right now.’ To be authentically happy, know when enough is enough and live from that place. For me, in this very moment, just having Mollie by my side is more than enough.” Chase, M. (2013).
We just love this book and we think you will too!
YAY! YAY! The part we have all been waiting for:
Today we are giving away a copy of The Radical Practice of Loving Everyone!
Just follow the giveaway rules below.
You can get your additional copies here! Amazon has a great price!
We just know you will love reading it!
Here’s a huge THANK YOU to Michael and Hay House Publishing for this special giveaway!!! Best of luck to all of you readers! Can’t wait to see who takes home The Radical Practice of Loving Everyone!
xoxo always ~ Gretta Rose de Pug and the whole Pugs and Kisses family
GIVEAWAY RULES
1) Answer the following questions in the comment section below:
What does your dog or animal friend teach you about life? (Your comment will be moderated before it goes live, so if you don’t see it, check back a bit later!)
2) The winner will be drawn randomly from the comments section of this post on Sunday May 19, 2013 (at 11am EST). Please make sure to comment below to be in the running for the a free copy of the book!
3) The winner will be contacted through the email address provided with their comment. Please make sure you can be reached at the email address you provide.
4) The winner will be announced on the blog on Sunday May 19, 2013 (around 12pm noon EST)!
Best of luck to everybody!!!
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