Mo’s Nose

Smell My Book!

From Margaret:

On October 28, I was so excited to be in my hometown of Memphis, TN for a launch of “Mo Smells Red.” We begin our celebration of this scentsational book at Circles of Success Learning Academy, a local charter school. I read to a Kindergarden class, then gave each child a book and signed it for them. After I read and each child had their book , they kept chanting with giant grins, and noses pressed to the page, “Smell my book!!..Smell it!!”
It was so rewarding seeing children enjoy Mo’s scentsational journey so much!! Next, I headed to Davis-Kidd Book Sellers and read and signed for a warm, enthusiastic hometown crowd; from girls I went to high school with to girls I used to baby-sit. Mo was a huge it and we ran out of books, but there was no shortage of Mo’reffic fun!

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Mo Smells a Rainbow!

From Amanda:

Mo and I after an amazing trip to Limantour Beach. It was cold and misting out, and we had a huge stretch of sand and sea to ourselves. On the way home Mo lifted his nose in the air…was is a seal? a seagull? a scent of coyote he smelled? When I followed his nose up the sky…lo an behold not one but two rainbows arched over us! Lucky for us, Mo’s friend Rob was their to capture the magic moment on film. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, Mo and I are especially grateful this year for living in such a beautiful place and for the joy of running free at the beach.

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Mo Visits Sumba, Indonesia

From Margaret:
In August, I had an opportunity to travel to Sumba, Indonesia to relax, surf, take photos, and be of service. I loaded my bag with school supplies, “Mo Smells Red”, and Mo pencils and strawberry erasers for the children in the village schools of Sumba. Sumba has the last animistic culture in the world where the people live in traditional villages like they have for thousands of years. I was drawn to this island for it’s incredible beauty, surf, and culture and because of the amazing service work going on there by the SUMBA Foundation whose motto is “Preserving their history, building their future.”
I visited many villages with “Mo Smells Red” and other school supplies in hand. With the help of a translator I read Mo to all the kids in a small village. They wanted to hear the story over and over…and especially loved to smell red strawberries, because they do not grow strawberries on Sumba and the children had never seen them, much less smelled them. I gave “Mo Smells Red” to the children of the village along with stickers and other schools supplies. I walked away deeply moved by the kindness of the villagers and with a desire to return and aide these new “Friends of Mo” in any way possible.

Sumba Kids Read MoMargaret Brings Mo to Sumba

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Mo Loves Yoga

From Amanda:

Mo has been a regular at yoga class since we started our studio. His favorite thing is to curl up next to the heaters. But everyone so often he likes to show off his impressive downward dog, give sneak attack kisses when students are in headstands, or curl up behind student’s legs during shavasana (final resting pose). Having Mo in class brings a happy light-heartedness to the room. When he’s not there, someone always asks, Where’s Mo? Yoga has also benefited Mo. When we first adopted Mo, like many rescue dogs, he had some fear around new people, especially men. In yoga class, men who might have seemed scary at first, would come in, sit down and take slow deep breaths. This was the best behavior modification training we could have asked for. By the end of class, these men were often the ones Mo choose to curl up with and cuddle.

Mo and Amanda

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What’s My Name?

Hello. My name is Mo. Actually my full name is Mahatma. My parents are yoga teachers from Northern California, which might explain why I have an Indian name. One of my parent’s heroes is a man named Mahatma Ghandhi, he was one of the great spiritual leaders of India. The word Mahatma means “Great Soul” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Mahatma Ghandhi taught non-violence, or practicing kindness to all living beings, including animals. I like that idea.

Even though I have this fancy foreign name, most of the time people call me The Mo, or Mo Mo, or just Mo. On occasion they call me some other names, like booboo head, peepee wizard, spotty alligator, whosagoodboy, or whosmybaby. I know the way my parents speak to me they love me, and I love them back. We live in a small town, near the coast. It is very green here, with lots of rolling hills and cows. Every day I get to run around in a big field and play in a creek. I have a lot of people friends and dog friends too. I get to walk off leash downtown, sleep on the couch, and eat doggie treats from the bins at my Grandpa’s feed store. Life is very good. It wasn’t always this good though. Like many other rescue dogs I know, the first part of my life was pretty rough and pretty scary. I am so grateful that now I am safe and in a loving home.

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