Review: The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Power of Meow & A Contest

If you're a regular reader of this blog you know that I do very few book reviews and that I'm a huge fan of David Michie's The Dalai Lama's Cat books. Newly released is the third book in the series, The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Power of Meow. 

We return to the Dalai Lama's Monastery in the Himalayas, and pick up with the same cast of characters, led by the narrator, The Dalai Lama's Cat, otherwise known as HHC (His Holiness' Cat), although she is sometimes called by other names including Rinpoche. The Dalai Lama calls her his Little Snow Lion. We return to all of the familiar places, including the Himalaya Book Cafe where she is a regular and has her own special place. This time around a new public health inspector wants to have HHC banned from the Cafe. The nerve!  

It's truly hard to stop turning pages in each of the books and this is no exception. We are once again drawn into the world surrounding The Dalai Lama as seen through the eyes and experiences of his exquisite cat. A Himalayan, of course.

Author David Michie and Princess Wussik, his muse for the book

While we learn more about each of the characters we've come to know so well, this book offers something more. Through HHC we learn how to meditate. Meditation has been medically proven to lower blood pressure, reduce stress. You don't have to be a Buddhist to practice mindful meditation.  As someone who can't seem to turn her mind off and thought she'd never be able to meditate, it was comforting to discover the ways in which to clear one's mind. Yes, you might say that a little cat taught me. Suddenly, the books I'd read on the topic seemed irrelevant. This book made it seem so much easier and more logical. A nice bonus for the reader.

Michie is definitely a pet lover whose was raised with a Siamese cat, purchased by his parents as a present for his older brother when David was born to avoid sibling rivalry. He has had animals of all kinds. That affinity for animals shines through in his writing.

I highly recommend The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Power of Meow. It could be read alone but you will truly enjoy the full experience if you read The Dalai Lama's Cat, and The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Art of Purring first. 

I'm happy to say that The Dalai Lama's Cat has been optioned for a movie. Will there be a fourth book? Only time will tell. Personally, I'll be meditating about it.

Author David Michie

The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Power of Meow by David Michie is published by Hay House for $15.99 wherever books are sold.

I have a surprise for you. Hay House will send a copy of the The Dalai Lama's Cat and The Power of Meow to one lucky winner. You must be a resident of the U.S. To enter, just leave a message.  You have until this Friday at noon EDT when the winner will be drawn and notified. The winner will be named in a subsequent blog post.

NOTE: I received no compensation for this review, only a review copy of the book. I can assure you that I've read every word and the opinions expressed in this review are mine.

Are You Ready to Party? BOUNTY is!

This is too much fun to pass up - a rare Sponsored post from me!  C'mon and join the fun!!

Our pets are a huge part of our families and sometimes, they make messes that are just as big. If you’ve ever had to train a new puppy or had your cat spill water everywhere, you know exactly what we mean! Bounty is hosting a #Furgiveness Twitter Party on August 17th to help you discover and appreciate new ways to forgive your pets faster. So come celebrate with America's #QuickerPickerUpper, pet experts, and pet parents nationwide – it’s sure to be a blast! RSVP for a chance to win Visa gift cards with prizes up to $100.*

Be sure to check out this video before the party!

Pet Experts

@dobbiehouson, @petxpert, @thefurmom, @darafoster, @dogloversdigest

RSVP Steps

Step 1.

Click on "Add Your Link"

Step 2.

Enter your Twitter URL www.twitter.com/yourtwitterhandle in the URL Field

Step 3.

Enter your Twitter Handle @yourTwitterhandle in the Name field

Step 4.

Enter Your Email Address

________________________________________

Date: August 17, 2015

Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST

Sponsor: @Bounty

Open To US

* To ensure eligibility in the gift card giveaways, all participants must follow @Bounty and include #Sweeps OR #Contest in their tweets. See URL below for complete list of rules

Be sure to follow Bounty on

Facebook |@Bounty | Youtube

Positive Training and A Special Contest!

Dear Readers,  you know me well enough by now to know that I only subscribe to positive training. I see no reason to break the human-animal bond.  On the contrary, I believe in building and solidifying that bond.  Whether you particular companion prefers to work for treats, toys to play, there is a positive reward to suit every pets.  

I was in a rather upscale pet supply store tonight picking up food and special fortified treats when I was horrified to see a woman checking out with a prong collar.  I don't know which was worse: the fact that she bought it or the fact that this allegedly enlightened store sold such an item.  It made me sad.  I wanted to leap across the counter and pull it out of her hot little hands.  I wanted to save her dog and their relationship.  I often do try to convince people to try something else, something better.  This was not my night.  You just can't win them all, no matter how hard you try.

We'll be talking more about positive training in future blog posts but right now I want to tell you about a try exciting contest.

If you remember, I had the pleasure and the honor of reading an advance copy of Chaser, Unlocking the Genius of The Dog Who Knows A Thousand Words.  Chaser's relationship with his owner, Dr John Pilley, is quite special and I deliberately slowed down my reading so that I could enjoy every single moment, every word in the book.

I'm excited to announce that the Publisher, Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, is allowing me to give away a copy of this book to one winner in the United States.  I can't wait to share this wonderful book with a lucky reader! Chaser works for play and to see positive reinforcement at work, to see the intelligence of this dog at work, is a joy beyond description!

Here's how you can enter to win a copy  Just leave a message on this blog post by Friday, November 22nd.  That's it.  One winner will be chosen and will, hopefully, have the book by the holidays.

What do you have to lose? If you love dogs, love dog training, this book is right up your alley!

So, enter and Good Luck!

Adopt a Cat Month & A Contest

Yes, it's June and we're well into Adopt a Cat Month. This is a good time to remember that so many cats are available for adoption now.  Not only is Kitten Season in full swing but shelters are full of cats who simply will not survive if they're not adopted.  And all of the kittens push the wonderful older cats aside as they fill the shelters. There's nowhere for those cats to go but to be put to death in kill shelters. 

I've already told you how I feel about the people who rush in after an older relative has died and take everything but abandon, or throw into a shelter, that person's one source of love and companionship. Often they don't even show up to visit but manage to find their way there to take what they can after death except for that living, breathing, loving, sentient being.  Then there are the cats whose owners can't afford to keep them thanks to the current economy.

Photo of Taffy by Diane Smith

If you have room in your home and your heart, and can afford food, litter, toys and veterinary care, I hope you'll consider adopting a cat or two this month. No matter if you take an adult cat or a kitten or two home, you'll be saving a life and bringing untold happiness into your own life.

You can go to www.petfinder.com Or you can find breed rescue if you want a pedigreed cat who has lost her home.  You can search using the name of the breed + rescue.

Please remember that there are colonies of feral cats who consider where they are their home. The best way to help these kitties is Trap, Neuter, Return. By neutering them and returning them to their colony, they can live their lives in peace and not reproduce. This has been found to be the most effective way to handle the situation. The people who do TNR also make sure that the cats have shelter, food and water. For more information please point your browser to Alley Cat Allies: www.alleycat.org

Photo of Alana by Claire Clayton

Every cat deserves a wonderful, loving family of his or her own, whether it's feral cats with their clowder of other feral cats or an unowned cat who is available for adoption. The cats you see pictured here are both adopted. Taffy was born outdoors and raised for her first weeks by a veterinarian before she was adopted and is now living indoors only with all the love (and toys!) a kitty could ever want.

Alana was found wandering in a field. She was a young cat and adopted by a first-time cat owner. She lives with two dogs and has no problem getting alone with them.  Of course, it's likely that it's Alana who rules the dogs!  But everyone is happy, loved and content.

Now for something Special for some lucky person who adopts a cat.
The nice people at The World's Best Cat Litter will send a coupon to a reader of PerPETuallySpeaking who adopts a kitty during Adopt a Cat Month.  Leave a message on this post and one winner will be chosen at random at the end of the month!

If you think about it, during Adopt a Cat Month, EVERYONE wins - because they have a wonderful new family member and a kitty or two will have a new home and will live!

Passover, Easter & A Contest!

Happy Passover to my readers who are celebrating this week. I suspect many dogs and cats are getting a "taste" of matzo, gefilte fish and maybe a little chicken. 

And a Happy Easter to my readers who are celebrating this weekend. Another group of dogs and cats who will be enjoying special treats. Just be sure they don't have an opportunity to eat chocolate which is going to make them sick and can be lethal. Remember that Lilies are toxic to cats. If you must have lilies, make them imitation ones because no "safe" place is really safe from a curious kitty!  Be very careful that neither your dogs nor your cats get anywhere near that pretty shredded plastic that often fills  Easter Baskets.  

With a little thought and care your pets can enjoy a safe holiday, whichever one you celebrate!

Now for some exciting news.  You'll remember that last week I told you about The World's Best Cat Litter's new Forest Scent litter.

I'm NOT paid by World's Best Cat Litter but they did give me a bag to sample which I shared with my petsitter and she shared with a co-worker, each of whom has a multi-cat household.  Well, now it can be YOUR turn to try it. Thanks to The World's Best Cat Litter, five of my lucky cat-owning readers in the U.S. are going to win a sample of The World's Best Cat Litter Forest Scent!  Just send me a message via my website (http://www.darlenearden.com).  The winners will be announced here on my blog on Monday, April 1st. This is not an April Fool's Day joke - it's the real thing!  I hope you're as excited as I am by this opportunity!  You can't win if you don't enter so get those entries in!  

NOTE: This contest is NOT open to other World's Best Cat Litter CATvocates since they have already been given the opportunity to sample the new Forest Scent Litter.  

Holiday Fun with Hartz

The holidays are upon us and once again, Hartz has a new line of four unique Angry Birds dog toys. We know how much fun pets had with them last year but this year there's some added fun for the owner - a contest on Facebook!

Here's the way it works. First, go to:

 http://hartz.us/QFvR7Z 

You'll find the Facebook game there. 

Each of the new dog toys will be shown in four different holiday locations. The locations will be slowly revealed during the course of four weeks.

Each week - Monday through Sunday - a photo of one of the toys in a distinct setting will be featured on the Facebook page but only a small amount of the photo will be visible.

As the week goes on, more of the photo will be visible each day and will be fully revealed on Sunday.

You'll be able to submit your guesses about the location where the toy is hiding out as many times as you like throughout each week for a chance to win your own limited edition set of all four characters.

The contest starts today, November 26th, 2012 so hurry on over and join in the fun.

Also, if you want to win a toy for your dog, here's a second chance offering: write to me via my website: 

 www.darlenearden.com

Tell me why you think your dog needs a set of Angry Birds limited edition toys for the holidays!

Good luck and have fun!