Chappaquiddick lost one of its most enthusiastic and affectionate residents last week. Molly Mae McDonough of Chappy and Charlestown, died suddenly on Saturday, Oct. 15, with her family, Paul and Carla McDonough and Ann Floyd at her side.

Over the last 10 years Molly could be spotted year-round swimming off North Neck beaches, chasing sandpipers and horseshoe crabs, herding scup and embracing the natural beauty and wonders of the Chappy shore. She was a beautiful girl with a luxuriant black coat, big, caring brown eyes and ever wagging tail. As Lord Byron wrote of his Newfie: “She was one that possessed beauty without vanity, strength without insolence, and courage without ferocity.”

Very devoted, her sweet and gentle nature drew friends magnetically and instantly, both human and canine and her warmth and optimism were boundless. Molly Mae will be enormously missed by her family. We were fortunate to have nearly a decade of her exquisite company and learned from her the value of the joys of the simple, precious qualities of life, a walk down a quiet path, the sounds of the sea and birds in the morning, a fresh snowfall and above all, love and eternal loyalty.

The void of her absence is vast and impossible to fill. She entered this world a dog and left it a lady

— Paul McDonough