Down Home: The 3rd toddler to live in our home

We’ve got deja vu all over again at our house.

Although Joanna and I live in an “empty nest,” we sometimes feel like we’ve got a toddler living with us.

Again.

After lo, these many years.

That toddler would be Topanga, the greatest dog in the world. She’s the most absolutely adorable mix between a shih-tzu dam and a cavalier King Charles spaniel sire anybody ever saw. Some people call her mixed breed a cava-tzu, because if you chose a shortened version of her mama’s breed as the first part of the mixed-breed name, your own mama might wash your mouth out with soap.

Topanga will be 3 years old in December. I know that in “dog years,” this means she’s almost 21. But Topanga behaves in “human years,” and so she acts a lot like a 3-year-old child.

Namely, she loves attention.

For example, when I come home from work in the evening, she apparently hears the garage door going up. So, by the time I get out of the car and arrive in the back door, she’s sitting in the middle of the rug in the den, staring at me. As soon as I bend forward, she comes running, jumps up with her paws on my leg, and nuzzles me, her tail wagging furiously, for as long as I want to nuzzle.

When I do chores around the house, she’s usually a half-step behind and a half-step over from my right foot. It’s like she’s my shadow, and the sun’s perpetually shining on my left shoulder.

If I pick up the key to go out to the mailbox, she immediately runs to the front door to wait for me to pick her up and take her along.

And when I work or read in the evening, she’s almost always snuggled in the chair with me, curled up against my right leg.

Of course, I love the attention as much as she does. Topanga’s perpetual presence at my side takes some of the sting out of the fact we no longer have a daughter or two around the house.

I always loved the sight of Molly and Lindsay running to meet me when I arrived home from work each evening. And I thoroughly enjoyed their companionship when I was doing chores or out running errands.

Jo’s always implied that my love for the attention of daughters and dogs is directly proportional to my need for attention and affection.

She’s right, too. I’ll admit it.

Two of the great joys of my life have been the years Joanna and I spent watching Lindsay and Molly grow up and the evenings and weekends I’ve spent with Topanga by my side.

I thank God for the countless times Jo, Lindsay and Molly and I reveled in each other’s company, telling stories and laughing about life.

And if Topanga ever learns to tell a good story, I’ll really have it made.