Life at the Top

According to one very small dog, I am the greatest person in the world. In her eyes, the sun rises and sets with me. Have to say that I'm loving life at the top.

With Tico I have always been the #2 daddy. He belongs to my partner. They have a great relationship and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I must admit that early on it bothered me a bit to be #2. But Tico made it clear that when my partner was not around, as the first runner-up it was my job to be the daddy. Over time Tico also let me know that the distance from #3 to #2 was MUCH greater than the distance from #2 to #1. So I relaxed. But I was and will remain #2 in his world.

Toodles loves me more than anything in the world--anything. There are few things sweeter than the greeting I get when I let her out of her crate. After that, unless she's sleeping or playing with Tico, she follows me everywhere. It's who she is.

She drops whatever she's doing and comes running when I get down on the floor to play. She's up for any game, with or without toys. Tico can play, but he's not allowed to come between me and Toodles. If he does, she turns into the Tasmanian Devil. The little bitch has a temper!

When she's through playing with Tico (or has decided she needs my protection), she will sit at my feet, look straight up, and wiggle until I pick her up. If I don't respond in a timely manner, she yaps to get my attention. It's the cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life.

When she can't find me, she sits in the middle of the floor and cries. Hearing her calls, I come to see what's going on. When she sees me it's like first thing in the morning all over again--pure joy. What's not to like?

Sometimes I let her sleep with me, usually until midnight or so when I crate her up. On occasion (when I feel like getting up every two hours or so to take her out), she stays until morning. She is still so small (1 & 1/2 pounds) that she somehow manages to sleep underneath me, wedged between the pillow and my neck. If she wakes up, she tries to scootch in even closer. Adorable.

We figure Toodles is ten weeks old today. Tomorrow she will have been with us for four weeks and is still not as big as Tico was when we got him. Even so, it's pretty clear she is well on her way to ruling the roost around here. All I know is that it will be her fault if I lose all credibility as...

The Crotchety Old Man