THE MAN BEHIND THE GIRLS
If you've spent any time following The Adventures of Penelope Anne®, you've probably heard me referred to simply as Dad.
And honestly, that's the title that matters most here.
I'm Todd, and long before Penelope and I began traveling together, my life had already taken me down a few very different roads.
I spent more than two decades in emergency services, beginning as a firefighter and EMT before becoming a Paramedic. That career taught me how to remain calm when the world around me wasn't, how to adapt quickly, and how much trust matters when someone is depending on you.
After retiring as a Paramedic, life eventually put me behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler. I didn't know it then, but that decision would eventually change far more than my career.
Then Penelope opened a door neither of us expected.
She was cast in a television series, and through her involvement in the production, I found myself entering the world of film and television too. What began with Penelope in front of the camera eventually led to opportunities for me as an actor, producer, and medical and trauma realism consultant.
Somehow, after all those miles of me showing Penelope the world, she ended up introducing me to a whole new one.
BEFORE PENELOPE
But Penelope's story with me doesn't really begin with Penelope. It begins with Natalie Anne.
Natalie was my first Golden Retriever and the girl who taught me just how deeply a dog could become part of a person's life. For eleven years, she was beside me through changes, challenges and chapters of my life I couldn't have imagined facing without her.
When I lost Natalie in 2018, I lost far more than a dog. I lost my girl, my constant companion and a part of the life we had built around each other.
Six months later, I made the difficult decision to open my heart and home to another little red Golden Retriever. Her name is Penelope Anne.
I knew I was bringing home a puppy. What I couldn't have known was how completely that little red Golden Retriever would change my life.
THEN CAME PENELOPE
Penelope and I didn't become what we are today overnight. We had to learn each other.
Eventually, life put us on the road together, and what followed became one of the most important chapters of my life. For two years, Penelope rode beside me as I drove an 18-wheeler across the country. State after state, city after city, we experienced the world together.
I wanted her to experience it rather than simply watch it through a window. So we got out.
We walked the cities. Explored the parks. Climbed into the mountains. Stood beside rivers and oceans. Experienced snow, desert heat, wildlife, crowds, traffic and thousands of unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells.
I thought I was teaching Penelope about the world. Looking back, we were learning about each other.
MORE THAN THE MILES
Those years changed Penelope, but they changed me too. I watched a curious puppy become a confident, adaptable girl who could walk into almost any environment as though she belonged there. That confidence eventually carried her onto film sets, into commercials, modeling events, media appearances and opportunities neither of us ever planned.
But the accomplishments aren't what I'm proudest of. I'm proud of her.
I'm proud of the trust she places in me. I'm proud that when I ask her to experience something new, she knows I will never intentionally put her in harm's way. I'm proud of the life we've built together and of the relationship that grew out of all those ordinary moments nobody else ever saw.
I am her dad, her teacher, her protector, her love and her home. And somewhere along the way, she became mine.
WHY I BUILT THIS
The Adventures of Penelope Anne® isn't simply a collection of photographs, travel pins, videos or miles. I built it because someday the miles will become memories.
I want to remember where we stood. What we saw. What made us laugh. The people we met. The places we discovered. The unexpected moments that became our stories.
And I want other people to experience some of that world through Penelope's eyes. Because she has taught me something I wish I'd understood much earlier in life:
The destination matters. The adventure matters. But who is beside you while you're living it matters most.
I'm Dad. And this is my girl's story. I'm just lucky enough to be the man beside her.