Sunday Story: When Toto the Cavoodle Ushered in Love

-


A small family moment by Lake Burley Griffin — Anthony, Jodie, and Toto, the cavoodle who ended up carrying their rings.

Love often slips into our lives quietly, without ceremony — not as a sweeping force, but as a small, steady warmth. It does not ask who we are, or how busy, or how prominent. It simply arrives when the heart has space for it. And one day, it found its way into the life of Australia’s Prime Minister, and into the world of a woman who never imagined she would share her days with a national leader.

Before the public knew them as a couple, there were just two people who stumbled onto a moment of connection. At a business event in Melbourne, Anthony Albanese, 62 — relaxed for once — asked the room who supported his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs. A single voice rose above the polite murmur: “Up the Rabbitohs!”

That voice belonged to Jodie Haydon, 46 — self-made, confident, and grounded in a life she had built on her own. It was a fleeting moment, but it lingered.

A message followed. A simple, direct line from Jodie: “Hey, we’re both single.”

No artifice, no hesitation — just an honest exchange between two adults who recognised possibility when they saw it.

Their first date was disarmingly ordinary: a small brewery, then a modest Turkish dinner. Two people talking like equals, discovering they moved at the same emotional pace.

Over the months that followed, companionship grew quietly. They cooked together, shared music, exchanged long, unhurried conversations — the kind that form trust stitch by stitch. One small presence padded gently through these early days: Toto, the cavoodle they adopted together. Not “his dog” or “her dog”, but theirs — an unspoken sign that their separate lives had begun to merge.

By the time Albanese moved into The Lodge — the official residence of the Australian Prime Minister in Canberra — Jodie and Toto were already part of the rhythm of his daily life. In the midst of national responsibilities, it was often Toto’s casual hop onto the sofa or Jodie’s quiet good-humoured presence that reminded him of the world beyond politics.

It was a relationship marked by independence and ease; she kept her career and her individuality, and he valued that. They walked together without crowding each other’s lives.

A year later, he proposed on Valentine’s Day. No spectacle. Just the two of them at home, choosing each other with the same quiet certainty that had defined their journey from the start.

In the days leading up to their wedding, something tender unfolded in the garden at The Lodge. They had decided that Toto would be the ring-bearer — a choice that revealed more about them than any headline could.

Jodie knelt beside him, fastening the tiny ring pouch to his collar, trying not to laugh as he wriggled with excitement. A few steps away, the Prime Minister of Australia — the man who negotiates with world leaders — crouched on the grass with a treat in his hand, coaxing Toto gently forward.

It was a scene that dissolved every trace of public office. It was simply a family preparing for a ceremony — a man, a woman, and their dog in the soft afternoon light. Moments like these rarely become part of official history, but they often say the most about who people truly are.

And on 29 November 2025, that moment blossomed when Jodie’s young niece walked Toto down the aisle. The cavoodle trotted proudly, carrying the rings, unaware that he was part of a small piece of Australian history. The ceremony was simple, warm and deeply personal — the kind of event that stays in the heart rather than the headlines.

Anthony Albanese became the first Australian Prime Minister to marry while in office, but what touched people was not the milestone. It was the gentleness of the journey — two lives finding each other naturally, and a cavoodle who, in his own quiet way, ushered in love.




Even visiting leaders couldn’t resist Toto’s charm. Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, once joked that he was the most disarming diplomat at The Lodge.

You may also want to read my piece on:  Sunday Story: The unique love story of Madame Récamier and Chateaubriand

Visit the Rodevra website

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Weekend Musings: What One Life Taught Me About Peace

-
Image
  Remembering Albert Schweitzer For reasons I cannot fully explain, Albert Schweitzer came back to me recently. My first encounter with him was in childhood, when I was barely ten or twelve. I remember a book — blue in colour — far beyond my reading ability at that age. I remember his photograph inside. I remember that it spoke of peace and of service to humanity. I understood neither in any meaningful way, yet something stayed. Perhaps children recognise sincerity before they understand ideas. Life moved on. Over five decades, his name would surface now and then — in passing references, in conversations, in lists of Nobel Peace Prize winners — but I never found the time, or perhaps the inner readiness, to go deeper. And yet, the impression never faded. Today, that unfinished encounter seems to ask for closure. Albert Schweitzer was many things: theologian, philosopher, musician, doctor. But what sets him apart is not achievement; it is choice. At a time when intellectual recognit...
Read more

Weekend Musings: The Leap of the Frog — A Moment in Haiku

-
Image
 An old silent pond— a frog jumps into the pond, splash! Silence again. This weekend’s Musings arose from an invitation to reflect on these lines by Matsuo Bashō. What began as an invitation soon turned into a gentle challenge, as it became clear that the poem invites many ways of seeing. It can even invite silence, as we honour the stillness of the pond. The image is simple, almost bare. A still pond. A sudden leap. A brief splash. And then silence again. Nothing is explained, nothing is concluded. What is offered is a moment, complete in itself. Yet, being a Musing, I must still arrive at my own reading. In these lines, Bashō draws us into a world where there is no past or future — both constructs of the mind, or the ego. He lives entirely moment to moment, in full awareness of it. The past becomes nothing more than memory, a storehouse of conditioning, biases, and habits. The future is merely the drama projected from that past. In such a state of awareness, action is no longer ...
Read more

Election Day Musing: My Keemti Vote

-
Image
Having just completed my duty, or shall we say my right, by casting my vote, a few observations and thoughts came to mind. The walk to the polling booth is something I take almost every few days, so I was not expecting anything eventful to happen. But I was in for a surprise. Unknown people were greeting me and smiling. One particular person, whom I had neither met nor seen before, actually called out my name and said, “Mahimkar saheb, 4 number lakshat theva.” I noticed regular shopkeepers and party workers standing in groups, and it was not difficult to guess their affiliations. Another thing I noticed was a white band across the road with “200 meters” written on it. Closer to the center, it read “100 meters”. When I had seen this a few days earlier, I had not known what it was for, but today it became clear. Strangely, I noticed one more thing—the streets were extra clean, as if one day’s clean roads would influence our decision! The center itself had standard security measures, and...
Read more