askpapi

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NOTE: This post is from Papi's Mom.

Below is Papi’s celebration of life video, “The Joy of Papi” (I love the music and poem narration) If you watch it, you will get a tiny glimpse of just how much Papi enriched our lives. EVERYTHING was more fun when Papi was with us. And he was almost always with us.

It has been cathartic and helped me cope with grief to begin the process of looking at thousands of photos and videos. (My brother asked if I was making a mini-series documentary, and my sister begged me to keep it under 5 minutes.😃) Of course, it was impossible to pack all the years into less than 5 minutes, but I did my best. Allan suggested that perhaps this is just the trailer and that there may be an extended cut in the future. So maybe there will be a Joy of Papi series one day. :)

I don’t know if it’s because Papi was so special, or because we don’t have children, or because we work from home, or because the bonding and intimacy with a small dog seems more intense. It’s probably all of the above. All I know is I am certain Allan and I have never loved another little being like we loved Papi. 

We took Papi in as a foster dog in 2008. And in August 2009 we adopted him, as Allan said all he wanted for his 50th birthday was to make Papi a permanent part of our family. Our boy told us he was ready to go and we helped him to the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, March 1, 2024. 

Our boy had a full life and loved many things including chicken, watermelon, kale, canoe rides, looking for and trying to catch fish, swimming in Barton Creek, hiking in the Greenbelt,  road trips, squirrel chasing, running in the park, playing with all sizes of dogs, but most of all that boy liked to be close to his people. And I mean CLOSE.

Papi has been on social media since 2010. He started by occasionally making guest appearances in Allan’s AskWoodMan videos on YouTube. But he was on several other of our YouTube channels as well. And he also has plenty of his own starring roles right on this blog, AskPapi.com. He’s also on Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and most recently TikTok where he has one video about to hit 800,000 views. All silly stuff. (I am “Mom of Papi” on TikTok)

His TikToks are especially sweet. Links below.

One of Papi’s TikTok videos (no account needed to watch): https://tinyurl.com/PapiandHarlow

One of Papi’s first YouTube videos promoting eating your greens: https://tinyurl.com/PapiLoveKale

Piano music by Italian composer Mattia Cupelli “Touch” (old version)

Narration by Tom O'Bedlam

Poem excerpts from "If Tomorrow Starts Without Me" by David M. Romano

Spanish song in the background at the end by the Pretenders “Rabo de Nube”

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Papi is thanking the Big Guy for taking him down the Hill Of Life to Barton Creek on a beautiful winter day. And I thank him for going with me.

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Papi says the backyard was very strong smelling today. That's because it was Kimchi Superbowl Sunday! I got a lot of the ingredients from my organic winter garden. Carrots, daikon, Napa cabbage, kale, raddishes and collards from my garden and sweet onions, garlic and red chili sauce from the store. Sue helped me with a video on how I make my version of kimchi I will share. Now I just need a little will power to keep from eating some tomorrow since it really needs to sit for a week minimum.

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THE 3 AMIGOS!  Here's a photo of all three boys in their jackets on a cold winter day. I believe this might have been the last photo of all three. Murphy (front left, purple jacket) was adopted. His name is now Jack and he lives in Waco. Also pictured is Papi in red and Martin in his fair trade sweater.

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This is Murphy our latest foster dog.  He is a sweetheart. We have absolutely no idea what his story is. He was found running the streets in Austin. We have been slowly putting a little weight on him. He was a sack of bones when he came to us. He likes to be close. Papi does not mind that he is getting some Big Daddy loving.

#dachshund #rescue #foster

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Help Me! Sometimes the Big Guy's love is scary.

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I wanted a bedtime story the other night. SInce I'm the official shop dog for AskWoodMan and mascot for VerySuperCool Tools I tried to act interested, but couldn't hold back my true feelings. Yawn!

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Papi is getting getting grey like his Big Daddy.

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This never gets old. Papi is irresistible.

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Watching World Cup with the doxies and trying to eat a plum in peace. I think these pictures demonstrate who is running the show. That is our foster Jessie on the coffee table. White face Martin and Papi sitting on his Big Daddy.

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Papi is one irresistible treat monster. He had the corgi's owner completely under his spell.

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A late afternoon picture of Papi in a beautiful bed of wisteria in full bloom.

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Papi got to meet a close relative on the Lady Bird Lake Trail today. This little guy was so fresh from being adopted from the shelter he did not have a name. That is one handsome fella.

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Papi (r) and Jessie enjoying the winter sun in their fleece jackets while keeping an eye on the squirrels. Today we learned Jessie may be going to his new forever home soon. He has transformed from an injured and emotionally damaged little guy to a happy, healthy and confident sweetheart. He and Papi have been having epic wrestling matches with bared teeth and unbelievable growling. But it is just good fun.  Papi and I will really miss him. 

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Where is Papi?

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It is a cold and rainy Sunday morning in Austin. That is Papi on the left and our little foster Jesse on the right. They both got themselves burritoed without any help from me. Dachshunds know how to do it.

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This is Jesse, Papi's foster companion until just the perfect forever home for him is found. He has an injured shoulder and is super timid and wary. Unfortunately we think he was abused by a man because he is scared of me. Papi, Martin, Sue and I are going to get that little guy's confidence back.  His name is Paddy on the ctdr site.