Petey was a beautiful and unique longhaired dachshund born on May 30, 2006 in Mt Airy, NC. We
brought him home in early November of that year and he has been a dearly loved family member ever
since.

His mom, Julie Ruppenthal, his sisters, Star and Teagan Winemiller and his 7 furry friends, Maxie, Bear,
Bella, Avery, Petunia, Axl and Spook, survives Petey.

Petey became fast friends with everyone he met, human and animal alike, even the mailman. When I
brought home a new foster or rescue puppy, he was known for calming them down by licking their
bellies until they drifted off to sleep. Petey was often described loyal, loving, nurturing, determined,
stubborn, intelligent and “chill”. I affectionately referred to him as “the son I never had” and Star and
Teagan described him as their brother. They fondly remember spiking his long hair into “the most punk
rock Mohawk”. His family considered him “the man of the house” and every day when I left for work, I
would tell him to “hold down the fort”. Petey was my best friend, I raised him with my girls and he felt
like one of my children. He followed me around the house for most of his waking hours. While I was
getting ready for work, he would stare at me and would not let me out of his sight. When I left he was
known to sometimes seek out a pair of my pajama pants to sleep on. However, he would sometimes
use his time alone to raid the trashcan or the cat food bag. He loved going for walks and car rides and
we took him on many adventures and vacations. The nice, cool hotel room was usually his favorite part.
He accompanied us to see Teagan off to college. He loved camping and he loved finding ways to get his
long, white fur dirty, but he hated the bath that followed. He loved the camp food, but his all-time
favorite was chicken.

3 years ago, Petey began his battle with inflammatory bowel disease. We didn’t expect him to reach his
13 th birthday, but with an enormous amount of love, prayers, hard work and a loving vet, we were able
to nurse him back to health. During those beautiful years, we created a “bucket list” for Petey and we
made sure that he lived life to its fullest. In his final days, he took a trip to PA with us to spend time with
Star and was even reunited with Star’s iguana, Buddi. We spent time at the dog park there, and he
enjoyed the new environment. We believe that Petey waited until all three of us surrounded him before
he said his final goodbye. At 11:01 pm on March 8, 2022 Petey died in my arms. I do not know what I
will do without you, Petey, but I know that you are watching over us and that you are still “holding down
the fort”.

“You only make a once in a lifetime buddy once in a lifetime” – The Little Rascals