andie*

Andie is your typical, run-of-the-mill smooth collie. It’s a pretty classic look, deep through the heart girth, slightly roman nose, flat skull, tail carried low. Think Lassie, but not so hairy.

She is a blue merle, which means that she has three parts to her color. LET ME COUNT THE WAYS

White; around her neck, down her chest and along her belly. Her lower legs and the tip of her tail.

Gray; the kind of grey that actually looks slightly blue when the lighting is right or if you squint just enough, with darker splotches spread out from her shoulder blades to her haunches down to her tail. The darkest patch is almost black, on her left flank.

Tan; a golden sort of hue on the edges of the grey, cheeks, muzzle,”eyebrows”, the insides of her ears and the upper portion of her legs.

Andie is a good size, especially for a female. Height wise, I’d estimate 2ft at the withers. I’d say that she weighed in at around 65lbs back before food became scarce. She’s a bit leaner these days and more muscular, due to the whole hunting and running for your life thing. Her conformation is pretty correct, shoulders are maybe a little upright for the show ring and her back isn’t entirely level. Her eyes are like the tan color on her coat, just more liquidy. The end of her tail curls a little to the right.

At first, Andie gives off the illusion of being "that dog," the quiet, brooding and mysterious individual that leans against the wall with slumped shoulders. It’s not really true. Sure, she kind of keeps to herself, but once the ice is broken, she fits in with uncanny ease, especially in a pack setting. She is loyal and faithful as the day is long. If she gives you her word, she’ll die rather than go back on it. She has a low tolerance for immaturity and mistakes and lies. She enjoys the order and routine of pack life and unlike most dogs, she is always happy to play babysitter to the pups. She takes pride in becoming a well respected member of the pack.

She’s not an eloquent speaker, but she gets her point across as long as you don’t take offense easily. There’s a dry sense of humor there beneath all the bark. Andie isn’t one to raise her voice, nor does she try to take the lead during pack assignments/missions. She’s good at playing her part backstage. She’s not a cold-blooded killer, but she’ll do what she has to do to get the job done. She takes everything pretty seriously and snaps a little when others don’t.

Andie is not an open book. She doesn’t share anything personal of her own accord, you have to pry it out of her. But if you chip away long enough, she’s surprisingly sweet.

(She doesn’t know this yet, but she secretly wants a family of her own/puppies/true love/disney ending. Unfortunately for our dear Andie, she is sterile and cannot produce pups of her own.)

Andie is sensitive and alert to her surroundings, mostly because of the whole incident with the nephew being shot while they were out for their run together. So that’s learned. But naturally, she’s sensitive to what other project and their changing moods. Doesn’t mean that she does anything about it, but she notices and feels it.

She is physically strong and has a great poker face, but is not very skilled at bargaining or speaking in front of an audience. She often struggles through day-to-day conversations, awkwardly holding up her end of it. However, actions often speak louder than words and she has an uncanny ability to think on her feet. Of course, that only comes into play when she is not being apathetic or conversely, overthinking the situation and never leaving the safe, comfort zone of her "head space." In relationships, she is prone to jealousy and hand-in-hand with that green monster comes selfishness.

Andie grew up in a show home that bred both rough and smooth collies. They were responsible breeders and the litter that Andie is from was her mother’s last. Her sire was a top performance dog, but a little hard-headed (to say the least) at times and had let down the family quite a few times (refusing to enter the ring at the AKC Eukanuba Champs in ’03, breaking gait and walking (WALKING. srsly what even) at a locally sanctioned show, and worst of all, nipping at a judge’s hand (the same judge, twice!). The only reason they bred him was because of his ideal conformation and they wanted to use him to improve on some of their bitches. After the litter Andie was from matured, they stopped breeding him. (He became a flyball national champion, but even that was cut short when arthritis developed in both his hips.) On the other hand, before Andie's mother was bred, she was shown by numerous junior handlers because she was so easy and gave the kids' a good first experience. Combine the two and you get Andie in the flesh.

Andie was in the middle of the pack, as far as her litter was concerned. Her breeders kept three of the pups, two males, one female, for their own. She just missed the cut (her actions, though still innocent in that sweet puppy-like way, were too reminiscent of her sire) and was re-homed. Her new family was an older couple and Andie went to live with them in their quaint rental townhouse when she was two years old. They had always owned some sort of collie and were looking to replace their beloved Missy, who had passed away earlier that year. (Missy, incidentally, had been from the same breeder.) They were top notch dog owners. She was promptly spayed, went to the vet annually, attended obedience classes, and (after several months) tolerated having her nails trimmed every other month.

A couple years later, the wife, who had some sort of terminal illness, passed away after being in the hospital for some time. (Andie was allowed to visit, after-hours, and the staff turned their head because the couple was related to some higher up. Also, the husband had heard about the healing properties of animals with sick people and had been desperate to try it. Something. Anything, really.)

Then the world ended. So there was that.

The widower husband camped out in his basement with Andie, who promptly became quite the handful after being cooped up for so long in such a small space. Her owner got his young nephew to take Andie out running once daily since he had a lot of free time after his high school got obliterated when a small aircraft crashed into it. The nephew had been on the track and field team so he was a fast runner. Good for dodging bullets and grenades and stuff like that. But then he got gunned down one day. Or like maybe he tripped. Anyways, Andie was home free. Other than she was loyal to a fault and went back home. But a rebel alliance had taken over the house during the two hours she had been gone and her owner was bleeding out on his doorstep so she stayed with him until his heart stopped beating and the blood made the fur around her neck sticky and then she left because there was no more reason to stay.