Chickadee

Chickadee is a chunky, soft-furred, greyish Golden retriever with tired, umber eyes. She looks much older than she is.

Although she wasn't born a Gang dog, Chickadee has adapted well to the Hellfire lifestyle and is thriving with her family. She and her mate, Bear, had some fertility trouble before being blessed with their pups. As second in command, she values her position highly, but doesn't let it get to her head.

Chickadee was born at a puppy mill in Hunter's Corner in a large litter. She was purchased by the mayor of Lakeview at a reasonable age, and soon found herself in a big, but quiet house. Craving socialization, she befriended the Lakeview police dogs and chatted with them whenever they passed on patrols.

Chickadee was introduced to a police trainee around her age named Bear. Bear had been "rescued" from the Gangs and raised by Sadie, the chief. Chickadee and Bear got along quite well, both being a little behind socially, and soon Bear was visiting her off the clock to talk and play through the fence. They spoke about Bear's past, and how sometimes he was curious about his real parents. Chickadee was right about bored of her yard- she proposed that they run away, and go find his family, and that's exactly what they did.

Bear and Chickadee settled in well in their new home. Chickadee quickly disproved accusations of being a soft leashed dog by training alongside Bear as a fighter. Although she had the strength to keep up, her heart was with pups and housework, so she dropped out to become a breeding female. More of Bear's siblings began to show up, and she got along with each one despite their conflicting, difficult personalities. She's a real people-pleaser, and knows how to get alone with anyone, really.

A few years after their arrival, Bear and Chickadee knew they wanted to start a family. Their first litter was tragic- Bear Jr. and Chickadee Jr., as they'd named them, stillborn and buried before they'd even had a first breath. The loss was very upsetting to the poor couple, but it only brought them closer together. They tried again the next year, and got lucky- although they lost another pup, Grizzly, they did have a survivor named Polar. Chickadee finally got to be the mother she always wanted to be; she reared Polar carefully, trying to find a balance between keeping him safe and giving him space.

Bear, being Cerberus' second in command, worked long and hard to one day replace Cerberus. Sure enough, the shepherd retired from old age, and Bear became the leader of his Gang. He looked no further than Chickadee to be his second in command, seeing as she was his best friend and number one confidante.

When Polar was fully trained and out of the nest, Chickadee was feeling a little lonely again. Finally, she and Bear had a litter with no stillbirths; two pups they named Lamb and Sapata, born on Christmas Day. She was much more laid back with these two, having already gained a lot of experience with Polar, and provided a nice blend of affection and freedom to her babies.