Snoopy's siblings
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[[Image:SnoopysReunion01.jpg|thumb|right|From left to right: '''Andy, Marbles, Spike, Snoopy, Olaf, Molly, Rover''' and '''Belle'''.]]
In the [[comic strip]], ''[[Peanuts]]'' by [[Charles M. Schulz]], [[Snoopy]] was often stated to have seven siblings. Five appeared at various times in the strip: four brothers, '''Andy''', '''Marbles''', '''Olaf''' and '''Spike'''; and one sister, '''Belle'''. The two others were never mentioned by name in the comic strip. According to the [[television special|TV special]] ''[[Snoopy's Reunion]]'', their names are '''Molly''' and '''Rover'''; however, their appearance is not considered [[canon (fiction)|canon]]ical in the comic strip. [http://www.peanutscollectorclub.com/peantfaq.txt] In the [[June 6]], [[1959]] comic strip, following the birth of [[Charlie Brown]]'s sister [[Sally Brown|Sally]], Snoopy remarks that he has no brothers or sisters, and is an "only dog." This was later [[retcon]]ned to him being born in a litter of eight puppies. However, in a March 18, 1971 strip, Snoopy writes in his autobiography: "I was born one bright Spring morning at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. I was one of seven puppies." Their mother is called Missy, but has appeared only once in ''Peanuts'', on July 26, 1996.
==Spike== <!-- This section is linked from [[Peanuts]] -->
'''Spike''' by far appeared most frequently in the strip. His appearance is similar to that of Snoopy, but he is substantially thinner, has a perpetually sleepy look, and sports a long, droopy [[mustache]] and a [[fedora]]. He is called [[Snoopy]]'s older brother during the first story in which he appears. Spike lives alone in the [[desert]] near [[Needles, California]], only occasionally interacting with the principal characters in the strip, generally in visiting Snoopy. His friends are mostly inanimate [[saguaro]] [[cactus|cacti]]. As the only [[saguaros]] in [[California]] are in the [[Whipple Mountains]] fifty miles south of [[Needles]], Spike must live somewhere in this wilderness area. Spike is also able to play the [[violin]]. When he was introduced to the strip, it was revealed that Spike's exceptionally low weight was due to the fact that he had been living with coyotes, and his job was to clean out their den. Although he got a better-fed appearance after his first visit to the Brown household, he apparently had to go "back to business" soon after returning home, for he soon became as thin as before. He temporarily became [[Rerun van Pelt|Rerun]]'s dog in ''[[I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown]]'', and also had a TV special, ''[[It's the Girl in the Red Truck, Charlie Brown]]'', in which he was the primary character.
During a story arc in 1976, Spike is rescued by Snoopy and a group of [[Woodstock (Peanuts)|Woodstock]]'s friends, from a group of [[coyotes]]. The coyotes were apparently furious after Spike tried to sell them "Oceanfront Condos" in the desert of Needles. In 1983, Snoopy is convinced in a letter from Spike that the [[1984 Summer Olympics|1984]] [[Olympic Games|Olympics]] were being moved from Los Angeles to Needles. Snoopy, of course, comes to realize that the claim was false, after Spike admitted that his "friend," a cactus, had told him the rumor.
Another story arc from the 80s featured Spike as the hero; Charlie Brown's baseball team is at loggerheads when the owner of the vacant lot they play in was told to not allow them to use the field anymore due to possible liabilities. Spike pulls off a real estate coup in which the coyotes (still living in Needles) bought the vacant lot so the kids can once again play.
Spike was used in on-off appearances sporadically through the rest of ''Peanuts'' history. His last major storyline was in 1994, when he and his brothers Olaf and Andy visit Snoopy in the hospital. They leave shortly after Snoopy gets well.
When Snoopy pretends to be a [[World War I]] [[Flying Ace]], Spike is an infantryman fighting in the trenches, though the only change in his appearance is that he wears a WWI-style army [[helmet]] instead of his trademark [[fedora]] for these appearances. When Spike became ill with [[influenza]], in strips drawn in 1996, Snoopy and Spike's mother Missy came over on a troopship to visit, wearing a fur hat (the soldiers manning the rails of the troopship were also [[beagles]]). This was her sole appearance in the strip.
At least two strips mentioned his meeting with [[Mickey Mouse]].
==Andy and Olaf==
'''Andy''' and '''Olaf''' live together on a farm. Andy is distinguished by his shaggy dog appearance, but otherwise looks like Snoopy. Olaf appears to be somewhat overweight. He does not bear much resemblance to Snoopy or his other siblings. He also wears a hunting cap.
Olaf is first seen during a series in January 1989, in which he visits Snoopy. During this sequence, [[Lucy van Pelt|Lucy]] enters Olaf in an "ugly dog" contest, which he wins (much to his disappointment). He appears again in 1994, where he, Andy, and Spike visit Snoopy, who is in the hospital. After Snoopy gets better, the three brothers leave without saying good-bye. This is the first appearance of Andy in the strip.
After that, Olaf and Andy are shown three times in 1994. They are sitting against a [[barn]], contemplating what direction their lives should go in. They appear sporadically after that.
Olaf usually plays the [[Jug (musical instrument)|jug]], and Andy has a full [[drum]] set, but is rather clumsy when carrying it and drops it from time to time.
Andy and Olaf spent some time travelling to Needles to live with Spike. However, after "two right turns and twenty-three wrong ones" they eventually ended up back at Snoopy's doghouse. After a brief stay and failure to become Rerun's dogs, they continued to wander around and were considering buying banjos in their last appearance.
Notably, Andy is perhaps the only ''Peanuts'' character to have originated in [[animation]] before appearing in the strip -- his animated debut was the 1991 TV special ''Snoopy's Reunion''. Andy is based on a [[Wire Fox Terrier|wire-haired fox terrier]] (also named Andy) that Schulz owned from October 1988 to March 1994.
==Belle==
'''Belle''' is Snoopy's sister. She lives in [[Kansas City, Missouri]] with her unnamed teenage son who Snoopy noted as resembling the [[Pink Panther]]. Belle herself resembles her brother, but with longer [[eyelash]]es. In addition she wears a [[lace]] collar.
Belle only made a few appearances in the strip, but is well-remembered because of the Belle [[stuffed animal]] toys sold in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Many people who were not regular readers of the comic strip mistakenly thought that she was Snoopy's girlfriend, rather than his sister. In Snoopy's World War I fantasies, Belle is a [[nurse]], not a soldier.
Belle also appeared briefly in the credits to '[[The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show]]'. While she was mentioned in the lyrics to the opening theme song, Belle never did make an appearance in the cartoon series.
Similar to Spike, Belle also plays the violin.
In 1984, Snoopy and Belle inspired fashion designers around the world, including Lagerfeld, Armani, and de la Renta to create one-of-a-kind outfits in their honor. Both beagles modeled for the "Snoopy in Fashion" exhibition held that year in Japan.
==Marbles==
'''Marbles''', reputedly the smartest of the siblings, is a spotted beagle whose one appearance in the comic strip was in a September 1982 story arc. He was also seen to wear shoes.
He also appeared in the 1991 animated feature ''Snoopy's Reunion'', and in a flashback from ''I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown'', when Charlie Brown was talking to Rerun about Snoopy's siblings. Marbles plays the [[banjo]].
==Other siblings==
The two other siblings, '''Molly''' and '''Rover''', appeared in the 1991 [[TV special]] ''Snoopy's Reunion''; however, Schulz never depicted or named these characters in the comic strip, so these names are not considered to be [[Canon (fiction)|canonical]]. In the TV show, these two siblings play the [[dobro]] and the [[mandolin]].
==External links==
* [http://web.mit.edu/smcguire/www/peanuts-animation.html The Peanuts Animation and Video Page]
* [http://home.att.net/~its.spike/spike/history.htm Spike's origin strips]
* [http://www.geocities.com/aznaphrodite/index.html Belle fan site]
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