Snoopy Has a number of siblings who have made random appearances throughout the Peanuts Comic strip. From Bell to Marbles, Charlie Brown’s iconic dog has no shortage of family members who are happy to swing by for special appearances. And one of his siblings is especially important, not only as perhaps the most recognizable of Snoopy’s siblings, but because it has a shockingly tragic story.
in the Peanuts Comic strips by Charles M. Schulz published September 18, 1994, readers are taken to the desert where Snoopy’s brother, Spike, wanders around all alone. Spike talks to himself, breaking the fourth wall by addressing the reader. He begins by asking the question, “Why do I live alone here in the desert?“, and the answer is absolutely heartbreaking.
Spike was once a hunting beagle, and his owner ordered him to chase a rabbit. Spike didn’t want to, but he also wanted to please his master, so he did as he was told. While Spike was not fast enough to catch the rabbit, he did chase it down the road where the rabbit was hit by a car. Spike was traumatized by watching the rabbit get killed right in front of him, and he hated himself for being the cause. So, Spike ran away from his owner to live in the desert, “Which I couldn’t hurt again“.
Snoopy’s brother, Spike, was traumatized by witnessing a death
Spike’s origin story is dead dark Peanuts
Peanuts is famous for its light-heartedness, with even serious topics amounting to little more than universal problems experienced by children. Even when Charlie Brown talks to someone about his depression, he’s usually just voicing his anxiety about the future, questioning his place in the world (something many children experience). In other words, even the most serious topics usually don’t delve into life and death, or the lasting effects of trauma. However, that all changed with Spike’s origin story, which dealt with both difficult themes.
Spike’s origin becomes even more tragic when considering the behavior of animals in the Peanuts Universe. Like Snoopy, Woodstock, and even Spike himself, the rabbit that Spike watched die is more than likely anthropomorphic to a certain extent. It wasn’t just another animal that a beagle would have been hardwired to hunt (as in real life), this rabbit was essentially a person the same as the other Peanuts animal characters are. And Spike saw the ‘man’ die right before his eyes, and it was all his fault – something that was definitely dark for a Peanuts funny.
Snoopy is helping his brother heal from his trauma over Peanuts
Snoopy goes out of his way to include Spike whenever he can
Snoopy doesn’t always get the chance to spend time with his family, but when he does, he’s always ecstatic to see them, including Spike and especially. When Spike comes to visit, Snoopy always makes him feel right at home, and even includes his brother in his imaginary games, like WWI Flying Mouse (where Spike is a member of the preventive infantry). Basically, Snoopy lets Spike know that he doesn’t have to live alone in the desert, he’s accepted and loved for who he is by his family and the entire Peanuts gang community – trauma and all.
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While Snoopy makes Spike feel accepted and loved when he’s in town, Snoopy also doesn’t pressure him to move out of the wilderness, he just gives him the option to come to a place where he’s always welcome. However, the decision to leave the desert is only to make Spike, and at the time of the publication of the comic strip, Snoopy‘s brother still feels that’s where he belongs, and it’s all because of his shockingly tragic backstory Peanuts Canon.