Andy is a minor animal character in the Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. He is one of Snoopy's siblings. Notably, he is one of two Peanuts characters who first appeared on television before appearing in the strip, the other being Snoopy's mother.
Andy is named and designed after a wire-haired fox terrier that Schulz gained in 1988 and was very fond of.[1]
History
Andy first appeared in the Peanuts animated television special Snoopy's Reunion which first aired on CBS on May 1, 1991. In Snoopy's Reunion, Snoopy meets up with all of his siblings, including Belle, Spike, Olaf and Marbles, who had previously appeared in the comic strip, and Molly, Rover and Andy who had not. Andy plays the drums in the program.
On February 14, 1994 Andy made his first appearance in the comic strip, visiting Snoopy in the hospital. In that appearance he is accompanied by Spike and Olaf. Andy would be accompanied by his brother, Olaf in all subsequent appearances. In May 1994 they were first depicted living together on a farm, where they spend most of their days leaning against the barn and asking each other questions about life. In June 1997, they arrived at Snoopy's house, having moved out of the farm, and asked for help finding a new home. After spending a few days, Snoopy suggested they move in with Spike out in Needles. The pair proceeded to get hopelessly lost (at one point even passing by Spike and not seeing him) and periodically returned to Snoopy's house at least once a year all the way until the strip's final year. During their occasional visits, they frequently had run-ins with Rerun van Pelt who would try to adopt them as his dogs and usually getting foiled by his mother. These instances were adapted in the 2003 special I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown.
Andy also received a brief mention in the February 29, 1996 strip where Lucy suggests Snoopy try writing a story about one of his siblings, particularly what made them different. Snoopy simply writes, "Andy was fuzzy."
Andy looks similar to Snoopy but has longer, shaggier hair. His appearance is modeled on that of a wire-haired fox terrier named Andy that was owned by Charles M. Schulz.