Charlie
One of the protagonists. A Border Collie who was a service dog before the world went to hell.
- A Truce While We Gawk: Accidentally shoots a grenade from an assault rifle while running from Hermann in an army base, and the two gawk at the explosion.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: A platonic one to Red, when he is assaulted by Hermann.
- Chekhov's Skill: Remembers that humans cook things, and uses this knowledge to cauterize Red's leg stump with a burning branch.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Has his leg caught in Hermann's jaws, and is saved by accidentally shooting off the grenade. Red isn't so lucky.
- From Bad to Worse: When he tries to apologize to Red, Hermann silently grabs and drags him away.
- Heroic BSoD: Realizes that Humans Are the Real Monsters when they come across Hobby.
- Iconic Item: His service animal vest. He has the other two take it off of him as part of his Character Development when they arrive at the "big splash".
- Right Behind Me: He mentions that Red is "dumb and doesn't know he's dumb" to Rover and would make things worse if he was in charge, right as Red is returning with a pelican.
Red
An Irish Setter, and one of Charlie's friends.
- An Arm and a Leg: Loses one of his back legs to Hermann in response to a Groin Attack.
- Babies Ever After: Has pups with Sasha after the timeskip. They're all named after the named dogs they came across in their journey.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He tears out Hermann's throat with his teeth. He is also the first one to kill chickens and waterfowl for food.
- Big Damn Heroes: Along with Rover, saves Charlie after seeing the explosion from the grenade.
- Dumb Is Good: Isn't exactly the brightest dog, however he has the biggest heart.
- Heroic Second Wind: Makes one last desperate attempt to stop Hermann before they're all killed by the fighting dog. It works.
- Nice Guy: Gives the dying Hobby a final drink.
- Rule of Three: Has his mouth full three times when he's trying to say "it's okay" in response to someone thanking him or apologizing.
- The Big Guy: The tallest out of the three, and their best hunter.
- The Nose Knows: Has the sharpest nose out of the trio.
Rover
A Basset Hound from "across the big splash".
Hermann
The
Big Bad of the story, who wanted revenge on the trio after they attempted to rescue his "shit-boy" from him.
- Canis Major: He is able to carry Charlie in his mouth like he was a toy, and towers over even Red.
- Ear Ache: Red tears off one of his ears during the rescue attempt of his "shit-boy".
- Evil Feels Good: He outright brags that he enjoys what he has become, and threatens to do what was done to him to Charlie, and to outright kill Red.
- Eye Scream: Lost an eye in his Tragic Backstory.
- Made of Iron: Survives the fall off a cliff, and survived multiple fights with dogs.
- Oh, Crap!: Has this look when he realizes Red has his neck in his mouth.
- Tragic Backstory: Used to be a fighting dog since he was a puppy, and when they all died, he was elated and he decided to take his revenge.
Audie
A German Shepherd and the (implied) last Military Dog.
- Put on a Bus: Is left behind to guard the flag, and it is mentioned they never saw him again.
- Undying Loyalty: Has this in spades to his duty.
Hobby
A yellow lab who is found on the side of the road.
- Canine Confusion: Is seen crying and lamenting his fate, when dogs are unable to shed tears out of emotion.
- Humans Are Bastards: His views towards humans in a nutshell, who made him sick with radiation and killed him in a crazed madness.
