Oh, I so know Sandy...

Well--you knew something has been bugging her since they left for Rackenroon.

In the strips prior to Kathy's birthday, Dave and his family have few appearances. I've been curious as to what Sandy's relationship is to Dave. I know they're not married.

Well, they're living together, and this is the story of how they met. Sandy's not entirely as callous and hard-core as she puts on.

Sandy is based on a real-life friend of mine. When I asked her husband (who was then her boyfriend) what kind of animal he'd like to be, he said "an otter." Which is the only reason why Dave is an otter. The real life Dave is a very tall man, and real life otters are pretty small, so I had to make Sandy's boyfriend a Giant River Otter.

Oddly, over the years, I've seen both art of otters and hyenas together, and photos of an otter that was raised in a game preserve and was hanging around with the hyena cubs.

I really wish Dave Beach wasn't an otter. I've been able to get some humor out of it, just because of how bizarre it is for a hyena to be in a relationship with an otter, but it would have been so much better if Sandy was with another hyena.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be able to do this conflict story now. Her having to hide her relationship, of being embarrassed by it, yet loving her family enough to stay with them, adds a depth and richness to a character who is in danger of being a one-note, unpleasant person.

We see now that she's picking on Fred because she's jealous of Kathy, and that she also doesn't want to lose her little sister to Rackenroon, as Sandy would not be able to stay with her and keep her otter family. Sandy also can't have offspring "of her blood and body" as long as she's involved with Dave, as I don't have hybrids in this world, and I haven't yet decided whether he'd be okay with a three- or four-person marriage so that he and Sandy could have children.

She's also afraid that she'll be forced by circumstance to dump him. Or that she'll find someone she wants to be with, and will have to make the decision to dump him. And what that will mean to the pups who have looked on her as their mom.

I was thinking that Hyenas and Otters are polar opposites in almost every way. Sandy is your most complex character, so she's dreading the precipice that awaits her. The winner for best-supporting actress goes to...

i don't see how giving her reasons to stay is 'out of line'... maybe a hyena thing?

It's interfering in her private business. And attempting to give advice to a social superior. The hyenas have a strict caste system, and also view males as second-class citizens.

Sandy is having a crisis of conscience. She is in a relationship with a man not of her species. Neither family approves of the relationship, but because she's stubborn, she has maintained it for several years. Now she has a chance to see what her life might be like had she not made the choice she made; and not only is she regretting that choice, but she's caught herself thinking seriously about ending her relationship so she can be a real-life princess. And this makes her angry at herself--so of course she lashes out at Fred (whose fault this is, in her eyes) and Kathy (of whom she is jealous for being able to become a princess.)

Sandy is mad at herself, and taking it out on her companions.