Name: Bruce
Name Meaning/Origin: It is Norman French in origin, and means "from the brushwood thicket"
Nicknames: Brucy (can also be spelled "Brucie" or "Brucey")
Sex: Male
Age: About nine or ten months; almost a year old
Breed: Chow Chow
Personality: He's quiet, yet very intelligent. Bruce is actually the eldest member of the gang, but to keep from getting involved with T.P and Owl's arguments, the chow sits back and lets them have their arguments over whose older between the two of them. Bruce doesn't talk much, but is stern in his actions; he likes to be the boss or the leader whenever he's asked to, but other than that, Brucy won't make much of an effort to lead. He enjoys being by himself, yet he's not antisocial, and has only a handful of true friends, many of them being member of T.P's gang of strays. However, Bruce learnt to deal with having very little company while he was still young. Bruce's serious face makes others think that he'd blow his top at any second, but he's actually a sweet heart once you get to know him; though quiet and laid back, Bruce does like getting things done in an orderly and timely manner and hates having errors. He can actually have a short temper when provoked and tends to have panic attacks every now and then. Though he is solemn and believes that being a street dog is the best way to go, Bruce seems to be attracted towards a young and very energetic House Pet named Danelle, but he fears that she'd never like him and he is too shy to say hello to her because she comes from a rich family who lives on Snob Hill and he's been dirty 'ole stray all of his life.

Parents: Archie (Sr.) and Maddie. He doesn't talk about them much. His father was killed durning a run-in with the dogcatcher while he was under Buster's father's watch; Bruce is convinced that Brutus had his father killed on purpose. Bruce's mother was taken to the pound along with his younger siblings. He never saw them again after that.
Siblings: Archie Jr., Leo, Ruby, Abigail. Out of his siblings, Bruce was the eldest; he and his other siblings were born three months apart.

History: Bruce was born in London, England. It was a rare occasion, but his mother only had one puppy in her first litter, that puppy being Bruce. His mother and father spoiled their only son, and he got used to being "Mom and Dad's favorite". Until his parents had another litter of four. Slowly, Bruce got accustomed to living with younger siblings; they looked up to the older pup and he found out his responsibility of protecting them.
When Bruce reached five months of age, his brothers and sisters were two months old, his mother and father's owners moved across to the United States. They settled in Connecticut for a few weeks before they were able to find a house in a lower state. Once they were all settled into their new mansion, Bruce and his family lived a rather simple life. They didn't see many dogs around their neighborhood, only cats. The chow chow had a bad run-in with two Siamese named Si and Am. They belonged to a women who was slightly older than his owner's wife. Mrs. Sarah Brown was her name, and the lady had a very bad dislike towards dog, Bruce soon found out when he had gotten the chance to chase her annoying cats. Si and Am were running a muck through his owner's garden, tearing up plants and breaking objects outside and on the side of the house. Being the kind of animal he was, Bruce gave chase to get them off his property and ended up pursuing the cats all over the block. They came to rest in Mrs. Brown's yard, and when the lady came outside to see what all the fuss was about, her pet kittens thought it would be a great joke to play hurt in front of their owner. Unfortunately, Bruce was standing over the two cats, trying to figure out why they wouldn't get back up and face him; his hackles were risen and his black lips were pulled back in  snarl. This threw Mrs. Brown into a frenzy and she used the broom she had in hand to swat at Bruce's face so he would get away from her beloved darlings. The chow's owners came running down the street. They were out looking for their lost dog and came by Mrs. Brown's house and saw her warding Bruce off with a broom, they ran up and retrieved the puppy. Mrs. Brown gave a warning that if she "ever saw that dangerous beast around her darlings again" she would not hesitate to call the pound.
When he was back home, safe and sound, Bruce's younger siblings ran up to him and demanded that he tell them everything that happened. He hesitated at first, but later gave in and told his siblings about his run-in with Si and Am, Mrs. Brown and her broomstick. He made a vow to himself that night: he would never go by that horrible house anymore, and if the Siamese came into his yard, he would just chase them down his street and not around the corner to Mrs. Brown's house.
Bruce stayed a bit more quiet after that. He kept to himself, became a little isolated from his family. He wanted to stay out of trouble, but that didn't mean his sisters and brothers wanted the same. A few weeks since his incident with Mrs. Brown passed and Leo led his siblings outside to the yard. They made a hole under the fence and escaped out to the streets. They would have been caught by the dogcatcher had it not been for Bruce finding out that they left and went looking for them. He found his siblings and hid them under a nonmoving horse drawn carriage until the pound worker's car passed. The four younger puppies crawled out from under the carriage, but they accidently startled the horse, causing it to rear and gallop off. Bruce was still stuck under the coach, but lucky for him, he jumped out from under it right before the back wheels could run over him. Just as he made it to his sibling's side, they all saw the coachman run out of the store in front of them. He yelled in disbelief and chased after his horse as curious onlookers watched on. Bruce and his siblings exchanged glances before turning into a laughing bunch of chow chows. They thought the whole thing was hilarious! After that, they all continued to explore around their new town and even met a few new faces. The group never told their mother and father about what had happened, and when they asked where they were all day, Bruce just answered with "taking a look around town." That was partially true.
Life went on well for the family of Chow Chows until one day when their owners just up and abandoned them. The people threw the seven dogs out onto the streets. They were left cold, hungry, and all alone, save for the company of themselves. It only took a few months for the dogs' health to go down. Bruce's mother eventually fell very ill and her mate and children had to move her under a bench in the part of Veteran's Park that didn't have much traffic. Bruce and his father took up the responsibility of bringing home food for everyone.
Soon, the family was approached by a rather large Rottweiler and a few other dogs who introduced themselves as Brutus and the Junkyard Dogs. At first Bruce's father was weary when the other dogs' appeared, but, after Brutus told him that he and his gang needed a few more members in their group, to protect themselves against the dog catcher and other strays. Bruce's father told Brutus that he would join, since the gang helped to protect the families of their members as well, but that his mate could not join because she was ill. Brutus respected that and gave his best wishes to the Chow's family before departing.
Soon, his dad began going off to the Junkyard Dogs gang and he eventually stopped visiting his family all together. Ruby, a dog around five years older than Bruce was, bought the dogs their share of food everyday. One day, Brutus approached them and before he could get a question out, the Rottweiler told them that their father was dead. He had been hit by a horse-drawn carriage while he, Brutus, and Ruby's mother were trying to escape from the dogcatcher. Bruce's father had freed the other two dogs from the dogcatcher's car and told them to run. Bruce's father ran off in a separate direction then the other two did, and the old dog was chased right into traffic where he startled a horse and got trampled by its hooves. This was the last time Brutus bought the family food. He did give his condolences, but Bruce believed that the Junkyard Dogs' leader was a lier and murderer.
Things went downhill from there on; his mother was near her last days, and one time Bruce went off to get food by himself. He came back about an hour later just in time to see his youngest sister, Abigail, being hoisted into the back of the pound van. Instantly, Bruce dropped his meal and ran full-speed to the dogcatcher's car, but it sped off before he made it. Being scared of the pound and knowing that since his mom was fatally ill, the pound workers would put her down. He knew he would never see them again.
Bruce set out on his own after that, using all of the tricks and techniques his father taught him before he passed. Bruce's "home" became an abandoned shack at the outskirts of town, which he shared with another puppy of his same age named Diesel. He had met him one time before, back when he and his family were first introduced to street life, and Diesel had shared half of his stolen meat with the Chow Chow. He and Diesel lived with each other until Bruce decided it was time to move onward again. The two said their final good-byes and departed.
The Chow continued traveling all over the town, avoiding Snob Hill at all costs when he found out that the dogcatcher was always lurking there to pick up any strays. Months later, Bruce came across a house with a white picket fence. It looked inviting and Bruce guessed that he would try and make a move on the family that lived there. Maybe he could get them to adopt him. He trotted up the street and looked across the street to see two orange puppies playing out in the yard. He ducked into the bushes near him and watched them play tag, then another puppy ran out. This one was a male, while the other look-a-likes were girls, and he resembled the Tramp, a street dog who Bruce had heard plenty of stories about from Diesel. As he watched on, Bruce noticed a third puppy race out the doggy-door, yell something incoherent, then bull rushed her siblings. They all kept playing around after that, and when a larger version of the orange puppies came outside and called, "Annette, Colette, Scamp! It's time to come in for supper." Each puppy turned their heads at the sound of their names and rushed indoors. The older dog turned to the last puppy, she was wearing a white collar, and called, "You, too, Danielle." Right before she went in, the puppy perked her ears up and turned to face where Bruce was. She didn't see him because of the thick bushes he was in.
After that happened, Bruce went back to his own side of the tracks. He stayed away from Snob Hill for almost a month until he ran into a gang of four puppies; two girls and two boys. They were all small in stature save for the cream and brown spotted male and a collared female. After introducing each other as T.P., the gang's "leader", Penelope, Jeremy, and Owl, the one with the collar, they invited Bruce to join their gang. Bruce's mind immediately went back to when Brutus offered his dad an invite into the Junkyard Dogs and he was going to turn down T.P.'s offer but...he really need someplace to stay. He hesitantly agreed and became the fifth member of T.P.'s gang.

Mate: No; he's not ready for one of those yet xD
Crush/Crusher: He is head over heels for Danielle; she doesn't feel the same about him however. Cross has a crush on him, but the Chow is oblivious to her feelings.
Puppies: Nope.

Friends: Bruce only has a few who he considers his "friends".
    ⁃    Diesel : Bruce's first "friend". He lived the other dog on the streets after he lost his mother and siblings to the pound. Since he was scared to even go near the pound, Diesel took the responsibility to go and see if he could find the Chow's family in the pound.
    ⁃    T.P.: Though he doesn't get the way the smaller dog runs his gang, Bruce and T.P. are on good terms with one another.
    ⁃    Samuel: They both have similar personalities and outlooks on life. The two of them have very good conversations whenever they get the chance to talk.
    ⁃    Cross: They're not actually "friends", but they do watch each others back.
    ⁃    Victoria: He is the only one whom she told her "secret" of being sterile to. He's kept her secret and has granted her the upmost respect he gives to all of the gang members.

Enemies:
    ⁃    Brutus: He never had a liking for the Rottweiler, and since his father was under his watch when he was killed, Bruce believes that Brutus had planned to get rid of his dad all along.
    ⁃    Buster: He hates Buster's stuck up attitude and sees the older dog as a copy of his father, Brutus.
    ⁃    The dogcatcher(s)/dog pound: He has a hatred toward all dogcatchers. They separate families from one another and make lives miserable. He has a strong hatred to them because of the memory of having his mother and siblings taken away from him.
    ⁃    James: Though, not really an enemy, Bruce still doesn't like James. And James doesn't like him. The Dalmatian mix is annoying to him, and Bruce has little patience toward him. Unbeknown to him, James dislikes Bruce because he's seen Danielle with him, and James has a crush on the Cocker spaniel mix.

Likes: Being by himself (sometimes), when things go smoothly, getting things done on time, when life in the gang is peaceful, being a stray dog, reading novels (especially ones from the Romantic time period), plays and musicals, his friends, T.P.'s gang (sorta), Danielle and Snob Hill (sorta-kinda).
Dislikes/Hates: Brutus, Buster, the Junkyard Dogs, the dogcatcher(s) and pound, Snob Hill (sorta-kinda), Falling behind, being ignored when he has something of great importance to say, being annoyed, messing up stuff, being late for occasions, when T.P. mocks his accent, that he cannot summon up the courage to go and talk to Danielle.
Fears: Buster. He is terrified of the large dog, but yet he stands his ground whenever he comes in contact with him. He will not bow down in the face of his enemy. Bruce also fears that his friends will find out that he has a crush on Danielle and try to "help" get her to notice him, but end up screwing up his life more than it is.

Fur Color: Brown
Marking Colors: White, a tannish color, and dark brown
Eye Color: Deep brown

Status: Stray. He will always be one.
Voice: Think of a deeper, gruffer sounding William Moseley
Trivia:
    ⁃    Bruce is one of my characters who is able to read human's writing (so fictional, but these are anthromorphic characters in the movies, right?)
    ⁃    He's the only character I've made that almost /just/ like me (with his love for reading Romantic-era novels and musicals, and going to see plays xD)
    ⁃     Though not my first character on this Source (Jeremy was), Bruce is my favorite. I worked really hard on his history and his overall character.
    ⁃    Also, I adore chow chows, so I think this contributes to him being my favorite character xD

Relationship to the L&TT Universe: When he was younger, Bruce chased Si and Am around his new neighborhood. Afterward, he finally got to meet Mrs. Brown (Aunt Sarah). In a bad way. She warded him away from her cats with a broom. Later, after he and his family were cast to the streets, Brutus (Buster's dad) took them in, but Bruce's dad was killed trying to get away from the dog catcher along when he, Brutus, and Ruby's mother were out on the streets at the wrong time. Bruce constantly goes head-to-head with Buster, blaming him and Brutus for his father's death. He has a crush on Danielle, Lady and Tramp's daughter.