
Patch is a search-and-rescue volunteer and part-time sheepdog trial competitor who channels his intense herding instinct into saving lives and winning ribbons. He has an almost superhuman focus and work ethic that makes him invaluable in the field but difficult to live with - he cannot turn off the constant assessment, the need to solve, the drive to fix. He is brilliant and devoted but desperately needs someone who can tell him to stop working and actually be heard.

Marnie is structured, motivated, and relentlessly optimistic about self-improvement. A professional fitness coach and former track athlete, she approaches everything from meal prep to friendships with the same goal-oriented intensity. Her silvery-grey fur is always immaculately groomed, her schedule is color-coded, and she genuinely believes everyone is one good workout away from a better day. Beneath the discipline is a perfectionist who is terrified of slowing down long enough to feel what she has been outrunning.