Shaggydog

Shaggydog is the direwolf of Rickon Stark, the youngest son of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark of Winterfell. He is the most feral and aggressive of the six direwolf pups found in the late summer snows, a quality that deepens as the Stark family fractures and Rickon's world shrinks to the lonely halls of Winterfell. His black fur, which darkens as he grows, and his burning green eyes set him apart from his grey and white siblings, marking him as a creature of shadow and fury rather than the more tempered loyalty of his packmates.

Identity and Bond with Rickon

Shaggydog was the last pup found, a white-furred albino with red eyes who had crawled away from the others. Jon Snow claimed him, naming him Ghost. The other five pups were distributed among the trueborn Stark children. Rickon, only three years old at the time, received the black-furred pup with the green eyes. The boy named him Shaggydog, a name Bran thought was "pretty stupid for a direwolf." From the beginning, the bond between Rickon and Shaggydog was intense and untamed. When Rickon was upset, Shaggydog mirrored his distress, and the wolf's wildness grew in direct proportion to the chaos engulfing the Stark household.

Wildness and Aggression

Shaggydog is the most dangerous of the direwolves to those outside his immediate pack. He is quick to attack and difficult to control. When Rickon vanished into the crypts after learning Robb was riding to war, Shaggydog came slavering out of the darkness like a "green-eyed demon," biting Gage on the arm and tearing a chunk of flesh from Mikken's thigh. It took Robb himself and Grey Wind to bring him to bay. Farlen chained the black wolf in the kennels, but Rickon cried all the more for being without him. Later, when Maester Luwin and Bran descended into the crypts, Shaggydog sprang from the darkness of Eddard Stark's empty tomb, attacking the maester and tearing his arm before Summer drove him back. The wolf had been set loose by Rickon, who insisted he was waiting for his father to come home.

Relationship with the Other Direwolves

Shaggydog's aggression extends even to his own siblings. In the Great Hall at Winterfell, when Tyrion Lannister was present, Shaggydog came out of the shadows behind him, snarling, and the other wolves—Summer and Grey Wind—joined in the attack, forcing Lannister to retreat. The wolves' howling together is a mournful chorus that Catelyn Stark finds unbearable after Bran's fall, and she can distinguish Shaggydog's voice from Grey Wind's when they sing. In the crypts, Shaggydog and Summer fought savagely, rolling over and over in a tangle of grey and black fur, snapping and biting at each other, until Rickon called him off.

Narrative Significance

Shaggydog embodies the raw, ungovernable grief and rage of the youngest Stark. As Rickon's world is stripped of his parents, his brothers, and his home's stability, the wolf becomes his only constant companion and protector, but also a force of pure, undirected violence. The wolf's wildness is a direct consequence of the family's destruction; he is a creature of the broken home, a living symbol of the chaos that has overtaken Winterfell. His presence in the crypts, guarding the empty tomb of Eddard Stark, underscores the theme of a family waiting for a father who will never return, and the desperate, feral hope that clings to that vigil.