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Mr. Canis
Protector of Grimms
Mr. Canis full
Species: Everafter
Gender: Male
Age: Unknown
Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood
Three Little Pigs
The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids
Family:
Skin color: Fair
Hair color: White
Eye color: Grey

Blue (when under the influence of the Big Bag Wolf)

Aliases: Big Bad Wolf
Tobias Clay
Mutt (Used by Charming)
Dog (Used by Charming)
Wolf (Used by Ernest Hamstead)
Old Man (Used by the Big Bad Wolf)
Old Friend (Used by Relda Grimm)
Status: Alive
Appearances: The Fairy-Tale Detectives
The Unusual Suspects
The Problem Child
Once Upon a Crime
Magic and Other Misdemeanors
Tales from the Hood
The Everafter War
The Inside Story
The Council of Mirrors

Tobias Clay, also known as Mr. Canis or the Big Bad Wolf, is the Grimm's housekeeper. In books one through six, Mr. Canis is an Everafter due to the spirit of the Big Bad Wolf inside him. When the Wolf is driven out, Mr. Canis turns out to be a human named Tobias Clay, whose story is told in book six of the series.

See Big Bad Wolf for more details.


History[]

Tobias Clay[]

Mr.Canis was born Tobias Clay, a mortal man, growing to become a woodcutter and hiring Howard Hatchett to be his apprentice. According to Hatchett, Clay was on the verge of firing his lazy apprentice. One day, while collecting wood in a dark part of the forest for a local mill, Clay heard a scream. He convinced his reluctant apprentice to follow the noise with him, and the two found a witch's house, sat beneath a fierce storm. Inside, the witch was using the North Wind to split a rabid wolf from it's insanity, which she trapped within a clay jar. Hatchett begged the woodcutter to leave, but when Clay saw Little Red Riding Hood enter the house and have the North Wind turned on her, he decided to act, not knowing the witch was about to cure the girl, who was her granddaughter, of her insanity, just as she had the wolf. Clay raced into the house and confronted the witch, knocking the clay jar from her hands in the commotion. The wolf's insanity was released, entering Tobias Clay and creating the Big Bad Wolf. The witch's magic was no match for the beast, who killed and ate her, then fled with the North Wind. Hatchett, having done nothing to save his friend, brought Red back to her family, and told everyone the story of Little Red Riding Hood (Later published by Charles Perrault), but he covered the truth with his own story, in which he was the woodcutter and hero. With this, Tobias Clay was removed from the world, his only witnesses a liar and a lunatic, replaced by the tyrannous and psychotic Big Bad Wolf. During the years that followed, he attacked the three little pigs: Ernest Hamstead; Alvin Swineheart; and Jed Boarman, and seven kids (baby goats).

Ferryport Landing[]

Mr. Canis came to Ferryport Landing (then named Fairyport Landing) as the Big Bad Wolf, the 58th ticket purchaser aboard the Neuer Anfang (German for New Beginning). The ship made port in 1805, and the Wolf stayed in Ferryport Landing, to eventually be unwillingly trapped in the town by Wilhelm Grimm and Baba Yaga's magical barrier, in 1825. The Wolf used the North wind to terrorize the town for decades, in one instance humiliating Charming by tying him upside down in a tree with his own rope. No one could stop the Bad Bad Wolf until the three little pigs devised a plan to part him with the weapon. Spreading a rumor that Old McDonald's flock of sheep had grown too big, the pigs tempted the Big Bad Wolf to McDonald's barn, where they waited, disguised as sheep. Swineheart used a pickup truck to knock him over, giving Hamstead the opportunity to drop from the ceiling on a rope to steal the North Wind, while Boarman hit the beast with a shovel. The Big Bad Wolf was furious, so the three pigs fled. Eventually, in 1993 the Wolf found them in the police station, where Hamstead turned the North Wind upon him, and released Mr. Canis, who awoke with no memory of his identity as Tobias Clay, or as the Big Bad Wolf, who's spirit lay dormant within. The pigs took Canis to Basil and Relda Grimm, the later of whom to invite him into the family, despite Basil, Henry and Jake's protests. Mr. Canis remained in the Grimm house as the family's protector, with the ability to tap into the Wolf's powers, even after the death of Basil and the departure of Henry and Jake. To maintain control and composure over the Wolf, Canis began to practice meditation.

Book 2: The Unusual Suspects[]

In book 2, it becomes clear that Mr. Canis was losing his grip on the Wolf. Granny Relda told Sabrina that this is due to the fact that in the last book, when Mr. Canis was trying to protect the family from Jack, he tasted human blood. Mr. Canis helped the family escape from several dangerous situations including when they were attacked by a frog-girl monster. Even so, Sabrina started to become wary of the old man. Mr. Canis' big role in book 2 was near the end, underneath the school, when Rumplestiltskin goaded Canis to transform into the Wolf. The Wolf took control, and he fought with Puck. The Big Bad Wolf said that "love will be the end" of the fairy. Puck claimed that he didn't know what Canis was talking about, and the Wolf looked at Sabrina and chuckled. Daphne confronted the Wolf and said that she knew Mr. Canis was still in there and that she loved him. Touched by the affectionate moment, Canis briefly surfaced, only to be overwhelmed by the Wolf again. Knowing that Rumplestiltskin was feeding on the Wolf's anger, Sabrina tried to make Puck stop fighting the Big Bad Wolf. When the Wolf discovered how Rumplestiltskin was using him, he attacked the Everafter, and the Grimms escaped. Sabrina saw the school explode. She thought it was her fault that Mr. Canis died and used the last of the Little Matchstick Girl's matchsticks to rescue her parents. 

Physical Description[]

Book6cover

Mr. Canis as the Big Bad Wolf

Mr. Canis is an old man who has gray untamed hair with untrimmed eyebrows. He is skinny, frail, and gaunt. However, as the series goes on, he starts turning more and more into the Big Bad Wolf. He becomes more and more buff and young-looking as the Big Bad Wolf, but turns back into an old man in book 6 when the Wolf is taken out of him.

Relationships[]

Granny Relda[]


She will not let you down, girls. In the time I have known her, she has never failed or disappointed. I trust her.
~ Mr.Canis on Relda Grimm, from {{{3}}}


Despite Mr. Canis due to the Wolf lurking inside of him, when Sabrina's father was a boy, it was Relda who saw past the prejudice and welcomed the man into the family. Ever since, Mr. Canis is a loyal friend to the Grimms, not counting outbursts of the Wolf. Mr. Canis has a great trust in Relda and told the Sisters Grimm that she is "resourceful." Relda, in return, thinks of Mr. Canis as her "most trusted companion", even through his battles with the Big Bad Wolf.

In book 5, however, the two did have a disagreement regarding letting Charming stay in their house, Canis having no trust in the prince at that time whatsoever. Sabrina was shocked bytheir argument, as Relda always had Canis' "upmost respect".

Charming

Prince Charming

William Charming[]

From the beginning of the series, it is clear that Canis and Charming were bitter enemies. They both tried to avoid each other as best as they could, but when encountered, they usually got into arguments: Canis exchanging threats and Charming often calling him a "mutt". All changed after Charming got a change of heart and Mr. Canis was free of the Big Bad Wolf's spirit. In the seventh book, Charming organized Camp Charming and took advice from Mr. Canis. Eventually, Mr. Canis had enough trust in the prince to say: "I would not count him as a friend, but he has earned my respect and my trust."

Red Riding Hood[]

Mr. Canis, in his wolf form, was the one who eats Red's grandma, causing Red to go insane.Later in the series, Red becomes very close to Mr. Canis, calling him her father.

Mr. Canis Gallery[]

Official Image Gallery[]

Fanart Gallery[]

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