Dr. Fuzzby

Dr. Fuzzby is a quokka and the ZPD therapist in We Can Fix Pawbert. First appearing in Zootopia 2 where she ran the "Partners in Crisis" therapy program for Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, Dr. Fuzzby becomes Pawbert's therapist during the cooperating witness period. Her patient, observant approach helps Pawbert begin the long process of understanding his own trauma.

"Understanding is not the same as excusing." — Dr. Fuzzby

Background

Dr. Fuzzby serves as the ZPD's staff therapist, working with officers and affiliated mammals. During Zootopia 2, she was assigned to address the dysfunctional partnership between Nick and Judy, running her "Partners in Crisis" program that forced them to confront their communication failures.

Personality

Fuzzby is patient, calm, and observant. She listens more than she speaks, and when she does speak, her words carry weight. She does not rush; she does not push. She creates space for mammals to arrive at their own understanding.

Key personality traits:

• Patient — Allows silence to do its work
• Observant — Notices what mammals do not say as much as what they do
• Precise — Her key lines are carefully chosen; each word earns its place
• Warm — Genuine care beneath professional composure

Series History

Zootopia 2

Dr. Fuzzby ran "Partners in Crisis" therapy for Nick and Judy, addressing the dysfunction in their partnership. Her observational skills allowed her to cut through their deflections and identify the core issues.

Season 1: Pawbert's Therapist

Fuzzby is assigned as Pawbert's therapist during the cooperating witness period. Her work with Pawbert spans the full season, anchoring Pawbert's psychological journey from dissociation to trial readiness.

S01E01 "The Weakest Lynx"

Fuzzby evaluates Pawbert during the initial psychological evaluation. She diagnoses dissociation, complex trauma, and passive suicidal ideation. During the session, she delivers the line that becomes her therapeutic cornerstone: "Understanding is not the same as excusing."

S01E03 "The Eraser"

Fuzzby helps Pawbert recognize that his anger at the fabricated psychiatric records---forged to discredit him---is itself proof of mental clarity. The anger demonstrates Pawbert can distinguish truth from manipulation.

S01E06 "Convalescence"

Fuzzby appears via video call session, working with Pawbert through questions of grief and whether Pawbert deserves joy---a question Pawbert struggles to answer affirmatively.

S01E08 "Clear Skies"

Fuzzby appears in two video call sessions. In the first, Pawbert is agitated, confessing that Mosaic files might contain something personal his father would have killed him for. He cannot bring himself to say more. In the second session, after destroying the files and coming out to Nick and Luther, Pawbert tells Fuzzby the truth: he's gay. When Pawbert says it doesn't feel like courage---just "less weight"---Fuzzby reframes his understanding: "Sometimes that's what courage is. Setting down things you've been carrying."

S01E09 "The Vault"

Fuzzby notes that Pawbert seems steadier. Pawbert identifies a key distinction: he can now differentiate between "nervous" and "paralyzed"---states that used to be the same thing for him. He reflects that the knowledge he gained in the Lynxley household, everything he wished he hadn't seen, now makes him useful. When Fuzzby asks if he's valuable to himself, Pawbert answers honestly: he doesn't know yet.

S01E14 "Soft Launch"

Fuzzby addresses Pawbert's guilt around experiencing pleasure and normalcy. Key line: "Pleasure without guilt is still allowed."

S01E16 "The Words"

Fuzzby facilitates the structured apology session---a pivotal therapeutic milestone. She teaches Pawbert the anchor phrase: "My guilt is real. But it is not instructions." This phrase becomes one of Pawbert's most important tools for separating genuine remorse from self-destruction.

S01E17-18 "Quietus" / "I Choose to Stay"

Fuzzby collaborates with the ZSI Behavioral Analysis Unit to develop counter-scripts for Pawbert, equipping him to resist Dr. Mawl's psychological manipulation.

S01E20 "Mandated Joy"

Fuzzby delivers two key lines that bookend Pawbert's pre-trial preparation. First, the therapeutic mandate: "Mandate joy. That's an order." Then, the final clinical sign-off before trial: "You're ready."

Season 2

S02E06 "Unconditional"

Fuzzby arrives at the safehouse after Pawbert suffers a panic attack triggered by accidentally brushing Judy's neck---the same spot where he injected her with venom during the events of Zootopia 2. Fuzzby facilitates the forgiveness session that becomes the pivotal therapeutic moment of the season. She quotes back the exact words from the S01 accountability session, noting that Nick and Judy deliberately withheld forgiveness a year earlier because it was not yet earned. She defines what forgiveness means in this context---not absolution, but transformation of purpose: "Forgiveness doesn't remove guilt. It changes what guilt is for." Under her guidance, Judy explicitly forgives Pawbert first, then Nick, and finally Luther forgives Pawbert for what he did to himself. The session completes the forgiveness arc that began in S01E16.

Fuzzby's formal therapeutic relationship with Pawbert concludes after Season 2. Their connection becomes historical rather than ongoing.

Season 4-5

Fuzzby makes a birthday check-in call in S04E24, noting Pawbert's growth: "You didn't start that sentence with a caveat. That's progress."

She attends the double wedding (S05E24) with her husband.

Key Relationships

Pawbert Pawthorne

Fuzzby's most significant therapeutic relationship. She helped Pawbert begin to process his trauma, his guilt, and his capacity for change. Their relationship transitioned from active therapy to historical connection—a marker of how far Pawbert has come.

Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps

Fuzzby worked with Nick and Judy during their "Partners in Crisis" period, giving her early insight into the mammals who would become Pawbert's pack.

Key Phrases

Phrase	Context	Significance
"Understanding is not the same as excusing."	S01E01	Core therapeutic principle
"Pleasure without guilt is still allowed."	S01E14	Addressing guilt around normalcy
"Sometimes that's what courage is. Setting down things you've been carrying."	S01E08	Reframing Pawbert's action after coming out
"My guilt is real. But it is not instructions."	S01E16	Anchor phrase taught to Pawbert
"Mandate joy. That's an order."	S01E20	Pre-trial therapeutic mandate
"You're ready."	S01E20	Final clinical sign-off before trial
"Forgiveness doesn't remove guilt. It changes what guilt is for."	S02E06	Unconditional session
"You didn't start that sentence with a caveat. That's progress."	S04E24	Marking Pawbert's growth

Trivia

• Dr. Fuzzby attends the double wedding with her husband.
• She is the only therapist who has worked with all four members of the core pack in some capacity.
• Her "Partners in Crisis" program from Zootopia 2 is the earliest therapeutic intervention in the series timeline.