Dale Horvath/Season 1

When the camp received on the radio an emergency broadcast from a man on his way to Atlanta, Dale was skeptical at first that someone existed on the other end of the line, but changed his mind when he also heard the voice trying to make contact. Although Dale reconsidered and eventually agreed with Lori's idea about putting up signs on the road to warn people away from the city, Shane Walsh rejected the proposal. ("Days Gone Bye")

Some hours later, Dale was on watch duty when he agreed to keep an eye on Carl as Lori went into the woods to collect mushrooms and he advised her not to stray too far so that he could hear her in case she needed to scream. Later that day, while working on his RV's radiator hose with Jim, the camp received T-Dog's distorted distress message. Dale alerted his companions and then listened as Shane refused to send rescue. ("Guts")

Dale was the first to notice the sports car driven by Glenn approaching the camp and when the rest of the group that had traveled to the city for supplies returned, he greeted them and witnessed as newcomer Rick Grimes reunited with his family. The next day, Dale aided the group to deal with a walker in the woods by decapitating it with an axe, though then Daryl Dixon revealed to him that he needed to destroy the brain. When Rick set out to return to Atlanta to rescue Merle Dixon, Dale accepted to lend him some of his tools in exchange for parts of the van in which he had arrived, since he needed to repair his RV's radiator hose again, as well as a gun of his own choosing. ("Tell It to the Frogs")

While on guard duty, Dale noticed that a paranoid Jim was inexplicably digging several holes in the distance and was left very concerned. Shortly after, Dale led the group to where Jim was digging and witnessed as Shane subdued him and tied him to a tree until he would feel better. Later that day, Dale found Andrea in the RV looking for wrapping paper for Amy's birthday gift and promised to find something else for her. That night, everyone was reunited around a campfire as they listened to his stories about a passage from Faulkner. When the camp was attacked by several walkers, Dale helped defend the place. ("Vatos")

The next morning, Dale tried to comfort a depressed Andrea for Amy's death and confessed that they both had been the first persons he cared for after his wife died. Later that day, as they surveyed the forest for walkers, Dale witnessed the way Shane had pointed his shotgun at Rick from afar and, although he remained suspicious of him, decided to keep silent over this incident to not cause more problems. The next day, Dale was present in the last camp meeting where he said goodbye to the Morales family. While the remaining group of survivors departed towards the CDC, they left an infected Jim under a tree by the road as his last wish. Upon arriving at their destination, they found everything abandoned. As some walkers began to approach them, Dale tried to convince Rick to leave when suddenly the doors opened in time. ("Wildfire")

Upon entering the CDC, Dale and the others were reluctantly welcomed by the sole remaining employee, Dr. Edwin Jenner, who allowed them to stay in exchange for some blood tests. That night, the group had a feast in the cafeteria and enjoyed all the luxuries the facility had to offer, beyond happy about having found a safe place. Shortly after having a hot shower and a change of clothes, Dale tried to comfort a depressive Andrea once again but she just told him that everything had stopped making sense to her. The next morning, Dale and the group learned that the virus that had caused the outbreak erased any conscious human traits from someone infected.

When the power generators began to ran out of fuel, Jenner revealed that the facility would explode due to a self-destruct protocol and then sealed everyone inside the control room, explaining that it would be a quick and painless death. Dale was willing to stay behind with Andrea when she refused to leave after Rick made Jenner change his mind, stating that she couldn't make him care about her and then just leave. Not wanting to carry his blood on her hands, seconds before the entire facility exploded, they both managed to escape in time and took refuge behind some military sandbags as the CDC exploded. Dale and Andrea then joined the rest of the caravan and continued their journey towards a new destination. ("TS-19")