Pet's ID Tag: #10.
Name You'd Choose for It: Dakota.
Gender: Male.
Reason You Want It: I really, really love this design, strangely enough. Dakota would definitely be added to my Main Character page, as I am in desperate need of another male there, and be spoiled with art, attention, and writing. <3 I love that purple bracelet and the purple circle around his eye too; that shade of purple is very close to my own favorite color, and besides that, he's brown; my favorite natural color. My last name also starts with S, like the letter of his haunch. 8D Truth be told, I've been trying not to apply for any more donations lately [besides a few specific dedications], because I think I have too many side characters that get very little to no attention. But I can't help it; I want to try for Dakota, and even if I don't win him, I'll know that at least I tried to get him. c:
History/Background/Other:"The world was built for puppies like you."
His mother's voice drifted through the winter scenary with the boneless grace of fog. It was so quiet out there; the snow blanketed all the sounds, diminished the power of a few words into a less-then-mighty whisper. Gently, she leaned forward and touched her dark nose to the purple circle that chased its tail around her son's eye, but she was careful not to wake him. He slept with the air of a puppy; a few twitches of his back paws, flicks of his ears in random directions as though he was stalking phantom prey. The older female slowly climbed to her feet, and her back brushed the retired train they slept beneath.
Carefully, she leaned forward and grapped her son's scruff in her jaws, picking him up. She momentarily left the remainder of the litter, two precious, but mundane females, and carried him quite a distance, twining through the small city's streets and ignoring the early birds she passed. There were not enough humans out at his painful time to hamper her progress and eventually, she reached the main train station, the heart of the town. Gently, she lay her single son on the steps leading to the station and licked his muzzle. He awoke with a blur of vivid eyes. "Mommy?" He inquired innocently, stretching his forelegs out and curiously peering up at her. "Where are we?"
With a smile curving her muzzle into something serene and tranquil, she licked her son's ears and shook her head. "A special place, Dakota. But I can't stay." Quietly, she entranced him back into sleep; her soft voice was a lullaby to the young pup. He closed his eyes and in moments, drowsed again.
Straightening, his mother turned and began to walk away. The engineer who watched the trains was just shuffling into his office, clutching a cup of coffee in one hand and his sanity in the other, mumbling to himself about how early he had to get up, and the ghostly dam disappeared.
"Good luck, Dakota."
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The men and women who arrived at the train station the morning were bewildered to see the small mahogany puppy sniffing around. He consistently whined, his ears flattened to the curve of his head, his nose working a thousand times harder then it should, yet he could not find the scent plume his mother should have left behind.
Tucking his tail underneath the carriage of his hips, Dakota whined and curled up beneath the shadow of a rose bush, featured in the garden that lured further visitors to the station. Many of the people passed him by, too busy on their route to work to really stop and help him. The sound of the busy bodies slowly lured him into sleep and eventually, he dozed. He was only woken when the trains returned, a loud whistle signalling their arrival, and it jolted him straight out of the frothy dreams he had been entertaining featuring the gentle gaze of his lost mother.
The soft texture of his paw pads made tiny imprints in the snow as he silently ventured over to the office of the manager, scratching at his door. The bulky man opened it and frowned down at the mutt, who slipped inside as though a ghost and cowered beneath his desk. The man, grumbling, began searching one of the cabinets for the remainder of his lunch, hoping he had some meat to coax the thing out of his room.
"You getting ready to head home, Fred?" Someone drawled, and Dakota leaned forward enough to peer at the tall, intimidating man who stood in the doorway. The winter world behind him created a strong imprint against his black clothes and seared his image into Dakota's mind.
The fat man straightened with a snort. "Not yet. I have this rascal of a puppy stuck in here, and I can't just leave with the thing here." He shrugged. "I was looking for some meat to encourage him to get out."
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I understand that by adopting this creature I take full responsibility for it.[wip]
