ShadeRaid wrote:Pet's ID Tag: Kennel #28
Image of pet
Name You'd Choose for It: Zaire Imari
Species/Breed: Saluki
Gender: Male
Reason You Want It: I am putting together the foundations for a graphic novel, and Zaire offers unbridled potential for furthering the plot. I also fell in love with him as soon as I saw him, and would be proud to add him to my pack.
History/Background/Other: Zaire Imari was raised in a prestigious kennel of imported Salukis and Borzoi in South Africa. Being smaller than his litter mates, he stood less of a chance of being purchased by a wealthy prospective owner. He watched his siblings as, one after another, they were chosen by their new families and taken away. Finally, at six months of age, he and his only remaining sibling, the runt of the litter, were the only two left. Hurt and bewildered by the fact that no one wanted him, and lured by the wildness of the plains beyond the fence, he made his escape the next time he and the other pup were taken out into the yard.
Zaire was soon lost in the wilderness. He found that it was not as safe and free out here as he had supposed, and soon fell into grave danger when he encountered a wild boar. Maddened by the young pup's sudden appearance among her brood, the boar charged him. She caught him in her tusks and would have gored him had not the Boy appeared.
The Boy drove away the boar and took the wounded pup home. There he bound his wounds and gave him his name: Zaire because he found him near a river, and later, Imari for his loyalty and faithfulness. Zaire loved his Boy more than he loved his own life. He defended the Boy from danger, and in return the Boy gave him all the love and kindness he had. One day, though, after three years together, the Boy took ill. Zaire watched in terror, then grief as his Boy died. After the Boy's death, Zaire left the house where they had lived and returned to the wild. He turned his back on most of the humans of his village, believing that they were the ones who killed his Boy. He fell in with a group of African Wild Dogs, and after many trials, managed to join their pack. However, a few months after he was accepted, a pup in the neighboring pack was killed. The mother of the pup, stricken with grief, placed a curse on Zaire's pack. One by one they caught plague and began to die, the same as his Boy had done. Believing that Zaire was the murderer, the Dogs Exiled him to the mountains. Not long after, they exiled his friend, Komali, a Jackal/African Wild Dog mix, as well. Zaire currently lives alone in a cave in the mountains, but he has been watching the events surrounding Komali's exile from his pack, and the subsequent exile of the dead pup's mother, Atari, very closely.
Personality: When he was a pup, Zaire was very inquisitive and mischievous. He always led his little brother, Kanye, into trouble, and was usually the one caught "red-pawed", so to speak. He became more and more jaded as after continual rejection, and that has always stuck with him, giving him a sarcastic and slightly sardonic attitude. In the years that he was with his Boy, however, he became gentler and more courageous and true, helping him to survive on his own after his Boy died. When he left the humans, Zaire tried to drop the name Imari because he felt that it didn't apply to him anymore. However, the kind woman and her children who lived near the Boy still called him Imari, and for a time he found companionship there, as well as food. But the continued rejection, from the other people of the village who threw stones and called him a wild beast, and then from the Wild Dogs, finally cooled his heart. Deep down he is still a gentle dog, but it takes quite a while to gain his trust and crack his shell.
Art: 
I understand that by adopting this creature I take full responsibility for it.
I've fallen in love with your ADORABLE Tapir character, Tea! 
