xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx image credit @ tyler yates on flickr NAME ⎯⎯⎯ galileo, "gali" or "leo"
AGE ⎯⎯⎯ four years old
BREED ⎯⎯⎯ golden retriever x collie mix
SEX & GENDER ⎯⎯⎯ cismale, pansex/rom, neutered
PAST RANK ⎯⎯⎯ service dog | cardiac episode alert, seizure detection, part-time therapy dog
CURRENT RANK ⎯⎯⎯ lambda
WANTED RANK ⎯⎯⎯ house pet
APPEARANCE ⎯⎯⎯ leo is a strange cocktail of his mother and father. while he has the height and stocky figure of a golden retriever, he's got the facial structure and features of a border collie. his eyes, the same startling bright blue as his mother's, are framed by swirls of copper and rich ivory. leo's pelt is thick and downy soft, often getting tangled and dirtied as it drags the ground. the dog hasn't been able to figure out how to get out of his service dog vest, though his claims to wish he could are a little false. the vest reminds him of what he's lost - and he wouldn't want his master to be upset with him for losing it while they were separated. the top of his right ear is floppy, a little tattered now after a hungry raccoon decided to take a chomp out of his ear when he shoved his nose a little too far into their personal space. His tail is miles long with feathered ends, tangled up and matted now without his routine brushing and grooming appointments. he's got a bad habit of collecting leaves and stones in his fur, which he spends endless hours trying to restore to its former glory, to no avail. not one to be vain, gali supposes at least he still has fur, even if its a little messy.
BODY TYPE ⎯⎯⎯ broad, stocky, healthy weight. body structure of a golden retrieve, facial shape of a border collie
EYES ⎯⎯⎯ vibrant, icy blue with a small touch of amber in the corner of his left eyes
SCARS ⎯⎯⎯ tattered ear from a tussle with a trash cat, a faint scar across his muzzle from said raccoon's claw
SCENT ⎯⎯⎯ lavender and red berry
PERSONALITY ⎯⎯⎯ steadfast, golden-hearted, spirited, energetic, intelligent, resourceful, open-minded, adaptive
born with the golden disposition of the retriever who fathered him, galileo is a gentle dog with sunlight in his heart. he finds his purpose in life to be the guidance of others, particularly humans that need a helping hand. an empath to a fault, he is quite sensitive to all the beings around him - from the flowers, to the towering giants that supposedly live in the sea, leo believes all life is sacred. violence disturbs this dog more than he can put into words - and with his dauntless spirit, he's not afraid to let you know when he feels something isn't right. this dog will never lift a malicious paw to anyone, unless it is a piece of prey: even then, he struggles to take a life just to sustain his own. incredibly intelligent, resourceful and inventive, leo can "macgyver" just about anything to get the job done. he relies heavily on the skills he was taught as he trained by his human's side as first a medical emergency detection canine, to a therapy dog who wandered through hospitals to give sick humans something to smile about. the dog's nose can uncover anything you might need: he's an excellent tracker and can pinpoint something edible from quite a long distance away. trained to notice things going awry in the body, gali can also advise dogs when its time to give their thunder hearts and aching paws a rest. gali does, however, put value in self-preservation. he will not stick himself in a terrible situation, even if his best friend is the one in trouble: if he wants to be able to protect his family, then he needs to protect himself. this doesn't mean he is selfish, however. if he can afford to give you something of his, he will do so without expectation of something in return. he is unintentionally charming with his warm presence and his witty, but cheesy sense of humor. he defends mankind with vehemence, refusing to believe that someone's master is at fault for the state of the world. he gets a little defensive with dogs who don't care for humans, as he has had the fortunate gift to never have experienced a cruel man's companionship. daniel loved his dogs with all his heart and gali misses his owner more than anything else. a little bit spoiled, the mutt has had a bit of a hard time adjusting to such a harsh life away from human care, but he has quickly adjusted and picked up on the teachings of tacoma and the strays that seem to know what they're doing even though the world is falling apart around them. he puts on a brave face, but his heart is quite heavy and burdened. all gali can think about is his owner out there somewhere, scared and alone, with a flimsy heart that would love to give up the ghost. gali still whole-heartedly believes he'll find daniel some day and when he does, he'll face the hardest decision he's ever had to make - stay with his new family, or go back to the man he was meant to guard with his very life. sometimes late at night, he'll wander away from the sleeping dogs he now calls his pack, but guilt always sends him creeping back to them. craving companionship, leo will befriend any canine that allows him to draw closer. he has a massive heart and room to hold everyone he meets as near as they wish. he yearns for deeper companionship, but lacks the confidence in himself to reach out in that way to someone else first. he often suffer in silence, as he always feels like someone else's pain is greater than his own. leo struggles to admit when he isn't okay, as his "purpose" in life is to help others heal. mentally, he does not put himself first. leo bottles everything up until he simply has no more room to add things onto his plate. in all truthfulness, galileo is petrified of this new life and the future he's certain will be spent in absolutely squalor, but he dare not share his pessimism with others. even if he doesn't believe it himself, he will happily tell you "everything is going to be okay" until you believe him. an overthinker, he often talks himself out of opportunities. rather than risk failing or making a fool of himself, galileo tends to let chances pass him by. he gets in his fairly often, trapped in an endless loop of worst case scenarios and unfair amounts of self-destructive loathing for himself. galileo is his own worst enemy, but you'd never know there's a turbulent unrest constantly churning in his stomach and digging nails through the coffin he's made out of his own naive hope that the world can still be saved. still lost to his denial, the dog refuses to acknowledge that the human race has all but been wiped out by their own hands. humans can do no wrong.
- loves to wear clothes. has three collars - a choker, a band around his neck that says "DO NOT PET" and a bright blue collar with his ID tags attached. he had a rain coat with an umbrella attached, his prized possession
- serial chewer, shoes are not safe around galileo
- will make anything into a toy, easily entertained
- knows close to 100 commands. was training with those buttons a dog can push to "speak" to their owners
- loves music, particularly violin
- swears to god he'll learn how to speak raccoon, if only to find the one that bit his ear what a jerk he is
- loves everyone, wants to be everyone's friend, even if they don't want to be his
- "smiles", but other dogs have mistaken it for a snarl and its gotten him in trouble quite a few times
- has immense empathy for prey and "lesser" creatures. feels guilty when he has to hunt
- was once a chicken nugget fiend. put ranch on it, or he ain't want it
- walking compendium of "dad jokes"
- loves pups, but he knows he cannot have any of his own. but wishes he could. wants to adopt a pup eventually, just for the experience and joys of raising young.
- brings gifts to others in hopes to give them something to smile about. he keeps a stash of "cool" things he's found in his nest. his gifting is carefully considered: he saves his presents for the perfect moment.
- often starts a conversation with an uplifting compliment, or some sort of praise. believes in lifting others up
LIKES ⎯⎯⎯ rain/thunder storms, music, long walks/hikes, exploring, spending time with his packmates, playing hide and seek, training, competing in obedience competitions
DISLIKES ⎯⎯⎯ cruelty, dogs who "hate" humans, violence, hot weather, raccoons
FEARS ⎯⎯⎯ never finding his master, deep water, guns/fireworks
HISTORY ⎯⎯⎯ leo couldn't have been born somewhere better. his master, a licensed dog trainer, had changed everything about his life to revolve around his dogs. from a very young age, daniel was taught that dogs were sacred animals - the best friends a man could ever ask for. he had his first dog before he turned one - angel, a golden retriever, took his family by the heart. as he aged, his parents realized that his passions involved animals, specifically dogs. his father enrolled him and angel in a program called 4H and the young boy decided to chase a career in animal science. before he was able to go to veterinarian school, he started out small with obedience, agility, and showmanship. he competed in numerous competitions, winning grand champion more than once with angel and the dogs that came after the old gal crossed the rainbow bridge when he was fourteen.
galileo was a surprise to his family, as were his two siblings. a stray retriever made his way onto their family's farm and fell in love with another one of their dogs, a collie named calla. his three siblings were found homes that were nearby and they occasionally visited them whenever his master had the chance. he's kept a great relationship with his kin throughout his life. as he got older, leo was put into a training program so that he could become his master's new service dog, in order for his senior lab, gaia, to retire at the age of seven. leo turned into daniel's best canine companion yet and the pair swept their competitors under the rug. leo, one of the smartest dogs daniel had ever met, can do anything he sets his mind to. his desire to please makes him the perfect candidate for a service dog. he is trained to detect medical emergencies, as his master suffers from epilepsy and a few other dangerous conditions that leo helps daniel endure. they had just completed their training to be a therapy dog before the blast. leo took pride and immense delight out of his work. helping humans makes leo's heart soar.
when the blast happened, he was not home. his owner dropped him off at the groomer's and was due to return in a few hours. however, the groomers seemed to enter a panic and abandoned the establishment. luckily, a shepherd broke out of his cage and helped leo free of the leash that had been confining him to the grooming table. for weeks, he tried to search for his owne, but leo couldn't find him. a few weeks in, tacoma and a group of dogs came upon the facility. the old dog talked him in to joining them, although leo still plans to continue his search for daniel. each time he tries to leave, though, he hesitates. he's started to really care for this pack and leaving them seems callous: they benefit from his therapeutic training in more ways than one. taking that resource away from them, would leave the dog riddled with shame and guilt. yet he continues to feel terrible for stalling. daniel needs him, but so does his family. leo is constantly conflicted about his role and place in tacoma's pack. he's unsure if he truly has the heart to leave them now.
leo, a lover of humans, often finds his fur standing on end when other dogs question his loyalty to the man who didn't come back for him. he refuses to view daniel's failure to come back for him as something the human could have possibly been able to help. accepting that daniel abandon him is something galileo will likely never be able to do. he knows, logically, that his master is probably dead, but leo refused to let the thought turn into a his reality. he will never find out the truth - that daniel died in the blast, far too close to where the nuke went off. its for the better: if galileo knew, he'd likely grieve himself to death. the hope of finding daniel alive and well keeps leo alive and as well as one possibly could be at the end of the world.
leo was offered the theta position, but the dog declined for more reasons than the flimsy one he gave tacoma. he does not believe he has the knowledge to heal the body, only the soul. secondly, if he were to accept the position and need to leave once he finds daniel, he would be taking away something critical to his friends' lives. he also gets quite uneasy and squimish around those who are sick or hurt. the sight of someone suffering, especially someone he cares about, tears the dog asunder. he can handle high pressure situations with grace, until someone is gravely hurt in front of him. panic sets in and his efforts to assist are frantic and rash - a recipe for disaster. most times, he can't even stomach to sit by a poorly dog's side, as he knows all too well how easily a life can be snuffed out. surrounded by so much sickness and death has left leo a little fearful of his own life. if the dog catches a cold, he's dead convinced he's contracted something deadly. unfortunately, his genes are not the strongest. galileo is notorious for falling ill, his immune system left shattered by his bought with parvo when he was just a young pup. luckily, his owner caught it just in time before the deadly virus could take his life.
- mother: calla, border collie
- father: murphy, golden retriever
- siblings: nikolai, asphodel, einstein
- previous master: daniel crossgow, 32 years old
LOVE INTEREST ⎯⎯⎯ open!
OFFSPRING ⎯⎯⎯ none, not possible [fixed]. would adopt, though
PLAYLIST ⎯⎯⎯
- no shame, 5sos
- what are you asking me?, the village ost
- never look away, vienna tang
- got me started, troye sivan
- pink light, muna
RELATIONS ⎯⎯⎯
- thatcher much like tacoma, he holds the upmost respect for the beta of their pack. he finds a kind soul to resonate with in thatcher and he admires the dog's seemingly depthless patience and love for the strangers he will one day lead when tacoma no longer can. he finds the blue lab's advice priceless and takes what thatcher says to heart. he strives to please them both and tries to live by the values his leaders follow. leo follows thatcher's example; he looks up to the lab, always eager to hear what the other dog feels or thinks about a predicament.
- church
this dog intimidates galileo for more than one reason. he knows the temper that is hidden beneath the surface and his outburst often leave leo searching for an escape. he is perplexed by the dog's personality and how it effects the theta's approach to healing. he knows the canine is incredibly intelligent and if he weren't so nervous around church, he might feel confident to pick his brain a little. there is something unsettling about the calculative look that often shines in the dog's eyes. leo struggles to trust the male as much as he wish he could. there's something dark about church that he knows would almost enjoy something nefarious. he cares for church, nonetheless. his mind is far too valuable of an asset to consider church as capable of anything except the mercy being a healer demands.
kerrigan viserys persephone he holds an immense amount of respect and care for the older dog and is often checking up on her, as he knows how age can leave the body in haggard conditions. her defiant nature is something that galileo finds strength in himself. if the elderly canine can get through this hellish nightmare, then surely so can he. he enjoys conversations with persephone and she is one of the few dogs he'll confess his own problems and struggles to. she is someone that he felt comfortable around quite quickly when he first joined the pack.
twister he finds value in twister's determination to save himself and appreciates his mindfulness of his own body. he, too, puts a lot of effort into self-preservation, although galileo's reasoning is not to spare himself, but to keep alive so that he is there for his loved ones. he doesn't tend to push the male into talking about what plagues him, though leo hopes that one day the kappa will be comfortable enough to open a little more. he is, however, well aware that this dog would choose to save himself before he would offer to help another. regardless, he finds his loyalty to the pack something to be admired. leo does shy away from him when twister starts to get agitated; his aggression scares leo. he makes it a point to avoid getting on twister's bad side. he cares not to know what those pearly fangs feel like in his skin.
heaven heaven is a dog that is so easy to be friends with. he craves the samoyed's company. heaven is the primary recipient of his "presents". the poor dog will have enough rocks from leo soon to build a mountain. he is comforted by the she-dogs views of the world around and tries his best to be as hopeful and kind as she is. like the hopeless romantic he is, he can't help but feel a little enamored with heaven, but he's far too shy to speak on his thoughts. she is beautiful, inside and out.
tissala monka, scary lady. the pit wouldn't harm a hair on his cinnamon bun little head, but he ain't about to take any chances. he keeps a respectful view of the theta, nonetheless. leo tends to avoid the theta, preferring to seek the advice or care from the other medic in the back. just like all the other dogs, leo would still help out the blue-furred menace however he possibly could
tacoma he has immense respect for the alpha. he thinks that tacoma will keep everyone safe and could never let anything terrible happen to the dogs he watches over. his faith in tacoma is absolute. he feels protected around the shepherd mix. his loyalty to tacoma is undying. anything the dog asks of him is done with no question.
aelita the young dog often brings out a more youthful side in galileo. it doesnt take much to convince the dog to have a little "fun" or do something ridiculous. the pair get one another riled up, making it hard to concentrate on a task if they're working together. aelita is like a little sister to him. she reminds leo of his brothers and their puphood together.
VOICE CLAIM ⎯⎯⎯ adult kovu, lion king ii : smooth, tenor
ACCENT ⎯⎯⎯ american, born and raised in california