Tracker Dogs V2.0 [Series 20]

[Limerence]

Beautiful art, Snails!

[A.K.A Raptor]

i am dead i will never get one

[Nimaine]

Tracker Dog Application Series 11

Username:

Nimaine

Tracker Dog you want:

#35

Name you'll give it:

Like all government agencies, he has a long, blunt, and unwieldly name that has been shortened to a
convenient and indecipherable acronym. A. S. A. R. C. stands for Aquatic Search And Rescue Canine, though in moments of tenderness and affection, his handler, the rest of his team, and even the press will call him Sarkie. A.S.A.R.C. prefers his second nickname, as it is usually accompanied by praise and rewards.

Reason why you want it:

Well, I love the backstory you've invested in these guys and would enjoy owning one of my own. Also, his personality description leads me to believe his character will be way too fun to write. I like his blade-like fins and proud stance. His colors are my preferred natural tones of brown. With some lovely dull read and teal accents thrown in. His coat design is simple yet still contains a few nifty details- perfect for drawing, in my opinion.

Will it be used in any kind of story?

Yes, he'll be the main character in a series of short stories about the Aquatic Search and Rescue team of the Everglades. You can see the first one below. I would love to use him in a Tracker roleplay thread, if one ever became available.

Describe its personality:

A.S.A.R.C. is kind-hearted, patient, courageous, and generous to a fault. After all, doesn't he opulently offer his magnificant services to the good of the community every day? It's been a lifelong mystery to Sarkie as to why the entire Aquatic Search and Rescue Team doesn't burst out into spontenous applause when he enters their headquarters in the morning.

Belive it or not, A.S.A.R.C. is also incredibly modest. Of course, when you really are the world's best Tracker dog, people tend to mistake candor for bragging. But being so big-hearted, A.S.A.R.C. forgives them this. It's a pity their intellects are too small to grasp his greatness, or even acknowledge it at times, and it's here his patience comes into play.

It's usually the size of his ego that prevents him from feeling any fear, but one of his more redeeming characteristics is his ability to continue to perform his job- even if he is afraid. He is also very fond of children, the younger the better. The smaller ones take the proper attitude to the wonder of his presence.

A.S.A.R.C. can get jealous. Even the mildest praise of another Tracker dog, or what he considers excessive praise of another animal, sends him into the sulks, and you've got to apologize to him before he'll admit to your existance again. It's because sometimes, in the lonely watches of the night or day, he gets to wondering... if he's really so great, why don't more people recognize this? Perhaps he's not great, but merely... good? Of course, he'd never admit to considering that to another living being.

As for his more physical eccentricies, he loves water of any kind. Seafood, too. Fish, clams, scallops, crawfish, shrimp, mussels, and lobster are all very delicious to him. Just about the only thing he won't eat is jellyfish, because A.S.A.R.C. has been known to snack on seaweed. He prefers seafood-flavored cat food to dog chow, and has been known to eat it whenever he gets the chance. He also enjoys music, usually of the big band or orchestra variety. Anything with lots of instruments.

The one thing that really freaks him out is bloodsuckers. Specifically, leeches and ticks. A.S.A.R.C. can be squeamish, but only about his only blood. He can smell his blood inside the leeches and ticks, feel how fat they've grown with his nose or mouth, and they don't come off when he scratches. He needs to bite and pull, and it hurts and usually results in a wound. Humans can do it better, and Sarkie really appreciates this service.

Write an introduction for your Tracker:
(Note: this is written entirely in A.S.A.R.C.'s point of view, and in his view of the world, he can speak perfect English, but all the humans actually hear/see/feel are barks, growls, whines, moans, sighs, nudges, scratches, licks both long and short, et cetera.)

~~~~~~~~~~In which I single-pawedly rescue the entire Aquatic Search and Rescue Team~~~~~~~~~

Captain Verli grabbed at my neck and face instinctively, and I let him do it without complaint. A man is allowed certain priviliges while drowning, and clutching his savior like a one-armed octopus is one of them. No, what really bothered me was, why was he drowning in the first place? Maximilian Verli knew how to swim. In fact he could swim very well... for a human. In life or death-situations like this, one can't ponder all possible explanations. I jumped to conclusions-he was caught in something. Swampweed, or maybe some of the rope on the ship.

I directed all my senses towards his lower body, as his arms were obviously free. My vision, never very good, saw nothing in the stirred up mud. But the sensors on my ears and the vibrations on the rest of my body sensed struggling. Following Captain Verli down with my nose, I discovered the problem: that braided plastic rope attached to the life preserver was wrapped around his leg. Well, this should be easy. I bit it in half with my powerful jaws. No, wait, it's still there, on my tongue. I chewed on it with annoyance. No rope should be able to stand up to me, plastic or not.

Finally, it gave way, and a half a stroke brought me alongside the Captain, who was heading up, as he should be. Two more of my strokes brought us both to the surface, where despite taking a gasping breath, Maximalian still clung to me. Well, all right. He's been a good pilot for me, until this accident. I can give him a lift if he really wants it. I swam with him over to a log where my handler and the rest of the crew were waiting.

"Good job, A.S.A.R.C.," my handler, Bernice Merris, told me fondly as she took charge of the captain.

"Well, naturally," I replied with my usual modesty. She's a dear girl, and I love her, but she has the classic human frailty of being a little short on brains. And perception.

"I know the captain is supposed to go down with his ship, Max, but I didn't know you captains took it so literally." This was the slightly relieved, slightly teasing voice of our local biologist, Dr. Kyrios. He was studying the dumping and other pollution in the swamp, which was why we were out here in the first place. I came to help find the larger pieces of trash, like cars, and to keep an eye on my humans.

Captain Verli took some more ribbing from the crew, and I scouted for alligators. Humans can't swim... at all, really. They just kind of fumble through the water. A pair of fins on their feet help, but they don't compare to my fins. After a little while they stopped having fun and started looking at the situation. It was pretty grim. Four humans, in the middle of the swamp, with no boat, nor even an island to rest their tired limbs on. Of course, when times get tough, I'm always the one they turn to. I just exude this natural aura of confidence and charisma. I'm always the first choice for a leader in situations like these.

First, they wanted land, not decaying, insect-infested logs. Bernice sent me out, and I proceeded to follow up a few leads. When looking for land in the water, the first lead you want to follow is small fish. Small fish like the shallows, because large fish and other predators have trouble swimming there. You could also follow an alligator to its sunning spot or a water rat to its den in a bank, but it might take a while before the animal heads home. Small fish rarely travel away from the shallows.

Well, I found a school of minnows, and sure enough, they led me to the shallows. Unfortunately, it didn't actually rise above the surface of the water, but it only came halfway up my legfins. I swam back to Bernice and the others, and led them to my discovery. I'm sorry to say that none of them were very appreciative. However, my skills were not forgotten, and I was promptly sent out again to "get help." Those little electronic devices humans carry with them everywhere were full of swamp water, and no longer working.

~~~~~~~~~~In which I summon my admiring accolytes to rescue my team. ~~~~~~~~~~

Swimming through a swamp is like swimming through a full orchestra. Both produce many and various vibrations, only one takes place on land and the other is in the water. And in the water, different instruments mean different animals. And different songs imply different actions.

A human caught in a rope and drowning makes a discordant song, like a young child banging the flat of his palms on a cheap and poorly tuned piano. In fact, all struggling sounds like a beginner just learning to play an instrument. Alligators sound like big brass, deep and loud. Minnows sound like little jingling bells or piccolos. But with such a large orchestra, it can take some time to tease apart which instruments are present, unless you've had some practice. Of course, the swamp also has an aerial orchestra too, with ribbiting frogs, chirping and buzzing insects, and any splashes from the water-dwellers.

But as I swam, I could hear a sound coming through both orchestras. It was a very quiet undertone at first, but eventually it cut through both songs like my jaws going through a hot dog. It was the steady beat of cars zooming down the highway. From here, I'd have to continue my journey on land.

I've never understood this appeal to live on solid ground. It's dry, hard, and makes you feel heavy. After my lovely dip in the brown water, crossing busy roadways and scampering behind houses did not appeal to me. Most of the houses were empty, or at least no one came out when I barked. I thought I'd have to trek all the way into the city, and my heart was feeling low.

But it's always darkest before dawn, they say, and sure enough, after crossing a much smaller and not at all busy road, I came to the Madison's Elementary School playground. And it was recess. Have I mentioned Madison's Elementary School, and in particular Ms. Ballandoux's second grade class? Perhaps not. Anyway, one day Ms. Ballandoux asked the entire Aquatic Search and Rescue Team to do a show-and-tell presentation for her class. I'm not going to go into details, becaus it would be against my modest nature. I'm just going to say that they loved me best. Oh, and they even sent letters to headquarters, thanking us for coming. Guess who got the most letters? That's right, it was me.

We were asked to come back again, by popular demand of the children, and the rest is history. They're wonderful kids, I'm even teaching them to sing choric praises in my honor. The first one goes something like, "Sarkie Sarkie Sarkie, you're here! You came! You're the best Tracker doggie EVER!"

So when I jumped over the wall of the playground, that's what I was greeted with. It's pleasant to have one's true greatness admired properly from time to time, even if you are a modest soul. I was also swarmed by my dear young worshippers. Now when traveling through a swamp, you're bound to pick up a coat of mud. It's a free gift from the swamp, and if you wander through the edge of the swamp, as I did to reach the highway, the coat can get quite thick. I like wet mud, it keeps me moist, but dried mud is not my favorite. By the time they could even think to start to tear themselves away from me, my dear young admirers had taken off most of my coat of mud, and put it on themselves. I didn't even realize what they were doing for me. I thought it was all simply affection, and did not have a purpose. I licked a few of the ones closest to my head in gratitude.

But the removal of most of the mud had revealed something else. I had picked up a few horrid leeches. I shuddered instinctively. I just couldn't bear to leave them on until I met up with Bernice again. I had to pull them out... now. Urlgh. I took one in my mouth, but one of the boys piped up, "Oh look, he's got leeches on him!"

There was a chorus of "Eeewww" from the other children, which I joined, but with more feeling. They seemed excited by the prospect of being covered with leeches. I was not. I returned rather coldly to my job of removing the blasted things.

"Don't pull it, Sarkie. We'll get you some salt from the cafeteria," one of the little girls said kindly.

"Salt?" I inquired, my mouth still over the leech. Oh yes, that spice Bernice uses to make the leeches fall off. "By all means, let us go and fetch some salt!" I declared, tail wagging.

I was escorted with great honor by the entire second grade class across the playground and into the school building. In return, I tried not to step on their feet, or at least, not step down hard on their feet. All the other grades were out at recess also, and they followed us, shouting for a closer look at me. I gave them polite smiles from a distance, but I had no intention of abandoning my friends in Ms. Ballandoux's second grade class.

This joyous parade was marred when one of the teachers appeared in the doorway. "What are you children doing with that filthy dog?" It was not a nicely phrased request, it was a rude demand.


WIP! Not only does it need to be finished (it's almost done!), it needs to be edited. I had a big exam this week, but I really wanted this guy.

[DoctorDraca]

Guys, from tomorrow on, there'll be a very small art contest to win a pre-made Tracker. Nothing big, just something I thought that'd seem fun. The design isn't very complicated, but seeing as the contest ends pretty soon, I thought to not overdo on details. Simple and nice, right? Anyway, check the frontpage for more info. (:

[eternalglitch]

Guys, from tomorrow on, there'll be a very small art contest to win a pre-made Tracker. Nothing big, just something I thought that'd seem fun. The design isn't very complicated, but seeing as the contest ends pretty soon, I thought to not overdo on details. Simple and nice, right? Anyway, check the frontpage for more info. (:

Must try....

[Desmond]

Can we use more than one color in the contest? :)

[DoctorDraca]

Yeah, sure. Just be creative. :D

[eternalglitch]

Hey Nex, When is the Tracker Dog going to be picked today?

[DoctorDraca]

xXTracker Dog Application Series 11Xx


Username:
808

Tracker Dog you want:
#34

Name you'll give it:
Striker

Reason why you want it:
Well, I've been secretly stalking this thread until I saw a Tracker Dog that I clicked with. When I was looking the Available Trackers for this series, I saw the first Tracker and sighed and thought, Nothing. Then, I scrolled to the next and stared at the design, literally speechless. There was finally a click. I was pulled towards the Tracker instantly, not even bothering to see the next one -- this was it. The design is just wonderful, the blue and the yellow contrasting perfectly. The smokey effect made it even better than it already was. I would absolutely just LOVE to draw him, since I love to draw. I read the description and was a little thrown off reading that he loved crowded cities, since I hate them. But hey, a little difference is always okay. Then I read he liked the night, just like me. My mind was made up, I'm going for this one! <3

Age:
Two years and eight months

Height:
About a foot.


Will it be used in any kind of story?:
Definitely! I'm not actually a writer, but it's always fun and love to do it.

Describe its personality:

Stubbornness:
As it was said in the description, Striker is a stubborn Tracker who will do what he believes is right. He won't let anything get in his way until he finishes his job. He won't give in to something unless it is someone he can trust, even then, they have to be deadly serious.

Braveness:
Striker is extremely brave, no matter what. He will stand up for what he believes in and defend it. He will also face any enemy with little fear. Being a Tracker that scouts enemy territory when necessary, he must have these qualities. However, somethings get to Striker and make him back off. Like when he was teased by other Trackers when he was little. Or when people called him useless and dumb.

Intelligence:
Striker wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed or the dullest. He is average when it comes to the smarts, and he is fine with it.

Likes:
~ Nighttime
~ Hid and Seek
~ His job
~ The city

Dislikes:
~ Open spaces
~ The country
~ Having to do something he doesn't believe in

Relationship:
No mate, not really looking for one, either.

Theme Song:
Not Afraid - Eminem


Write an introduction for your Tracker:
(I'm just going to use a character named Grace for my introduction.)

"Grace! Lets go! We gotta train!" one of my roommates yelled. Well, we were more in a tent, not a room, but we still say roommate.
"I comin'!" I called back, quickly pulling on my training pants. I hobbled out of tent number five, quickly buttoning my pants so I wouldn't be late. The sky was still dark at the war base, being about four o' clock in the morning. I quickly walked to the training area, rubbing my eyes from my tiredness.
"Knight! Your late!" my trainer, Kober, shouted. His face was red, obviously annoyed with my lateness.
"Sorry, sir," I muttered, looking at my mud cracked boots.
Kober rolled his beady black eyes and announced, "Roll call! Listen up!" He started to call out the last names of my fellow trainees, all of them answering quickly after.
I studied the perfectly straight line we were in. I was one of the few females in the line, since the army only took a few females a year. I sighed and answered Kober when he shouted my name much more loudly than necessary.
"Now, lets start with ten laps around the track," he said, pointing to the dusty track.
I bit back a groan and followed after the others to the track, staring to jog. It was barely four-thirty and I was already running.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After many, many hours of training, it was finally ten o' clock and time to hit the showers. I hung back behind the others, just wanting some silence after a hard day of labor. I decided to take a shortcut I found to the showers so I could grab the hot water before it was all gone. I slipped into a alley and let my eyes adjust before heading down the alley.
Suddenly, I bumped into something. I cautiously inspected it and found that it was moving! The thing snarled at me and attempted to bit at me. I jumped back quickly and avoided the lashing teeth.
This thing stepped out of the shadows and into the light. It was one of the Stealth Tracker dogs that are supposed to spy on our base!
I started to panic, but my training taught me better. I squatted down and started to pet the dog, knowing I wasn't going to get anywhere attacking it.
The Tracker rubbed his head against my body, signaling that he liked me.
I smiled, thinking this dog wasn't so bad after all. "Hey, wanna be my pet?" I asked the dog softly.
The Tracker backed away and shook his head, clearly too stubborn to abandon his mission.
I shrugged and continued down the alley, quickening my pace because most of the hot water would be gone by now. I heard footsteps behind me, when I turned around I saw the Tracker dog following me. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?" I asked, also kind of sad to leave the hansom dog.
The Stealth dog nodded slowly, hesitant to leave, but he trusted this person instantly, knowing she would never hurt him.
I patted his head and thought aloud, "What should I name you? Vold? Xaxier?" I pondered this moment for several minutes until I got the right one and exclaimed, "I know! I'll name you Striker!"
Striker seamed pleased with his new name. Back at his own base, he was just number 34.
I smiled down and walked down the alley, knowing that if I were ever to have this dog, I would have to quite the army; and Striker would have to quite his job too. I knew we were going to be able to do it, quite are jobs that we love but still have a happy life.

Fanart:



More to come!

Congrats, dearie, have fun with your new Tracker.

[MelodiousNocturne]

Zomigosh! Must enter Art contest! That Aquatic is gorgeous and I have sooo many ideas!!!! I almost want to do the contest rather than fill out the form for 35 even though he's pretty too(*looks back and forth between tabs* Oooooh which one?!)

Edit: When it says stay true to the design does that mean keep the glow off? I noticed there's no glow on the eyes on either reference picture. Or does itjust mean don't go turning the grey into bright pink or something like that?