[monochrome.]

Precontest Rules:
You can begin with your first blog post. It can occur the day before you "adopt" your Guardian. It should set the stage, laying out your training location, trainer tone, and plans.

If your Guardian is not claimed by Sunday the 15th of March, your Guardian will be put up for readoption.

Please submit the below form to claim your Guardian.

Code: Select all

[b]I'm claiming this Guardian![/b]
[b]Owner:[/b] SoapyAndKat
[b]Name:[/b] {You may leave blank until the Guardian is revealed if you wish}
[b]Gender:[/b] Female
[b]Fears:[/b] Severe fear of contact with injured shoulder. Afraid of anything prod-like, such as sticks. Afraid of loud noises.
[b]Past:[/b] Found roaming alone by the highway, seems to have escaped from an abusive home.

General Rules:
You may keep your Guardian if you have a minimum of three blog posts for it by the end of the contest. Otherwise it will be put up for readoption.

You'll be added to the drawing on Saturday, after your Guardian is unwrapped. You may add objects and/or accessories to your Guardian (clip, bandanna, collar, etc.) but you may not edit the main lines in anyway major way.

[hypersomn.ia]

I'm claiming this Guardian!
Owner: SoapyAndKat
Name:
Gender: Female
Fears: Severe fear of contact with injured shoulder. Afraid of anything prod-like, such as sticks. Afraid of loud noises.
Past: Found roaming alone by the highway, seems to have escaped from an abusive home.

[hypersomn.ia]

"March 12, 2015
I'm number six. Apparently the kennel is hosting a blind adoption and all the humans are signing up for it. I've been told I'm being assigned to some human named Soapy. I haven't even met her yet and she's already sent me a gift; this journal and a pen. I may be able to read, but writing sure isn't easy. I hope she isn't trying to trick me into liking her. The last guy did that and look where I am. But I'm stuck with her, so all I can do is hope for the best. I may as well accept her gift as well. And what a better use for it than to document the next chapter of my life? Maybe I'll have something good to look back on, one day."

[hypersomn.ia]

March 16, 2015
"Apparently the event has been delayed due to weather conditions. They're saying we'll meet our new owners next weekend. It gets boring, sitting in the cage, day after day, waiting, hoping the future is brighter than the past."

[hypersomn.ia]

Soapy.jpg

March 22, 2015
"The woman who approached me at the kennel yesterday was both pretty and terrifying. I got a good vibe from her, and I was glad to finally be out of the shelter and able to stretch my legs, but the fear of what may happen next came back after sitting in that cage for two weeks. But still, I had to go with her. She told me her name is Soapy. Strange, I thought. I told her my past human called me Twilight, but I didn't like that name.
"Well, what name would you like? You only get one chance to change it," she told me.
"Hm. I'm not sure," I said.
She then asked how my shoulder got injured. I thought it would heal after two weeks in a cage, but apparently there's still a noticeable scar. My past owner used to beat me there, and there only. She (my past human) figured it would hurt more to beat a wound that was already there. The whole time I lived with her my shoulder had never healed. Luckily I was able to keep away infection by constantly cleaning it.
Why did she beat me? I was a show guardian. Everybody like to see a puppy do tricks. But as I got older, my tricks became less impressive, so I was beaten into doing more complicated tricks. Keep in mind canines don't have the same memory humans do. Every time I forgot part of the routine, I would get whacked with a stick or something. Sometimes my trainer would just straight up punch me. She always shouted commands at me, the same routine every day. The more we practiced a routine, the more repetitive it got for my trainer, and the more impatient she became.
When it came showtime, of course I was limping, but I had to hide it. I ignored the pain, she covered the markings by gluing on fake fur, which ripped up the wound even more when she took it off. If I didn't hide it, I didn't win the competition. If I didn't win the competition, I got no food for the next three days. I still had to train when I was hungry, though. Less energy, more screw-ups, more beatings. I don't know how Soapy plans on training me. Less beatings, I hope.
When we got home, Soapy showed me where I'd be staying. I like this place better already. A nice bed, nice food, cool water, and even toys!
My last home had an old bed and the water wasn't very fresh. The food was tasteless, same as the kennel's food, because we were poor. My trainer relied on me winning those competitions.
Soapy told me she would give me a couple nights to settle in. What's going to happen when I do get settled in...?"

[hypersomn.ia]

AmericaFirstImpression.jpg

March 23, 2015
I soon discovered Soapy keeps multiple pets. All of which are very recently adopted. I hope she doesn't get out of hand with all of these pets. This place could get really crowded! The first one is named America. He's the only one who's not a guardian fox. He's actually a very normal dog. He doesn't speak, but he still barks at everything and seems to have an unhealthy obsession with his purple squeak ball. He's the loudest of all of us, despite being less than half my size.
Then there are the other guardians. The grey one has been named Bear. He's very serious, like he's had a responsibility his whole life.
The other guardian is named Jude. She has a very sad expression all the time, and walks with a really bad limp on both back legs. It's painful to watch. She's also very quiet. The two of them seem close, so I asked Bear what had happened. He said it was a long story, but she's improved tremendously.
Sometimes, when everything seems to be a bit happier, I hear Bear singing to Jude. I've only heard music during the contests, and even then they were distant, in a different contest elsewhere in the area. Those were the times when I felt peace. Now hearing Bear sing, I almost feel at home.
I hope I can make friends out of the pets here. Soapy has started calling me Bubbles, since I haven't come up with a name for myself. I can't think of one, but Bubbles is better than Twilight, I suppose. I like Dusk, but that seems too close to Twilight.
I hear Bear singing in the next room:
"Hey, Jude, don't make it bad.
Take a sad song
and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
And you can start to make it better."

[hypersomn.ia]

March 25, 2015

Since I moved in to my new home I've always been scared of whether or not I'm going to go back to being a show guardian. Soapy tells me that since I'm already trained for the show, I may as well show off my skills for fun in annual dog shows. Nothing serious, just fun. Soapy says there are other ways to train for a show and that rewards go a much longer way than punishment.
She has asked what few tricks I can remember, and so I show her bits and pieces from the routines that I remember. It's not a lot, and I can't remember any organization, but there are a few tricks that seem to have her dazzled. This is definitely not show dog territory.
I remember the judges being very difficult to impress. Even doing a flip would have no effect. I didn't even have to do a flip to impress Soapy. I think I'm going to like it here, assuming Soapy keeps her word about not hurting me.

[hypersomn.ia]

I haven't written here in quite a while. I've been so busy! Soapy's training me for a show in May and it's been so nice! She doesn't hurt me like my other trainer did. If I mess up, we try and try again until we get it right. I even get treats when I follow the routine correctly!

Jude is healing up very nicely. Ever since her legs started carrying her own weight, she's been training really hard. She still walks with a limp, but she's not so dreary anymore. She can get almost anywhere without any help, and Bear seems happy to not have to constantly watch over her. They still share a bed at night, but it's not like he has to babysit her anymore. They're definitely a happier couple for it.

As for America, he still loves that purple ball of his. When Soapy's not training with me, she's playing fetch with America. I still can't quite get over how strange that dog's name is.

[hypersomn.ia]

Last night we got a new member to the family! Little Sofia. She's barely made a peep since she's been born. A little squealing, but now she just eats and sleeps. She hasn't opened her eyes yet, and Jude won't leave her side. Bear sings softly or not at all. Everyone seems to speak in hushed whispers, now. It's been very peaceful here, except for America's racket. He's been acting very strange, lately. Soapy has put him outside for now, but we think it's time to have a veterinarian look at him.

Soapy also wants to start working on my fears and getting me more settled in to this new home. She wants to start with my shoulder. Every time someone touches it, I get flashbacks of my previous owner and panic.

Soapy starts my petting my head. My neck. Down my back. Then she moves her hand to my right shoulder, then, ever so slowly, to my left. I see my previous owner reaching out to grab me. I hyperventilate. Soapy withdraws her hand and puts a sweet peach in front of my face for me to smell. She speaks softly, telling me to concentrate on her, the smell, and my surroundings. After several minutes I calm down and remember where I am. She withdraws the peach, pats me on the head, and tells me good job, we'll repeat the process tomorrow.

The energy from my stress and the faint howls from America are enough to upset little Sofia. It's the first time she's really cried.

[hypersomn.ia]

It is now May and little Sofia isn't so little anymore. In fact, she's about my size! She doesn't care to speak much, but definitely has my sort of energy!

As for my shoulder, I still get quite nervous, but I'm well enough now to go to the festival tomorrow for Cinco de Mayo! Soapy and I have been training quite a bit for this and what a time it's been! As I've said before, training for this show is much different from the way I used to train. I had to be still and calm, sit upright, and be fashionable. For this show I get to run and jump, and Soapy will be there guiding me the whole time! I honestly can't wait.