Guard Dog

**Key Features** | »Sharp and keen nose (x1)»Pair of eyes (x1)»Razor-sharp teeth»Dusty fur»Bone-shaped name tag (*"Fluffy"*)

*"Arf!" (lit. "'MURICA!")*

- Guard Dog
## Tactical Analysis

* **Man's Worst Friend**: Unlike the noble German Shepard of the Allied Nations, the Continentals use mean Doberman as their animal scout. Regardless of breed and temperament, though, the two are more or less the same beast, though without a Kwolek vest the Guard Dog is more fleet of paw and can pretend to be a simple dog. Guard Dogs are quick scouts, keen of nose, and can down a man with one leap.

* **Roadkill**: Against other animals, though, it's different. Dobermans were bred to protect their owners from animals, and thus every Guard Dog has such instincts in their very blood. A bark, growl, or other displays of intimidation are usually enough to bring even the bravest animal scout to a whimpering cower, temporarily losing their stealth detecting ability.

* **Alpha Fail**: Guard Dogs are different in that lacking advanced amplifier equipment, all a Guard Dog's bark does is annoy the enemy. Against human enemies, the Guard Dog is at quite a disadvantage when detected, because if they bring up their gun, it's another cross for the pet cemetery.

* **Wet Dog**: Dogs that have been around the battlefield enough naturally get dirtier, and smellier. With the oldest dogs, this smell is enough for even Continentals to cringe, to say nothing of super-sensitive animal noses. The Continentals don't give the dog a bath, though, because this smell dissuades enemy animals from smelling out any hidden column or ambush, and, strangely enough, tends to interfere with the sensors of Imperial Burst Drones.

## Background

Throughout the war, the Continentals desperately needed parts for their rusting fleet of vehicles. The Boneyard raid only brought a small stash of spare parts; thus, the Continentals had to find other sources. The United States is rich in civilian junkyards full of old parts. The junkyard owners were convinced to part with the valuable junk, through fair means or foul. However, they hadn't counted on the hidden guardians who couldn't be bullied, bribed (In the traditional manner), negotiated or reasoned with.

 File:CR DogIdle 01.gif
A Continental detachment learned this lesson the hard way. In the opening stages of the rebellion, a squad of Continentals from the 17th Infantry Division (*The Volunteers*) sneaked into a junkyard in Tennessee. They approached the fence without incident, but shortly after crawling under the barbed wire fence, Marksman Rondald Buckles was brought to the ground by a junkyard dog biting him on his shin. Though he managed to fight him off, the Doberman caught his hand in its jaws and wouldn't let go.

He and his comrades were about to shoot the mangy **Guard Dog**, but Thief Carol Kerr instead brought out a bit of beef jerky, knowing that Dobermans were very friendly to humans at heart. Properly bribed, the dog stopped biting Buckles and instead joined the detachment as they looted the junkyard. Kerr reported this to fellow Continental militias and soon had every junkyard dog in America join the Continentals.

Guard Dogs rely on their speed and agility to attack human targets, and refuse dog-sized bulletproof vests; every attempt to give them one resulted in a Continental with a bleeding hand, though it was discovered that this lack of armour came with the (unintentional) advantage of looking like an everyday dog, meaning that a Peacekeeper won't even bat an eye at a passing Guard Dog until they lunge at them. Other than that, Guard Dogs are friendlier than even Allied Attack Dogs, and don't need training because they are just doing what they were born to do. They're especially effective against other animals, which they've been bred for years to be aggressive to. Famous news footage of a cybernetic, armoured Syndicate War Wolf being cowed by a Doberman is a testament to this.

## Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Infantry

 **Kill Reward** | 2400

 **DPS** | 100