Zodiac (The Beginning)

Zodiac is an Alaskan Malamute, and one of the first students at Pup Academy. He was created by VictoriousQueen88.

## Appearance

Zodiac is a large dog, being a malamute, with a curled tail and pricked ears. His fur is *ridiculously* fluffy, *especially* as a young puppy, and at times, it's hard to see if he has ears at all under all that fluff.

He is mainly light gray in coloration, with a white underbelly, chest, face (aside from his ears/the top of his head), the underside of his curly tail, legs, and paws. There are two markings, almost like eyebrows, above each of his eyes, which makes him very expressive. Over his back is a darker "cape" of very dark gray fur that seems to darken as he ages, He has brown eyes

## Personality

Zodiac is brave and kind, and tends to get along well with others, even if he *is* a little socially awkward without realizing it. He's a bit of a motormouth and can be loud, though if he's told to hush, he'll probably listen. He is also quite protective (perhaps overly so), and wants *his* things to stay *his* and stay *safe* and *PAWS OFF THAT COOL ROCK, **KENAI**.* He's extremely silly, goofy, and easily distracted, as well as excitable. Zodi really likes to laugh and make others laugh, so he'll often do dumb things and tell jokes, or share his random thoughts (and he has a bit of a tendency to overshare, especially when it comes to dreams). He can be a little dense and slow to realize things, though. Although he may seem like a hyperactive and loud ditz, he's extremely kind at heart and very loyal to those he manages to befriend, and very, very sweet.

## History

Zodiac is the son of Crescent and Siku, two wild dogs who lived in the cold north. They taught him (and his loving yet competitive brother, Kenai) how to hunt and survive in the wilderness, although he always kind of felt like he was missing something. They didn't interact much with other canines, save the occasional random meetup with a long-lost friend or family member, so Zodi learned to treasure his companions while he could.

One day, there was an avalanche while they were travelling together. They managed to make it to safety, but Zodiac has always had good hearing, so when he heard a shout for help out in the snow, he whipped around without a second thought and ran back outside once the danger had passed. There, he began digging, and uncovered a human girl. She obviously wasn't an adult, so he was lucky to have gotten her out before something bad happened. Although it took a few minutes for the girl to coax him close enough, she eventually scratched behind his ears and used him for warmth and comfort until they made it to her home. There, they rewarded the dog with food.

Zodiac eventually ended up staying with the humans, and although he keeps trying to convince his family to come too, they haven't worked up the nerve yet. He loves his life, though, and he loved it even more when he came to Pup Academy. He was entered into the Howler house (that works out pretty well, because he really likes howling), and doesn't regret a *thing.*

## Trivia

* I was torn between the names of Crescent, Siku, Kenai, and Zodiac. I eventually decided on Zodiac because a.) random number generator said to and b.) I liked the nickname Zodi. I eventually decided to use the other names as his family members (who probably won't appear in the story) because I liked them too much not to.
* The puppy/adult pictures don't line up *exactly* as well as I wanted them to, but I figure it's fine, considering how you can kind of tell which puppy actor is playing Spark at times in the show.
* He's partially based on my sister's husky, who likes to bark and howl at night. This is why he's in the Howler house.
* Zodiac is pansexual. This means that he's attracted to others regardless of their gender.
* His favorite place to be scratched is behind his ears.
* He *loves* playing in the snow.
* I like to imagine that he's an ancestor of D.O.G. (maybe one of Zodi's descendants became mates with a husky, and their pup became mates with another husky, and so on), because of all the contrast.
	+ I also like to imagine he has a descendant named Kodiak, because rhymes.