Kona

Kona is a student at Pup Academy, a German Shepherd, and a member of the Sniffer house.

## Appearance

Kona is a sable German Shepherd; she’s mainly a black sort of color, with hints and faint splashes of tan all over. Her eyebrows are tan, and the area framing her eyes and cheeks is as well. She has a tan chest, as well as four black paws with legs that are tan halfway up. The insides of her ears are black, but the base and outline are tan. She has a black nose and dark brown eyes, as well as a black-and-tan tail. Around her neck is a red collar, which has a circle-shaped tag hanging from it. The tag reads KONA on the front, with her owners’ names and contact information on the back. She also has the Pup Academy tag.

Her uniform is much like every other student’s, although she has a purple tie that marks her as a member of doghouse Sniffer.

## Personality

Kona is friendly, and is usually pretty bright in disposition. She’s funny, if she does say so herself, and likes to make others laugh, via sarcasm, snark, or perhaps slapstick (even if that isn’t usually planned). She is playful as well, and loyal to the very end - Kona would never, *ever* give up on a friend.

Kona is very determined and stubborn, always vowing to do whatever it is she has her mind set on. She also has issues with pride and accepting help from others, and may mess up whatever she needs assistance with even further in her attempts to prove that she can do this. She manages to make up for this, though, with empathy and being caring towards others; if she sees that she’s made someone upset, she’ll quietly let them help her out.

She has a “make your own destiny” attitude, and doesn’t really seem to care what other dogs (or cats, or people) think about her, choosing to be herself whenever possible. Still, though, she does have her doubts; she’s got an idea of how good and “strong” she can be, and will prove this at any given opportunity. (In short, she’s broken by her own standards.) She’s usually quite confident in her abilities, but when it comes to academics (or anything she deems “smart puppy stuff”), she gets antsy and upset, overthinking questions and panicking because she overestimated herself and fell into a hole that she can’t get out of. When combined with her stubbornness, this… does not end well. She can also be distracted easily, but if there’s something important and she is calm, she’ll focus.

## History

Kona’s father was once a stray - he was adopted as a very young pup, where he came to live with a family that lived in a neighborhood with many dogs around his age. He was separated from most of his siblings when he was young, and though he tried everything to find them again, he was, for the most part, unsuccessful. He was extremely glad to have the other dogs there with him, though. Later in life, he fell in love with his next-door neighbor dog, and they had a litter of puppies that included Kona.

Although she has nothing but fond memories of her family, she wouldn’t stay there forever. Kona was adopted by a boy named Ethan, who doted on her, was always ready to play, and loved her more than anything. He was determined to teach her dog agility, always telling her how much he believed in her, and everything he was sure she could do. Kona believed him with pride in her chest and a growing spark in her eye; she decided, right then and there, that she *would* work to make everyone proud at all costs. She knew she was capable of great things; she could do this!

So when Kona was chosen for Pup Academy… well, to say that she cried out with absolute joy is an understatement.

On her first day, she realized that she wasn’t the only new student, and stopped by to make friends on her way in - specifically, a Toy Fox Terrier named Cadence, a Dachshund named Heidi, and an American Eskimo Dog known as Winter - but, for a moment, she paused to look at a fluffy little sheepdog about her age. He was wearing a different tie and surrounded by his friends, but something about him… it drew her in. Of course, it was then time for class, so she didn’t have time to stare, but she decided right then and there that she would befriend that pup.

Kona, unfortunately, had a bit of an issue with academics as the days went by - she just couldn’t find the right answers, or seem to study enough. She had a bad habit of overthinking, which disappointed her teachers and spread rumors among her peers - she felt that she wasn’t doing enough. She also became a target of bullying, and although she refused to let even a hint of it bothering her show, she was floundering.

Which is exactly why she was given a tutor. Headmistress Gruff came to her one day early in the school year, introducing to her the sheepdog she’d spotted on her first day. His name was Whiz, and he was there to help her with her academics. Although at first she was iffy about it and tried her best to stay quiet and not embarrass herself, she slowly began to really understand schoolwork, and formed a growing bond with Whiz. She… also may or may not have developed a not-so-small crush on her fluffy tutor, which she desperately tries and fails to hide.

Now, Kona attends Pup Academy with her friends by her side, and she’s ready for whatever adventure life decides to throw at them.

## Trivia

* German Shepherds and Shiloh Shepherds are some of my favorite dog breeds. Kona played musical chairs with the two choices for a while, until, eventually, I settled on a German Shepherd. (I still plan on creating a Shiloh Shepherd character, though - maybe a new adoptive sibling because her owners get a new dog? That plotline could be interesting.)
* I think I’ll develop a fanon universe around her - maybe I’ll call it the Konaverse?
* “Kona” is one of the most popular German Shepherd names (although, best I recall, it’s not in the top ten). I really liked the sound of it, so I chose it for her - I didn’t even have any other contenders because I was so attached.
* Parts of her personality are inspired by one of my goats, Magpie (fun fact: I have another character based on this goat, also named Magpie).
* Kona loves cheese! She gets disappointed if she doesn’t have enough, though - also, she’s ninety-five percent convinced it has magical healing powers (because her owners put medicine in cheese when she gets sick).
* She is 100% certain that her human is the best human, no doubt about it.
* Kona is the kind of dog to run so fast towards the door when her human comes home that she accidentally flings herself outside.
* Her favorite game is fetchball, and she’s pretty good at it, too.
* Kona and Whiz eventually have a litter of four once they become adults. (This was a surprise to their owners - who, by this point, knew each other.)
* Whiz and Kona’s ship name is *Koz*.
* Kona is related to King - he’s her uncle on her dad’s side, although neither of them are aware of this.
* Kona’s favorite color is red.