Post by »Mocha« on Oct 11, 2009 21:33:06 GMT -5
A G E;; 6 years, 2 months
G E N D E R;; F
B R E E D;; Border Collie
A P P E A R A N C E;;
Color: Cleo has a pretty standard look for a border collie, medium sized with a simple black and white 'tuxedo' pattern. Cleo's lower half of her body is a main off-white hue with few black hairs between. Her upper half is a greasy black coloring, found mainly around her head, back, and tail. She has a white stripe that runs up the stop, ending at the top of her skull with a rounded edge shaped like the end of a baseball bat. Her muzzle is splattered with black specks ranging in various sizes, but no bigger than a marble. Her eyes have a dull gleam and are a vibrant yellow-orange coloring.
The top half of her skull is black the rest being white and ending at the back of her head. Her main black coloring begins at her withers and crawls all the way to her fluffy tail. The marking ends just above her elbows and below the hocks while her tail has a white tip at the end, seeming like it was dipped in paint. Cleo's tongue is a soft pink hue with a black splotch at the tip.
Build: Standing at about 20 inches, her body length is longer than her height. Her body is stocky, but slim and agile at the same rate. Her ears are sensitive and always alert adding the intelligent look border collies posses. Her ears are set well apart and are semi-erect, always flopping when she runs. Cleo's head is well rounded and furry, while her forehead is slightly flat, her stop is fairly obvious. Her muzzle is slim and her jaws are strong--especially the under-jaw, full of sharp teeth that meet in a scissor bite, yet a lot of the time looking like she is smiling.
Her neck is strong and muscular, curving smoothly into her withers which are nearly invisible. Her back is fairly level and strong standing. Cleo's chest flows in a deep curve following a large rib cage, very helpful when running. Her legs are thin and short, yet extremely powerful and used to working. Her paws are compact, but are armed with hard gray claws which are slightly angled inward. Her shoulders are long and strong boned, angled slightly for a more powerful take off. Cleo's hind legs are broad with long, powerful knees along with muscular thighs.
Lastly, her tail is low bending and thick. Normally when Cleo is concentrating, her tail is given a light upward curve. Much of the time when she is happy, her tail is raised with pride and eagerness.
Coat: Like most dogs, Cleo proudly owns two heavy, layered coats. The first layer is short and soft, mainly the color in which is seen through someone's eyes. Her undercoat is dense and coarse, easily keeping her warm. It is also water-resistance allowing her to take cooling baths without worrying about her smooth fur. Her top coat is straight and soft, giving her a nice sleek look. Cleo's belly, chest, tail, and legs have the most layered fur showing a feathered look--very soft and sticking out. The hair on her face, ears, paws, and the front of her legs are short yet easily retaining the same smooth texture. Also being a border collie for herding, her whiskers are never trimmed so they are long and needle-like.
Gait: Cleo is a herding dog, and a darn good one at that. Her breed was bred for that, being quick on her feet. She is easily able to switch directions and speed at a moment's notice, still holding the beauty and grace of her kind. Her most used gaits are galloping and a moving crouch, which are commonly used while herding sheep. She is exceptionally good at this making her well balanced and giving her an ease to stealth. All the gaits that are used are evenly balanced with little work of the feet, leaving the ground as little as possible.
She carries her head at a low level with hard concentration, head never held high unless at a complete stop. When seen from a side view, it is obvious that her grace is quick with minimum effort allowing her maximum endurance. Her balance is even on a center line, legs never touching and keeping on a level axis. Grace, balance, and overall beauty of this ideal thought is something that is always seen in a border collie. "Endurance is its trademark." (quoted by AKC) Without this the only thing truly recognizable about this breed is the particular markings.
P E R S O N A L I T Y;; Cleo is a rather thoughtful, sharp mouthed dog. That isn't to say she is mean or rude, but nor is she very soft spoken. Though she does have a soft side with puppies, Cleo is more of a mothering dog. Her words are wise beyond her years and she always thinks before speaking. She aims to give advice, though not always in the kindest of ways. She looks for faults and drives to fix them, not tending to dwell on emotions.
She is a content dog though that loves to work. She concentrates hard on the tasks she is given and never fails to stop working until she is satisfied with her job. She loves herding of course, the reason the breed was bred. Her mind is wide, but concentrates one thing at a time. Cleo has a tendency to be impatient for anything after the first try. She isn't very sympathetic to feelings and pretty much looks over emotions. She is rather affectionate toward friends, using lots of sarcasm, but is suspicious around strangers. Although suspicious inwardly, Cleo stands her ground and is neither shy nor aggressive.
She isn't one to be shy though. Cleo doesn't care what other dogs think about her and isn't easily embarrassed. Cleo is responsive to all questions, even those that are somewhat personal. She isn't one to pick fights, but she doesn't back down from challenges either. Cleo isn't afraid to fight as she is extremely quick, faster than all other dog breeds as of being trained in agility and herding. She isn't as strong, but she has a powerful jaw and uses her everlasting endurance to end battles, bringing them long and drawn out. Cleo is rather intelligent and loves challenges that make her work her mind. That being, she is an intelligent, fast, yet graceful beauty.
H I S T O R Y;; Cleo's past is a long one, but is easily shortened. Cleo was born in a litter of 2, her and her sister. They two had got along fairly well for siblings, very mischievous and playful like any other pup. Cleo's mother was a purebred rustic red and black Border Collie, while her father was also the well-known Border Collie, pure white as the snow itself and pure black like the darkness in which he earned his characteristic . She takes after her father's looks, but she held her mother's personality and keen senses while her sister took after their mother's looks and their father's speed and willingness to work. Cleo was raised like any other stray, brought up learning to hunt and fend for herself. She showed exceptional work in hunting, but while the fending didn't come so naturally, her speed naturally helped her keep herself safe.
When Cleo was about 9 months old her mother had disappeared one day and had not come home. Worried her father had set out to find her, making sure Cleo and her sister would not leave their den. Frightened as they were, they both followed them even after neither of them had come home. For a few weeks the two traveled together, managing... fairly well as they worked together. Eventually the two came across a small dog pack. Cleo's litter mate took interest in one of the males as they were nearly a year old now. Cleo, however, moved on, mind set on finding her parents however unsuccessful she was.
On her hunts however, she was seen and captured by some people and thrust into a pound, depressed by the fact that she would not be able to continue her search. However, she was adopted and brought up on a human's farm learning under a more elderly border collie in the art of herding, something he had fallen in love with since being picked off the streets as a stray. Coming out of her depressed state and forgetting the feel of freedom, she learned many things; both about herding and that of life from this collie, but she never showed a great interest in it although she was one of the best the owner had seen. With that, he had entered her in agility trials where her heart fell in love with the mental calmness and challenge it brought, racing against other dogs. Cleo was the fastest dogs in nearly all her races, something that border collies are extremely prideful for.
Her life went on normally with regular agility races until the sad day that her human had fallen sick to an incurable illness. He passed away and soon enough she and the other collie were chased away after trying to be taken away from their home. The two were chased, and eventually got away, but they had lost each other in the process. Broken hearted and now alone, Cleo travels around as a loner, never staying in one spot too long. Her body bares few scars from skirmishes she couldn't avoid, though those few scars are easily visible. She believes that everyone she gets attached too eventually leaves and therefore does not have any mate, pups, or even friends per say. Though Cleo does have a soft spot for pups, she prefers to teach them, 'knowing' from experience that one day they would be on their own too.
O T H E R;; I always seem to give my character's horrible pasts... xD
