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Description

Name: Constantine

Age: 4

Gender: Male

Breed: Papillon

Weight: 8 lbs/3.6 kg

Height: 10 in/25.4 cm

Faction: Pets

Notoriety Level: “Nobody,” level 1

Job: Companion

Council Rank: -

Personality:
+Intelligent | +Loyal | +Fun-loving | = Proud | =Competitive | -Biased | -Insecure | -Unforgiving

Loving and devoted to his owner, intelligent and driven by praise, Constantine is an energetic companion dog who, at least on the surface, is a pure definition of what it means to be a Papillon. The moment he gives his loyalty to someone, an unbreakable bond is created and he would risk his life for the ones he loves most. Playing fetch is one of his very favorite games as he is speedy, agile and loves to run. He is also a competitive spirit and his pride in his lineage will get in the way when challenged by another dog to any sort of game and will never decline a challenge. To the right humans and dogs, Constantine comes off as fun and good-natured, but he isn't without his dark side.

Due to his past experience of being attacked, Constantine has a severe dislike of strays and his bias against them will show whenever the opportunity or topic arises. He sees them as vicious devils and is in constant denial of his deep-seated fears of them, resorting to fight rather than flight when scared, despite being such a small dog. As a result, Constantine is as stubbornly unforgiving of his enemies as he is stubbornly loyal to his loved ones. His mind is not easily changed after he has determined his opinion of someone.

While Constantine is a proud dog when it comes to his lineage, he also has private insecurities that he can never live up to the greatness of his prestigious ancestors. Even though he had never met any of the dogs in his line beyond his parents, he had seen their photographs, trophies and ribbons on the walls of his breeder's home so he knew they were great dogs. Constantine's insecurity about not living up to their expectations weighs heavy on him and he can lean towards the self-depreciating side, cursing himself for not being able to fight off the stray who had attacked on that fateful day and thus not being able to carry on his lineage.

Despite the weight he carries, Constantine's depressive moments aren't difficult to lift. Molly's love and praise, a tasty treat or fun, competitive game can distract him from dwelling too long on things that bring him down. He's far from being an introvert and gains energy from having friends, loved ones and especially his owner by his side.

Backstory:
-Early life-
Constantine was bred to be a show dog and hailed from a once-prestigious bloodline of Papillons known as the Empires. The breeder lived on a large rural property not far outside of Canidale, breeding and showing Papillons as a family hobby, though a hobby in decline. Despite Empire's waning presence, each puppy was raised with exceptional care and in the case of Constantine, nothing was missing from his life. He was the fourth pup born in a healthy litter of six and all of them were extremely healthy and playful. They got along well together and the proud mother was attentive and experienced.

As Constantine grew, he showed many quality traits that were ideal in a Papillon and so the human family was greatly considering to select him as their pick of the litter and a show ring champion hopeful who could revive Empire, as well as the family's passion for the breed.

-Show Career-
The family decided to keep Constantine and one of his sisters and sold the other puppies of the litter. Constantine continued to improve in constitution and excelled at his show training, giving the family of breeders great hope for his future. He was brought to a few local shows to test the waters and won a few ribbons, and he greatly enjoyed bathing in the praise and adoration the humans gave him for that, though the title of Best in Show eluded him. It became Constantine's goal, even an obsession, to become Best in Show one day and he focused on his training with diligence.

-The Attack-
However, a few days before the largest show of Constantine's career, he was playing with his sister on the family's large, open property when he was viciously attacked by a roaming stray dog. The strange dog had targeted Constantine's sister and made chase, but before the stray could grab her in his massive jaws, Constantine forgot his own size had jumped in to defend her and attacked the stray. Unfortunately, Constantine was no match for the stray who was many times bigger than Constantine was and had no chance of winning. The stray mauled him and tossed him aside and when Constantine's sister attempted to save him, was also mauled.

The breeder's young adult son, who was supposed to be watching the dogs that day, had only gone inside the house for a moment to answer a phone that was ringing inside. When he heard the screams and snarls of the attack, he rushed outside with a shotgun to scare the stray off. He could have sworn he had only been inside for a minute, but it had all happened so fast. He grabbed both Papillons and rushed them to an emergency vet where Constantine was able to survive while his sister succumbed to her injuries.

-Recovery-
Constantine's wounds, both physical and mental, were grave. He could no longer be a show dog and the sight of his sister being attacked traumatized him and was carved into his memory, repeating itself over and over. His happy, energetic Papillon personality had vanished and he had found himself in a deep depression. Even as his body healed, his mind remained broken and there was nothing the family did that helped. He became overly alert and stressed when he was in the yard where the attack had taken place and had continued behavioral problems.

The heartbroken family decided to close down their breeding operations and sell all of their remaining dogs, except for Constantine's mother who was their favorite. The family's children had grown up and went on to college and the mother of the family had become preoccupied with caring for her aging parents, leaving them with less time to give to Empire Papillons.

Many potential adopters for Constantine overlooked him for the scarring on his face and his traumatic backstory, dismissing him for being "too broken". Of the dogs that were put up for adoption, Constantine was the last. Eventually, a young woman from Canidale, an aspiring dog trainer named Molly, took a fancy to Constantine when she saw his listing online. She was also a massive history buff so she found a poeticness to Constantine's name being that of the final emperor of the Byzantines while also being the final Papillon to the Empire bloodline. Charmed by the Papillon's name and story, Molly couldn't resist choosing him as her new dog and adopted him.

-Rebirth-
Constantine was stubborn to not accept Molly right away, but she was more stubborn than he was and from the very beginning showered him with as much love, attention and training as possible. It was only a matter of time before Constantine began to reveal more of his classic Papillon personality to her and the holes in his heart were filled. After determining she had earned his trust, she took his training to the next level and began working with him for agility trials. With time, encouragement and lots of praise, Constantine became motivated to improve his speed and repeatedly broke his own personal records. And when he went to his first competition at a local park, he became more motivated than ever when he saw the ribbons and trophies the champions could win. If he could no longer win in the show ring, he could at least win here.

Group History: TBA

Trivia:
-Constantine's full show name was Empire's Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos, named for the last emperor of the Byzantines. The symbol on his dog tag is a tetragrammatic cross.
-He hates it when Molly shortens his name to silly things like "Concon" or "Connie", but he lets it go because he loves her. When other dogs call him anything other than Constantine he has an instant dislike for them. He values his name as much as he does because it's what attracted Molly to him when he needed to be rehomed.
-His right eye was affected by his injury and cannot open as wide as his left eye.
-His best finish in an agility trial is third place. Molly was thrilled over this while Constantine believes he can still do better.
-His favorite toy is a rubber blue ball. It bounces higher than his other balls and he loves trying to jump at it to catch it in games of fetch.
-Molly lives in an extra room at her grandmother's house and is planning to stay there until she can get a better job and afford her own place. The yard is a little on the small and unkempt side but still decent for fetch. There's a loose board in the fence and an alley behind it that Constantine can sneak out of and explore while Molly is away at work.
-Constantine knows many tricks and excels at balancing treats on his nose.

Description

Name: Constantine

Age: 4

Gender: Male

Breed: Papillon

Weight: 8 lbs/3.6 kg

Height: 10 in/25.4 cm

Faction: Pets

Notoriety Level: “Nobody,” level 1

Job: Companion

Council Rank: -

Personality:
+Intelligent | +Loyal | +Fun-loving | = Proud | =Competitive | -Biased | -Insecure | -Unforgiving

Loving and devoted to his owner, intelligent and driven by praise, Constantine is an energetic companion dog who, at least on the surface, is a pure definition of what it means to be a Papillon. The moment he gives his loyalty to someone, an unbreakable bond is created and he would risk his life for the ones he loves most. Playing fetch is one of his very favorite games as he is speedy, agile and loves to run. He is also a competitive spirit and his pride in his lineage will get in the way when challenged by another dog to any sort of game and will never decline a challenge. To the right humans and dogs, Constantine comes off as fun and good-natured, but he isn't without his dark side.

Due to his past experience of being attacked, Constantine has a severe dislike of strays and his bias against them will show whenever the opportunity or topic arises. He sees them as vicious devils and is in constant denial of his deep-seated fears of them, resorting to fight rather than flight when scared, despite being such a small dog. As a result, Constantine is as stubbornly unforgiving of his enemies as he is stubbornly loyal to his loved ones. His mind is not easily changed after he has determined his opinion of someone.

While Constantine is a proud dog when it comes to his lineage, he also has private insecurities that he can never live up to the greatness of his prestigious ancestors. Even though he had never met any of the dogs in his line beyond his parents, he had seen their photographs, trophies and ribbons on the walls of his breeder's home so he knew they were great dogs. Constantine's insecurity about not living up to their expectations weighs heavy on him and he can lean towards the self-depreciating side, cursing himself for not being able to fight off the stray who had attacked on that fateful day and thus not being able to carry on his lineage.

Despite the weight he carries, Constantine's depressive moments aren't difficult to lift. Molly's love and praise, a tasty treat or fun, competitive game can distract him from dwelling too long on things that bring him down. He's far from being an introvert and gains energy from having friends, loved ones and especially his owner by his side.

Backstory:
-Early life-
Constantine was bred to be a show dog and hailed from a once-prestigious bloodline of Papillons known as the Empires. The breeder lived on a large rural property not far outside of Canidale, breeding and showing Papillons as a family hobby, though a hobby in decline. Despite Empire's waning presence, each puppy was raised with exceptional care and in the case of Constantine, nothing was missing from his life. He was the fourth pup born in a healthy litter of six and all of them were extremely healthy and playful. They got along well together and the proud mother was attentive and experienced.

As Constantine grew, he showed many quality traits that were ideal in a Papillon and so the human family was greatly considering to select him as their pick of the litter and a show ring champion hopeful who could revive Empire, as well as the family's passion for the breed.

-Show Career-
The family decided to keep Constantine and one of his sisters and sold the other puppies of the litter. Constantine continued to improve in constitution and excelled at his show training, giving the family of breeders great hope for his future. He was brought to a few local shows to test the waters and won a few ribbons, and he greatly enjoyed bathing in the praise and adoration the humans gave him for that, though the title of Best in Show eluded him. It became Constantine's goal, even an obsession, to become Best in Show one day and he focused on his training with diligence.

-The Attack-
However, a few days before the largest show of Constantine's career, he was playing with his sister on the family's large, open property when he was viciously attacked by a roaming stray dog. The strange dog had targeted Constantine's sister and made chase, but before the stray could grab her in his massive jaws, Constantine forgot his own size had jumped in to defend her and attacked the stray. Unfortunately, Constantine was no match for the stray who was many times bigger than Constantine was and had no chance of winning. The stray mauled him and tossed him aside and when Constantine's sister attempted to save him, was also mauled.

The breeder's young adult son, who was supposed to be watching the dogs that day, had only gone inside the house for a moment to answer a phone that was ringing inside. When he heard the screams and snarls of the attack, he rushed outside with a shotgun to scare the stray off. He could have sworn he had only been inside for a minute, but it had all happened so fast. He grabbed both Papillons and rushed them to an emergency vet where Constantine was able to survive while his sister succumbed to her injuries.

-Recovery-
Constantine's wounds, both physical and mental, were grave. He could no longer be a show dog and the sight of his sister being attacked traumatized him and was carved into his memory, repeating itself over and over. His happy, energetic Papillon personality had vanished and he had found himself in a deep depression. Even as his body healed, his mind remained broken and there was nothing the family did that helped. He became overly alert and stressed when he was in the yard where the attack had taken place and had continued behavioral problems.

The heartbroken family decided to close down their breeding operations and sell all of their remaining dogs, except for Constantine's mother who was their favorite. The family's children had grown up and went on to college and the mother of the family had become preoccupied with caring for her aging parents, leaving them with less time to give to Empire Papillons.

Many potential adopters for Constantine overlooked him for the scarring on his face and his traumatic backstory, dismissing him for being "too broken". Of the dogs that were put up for adoption, Constantine was the last. Eventually, a young woman from Canidale, an aspiring dog trainer named Molly, took a fancy to Constantine when she saw his listing online. She was also a massive history buff so she found a poeticness to Constantine's name being that of the final emperor of the Byzantines while also being the final Papillon to the Empire bloodline. Charmed by the Papillon's name and story, Molly couldn't resist choosing him as her new dog and adopted him.

-Rebirth-
Constantine was stubborn to not accept Molly right away, but she was more stubborn than he was and from the very beginning showered him with as much love, attention and training as possible. It was only a matter of time before Constantine began to reveal more of his classic Papillon personality to her and the holes in his heart were filled. After determining she had earned his trust, she took his training to the next level and began working with him for agility trials. With time, encouragement and lots of praise, Constantine became motivated to improve his speed and repeatedly broke his own personal records. And when he went to his first competition at a local park, he became more motivated than ever when he saw the ribbons and trophies the champions could win. If he could no longer win in the show ring, he could at least win here.

Group History: TBA

Trivia:
-Constantine's full show name was Empire's Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos, named for the last emperor of the Byzantines. The symbol on his dog tag is a tetragrammatic cross.
-He hates it when Molly shortens his name to silly things like "Concon" or "Connie", but he lets it go because he loves her. When other dogs call him anything other than Constantine he has an instant dislike for them. He values his name as much as he does because it's what attracted Molly to him when he needed to be rehomed.
-His right eye was affected by his injury and cannot open as wide as his left eye.
-His best finish in an agility trial is third place. Molly was thrilled over this while Constantine believes he can still do better.
-His favorite toy is a rubber blue ball. It bounces higher than his other balls and he loves trying to jump at it to catch it in games of fetch.
-Molly lives in an extra room at her grandmother's house and is planning to stay there until she can get a better job and afford her own place. The yard is a little on the small and unkempt side but still decent for fetch. There's a loose board in the fence and an alley behind it that Constantine can sneak out of and explore while Molly is away at work.
-Constantine knows many tricks and excels at balancing treats on his nose.