Souze

Basics
Name: Souze

Breed: German Shepherd Dog (GSD)

Training: Schutzhund training as a guard dog, beginnings of emotional support training for PTSD

Age: Almost 13 months as of the beginning of Ultimate Courage

Physical Appearance
Souze has the black saddle on tan coloration typical of German Shepherd Dogs. In Ultimate Courage he is described as being narrow through the hips and athletic, but not quite fully grown. His chest and shoulders have yet to broaden to their adult width, and his paws are disproportionately large.

Personality Traits
Souze comes across as intelligent, observant, and rather aloof. He's choosy about who touches him and when, and approaches new people and situations with caution. He always obeys commands, but initially he gives the impression that he might decide to make a run for it, instead. He likes to work and chase things, but lacks aggression and prey drive when it comes to the usual triggers. He isn't reluctant to attack when he knows he's defending someone, however.

Skills
Among his many other talents, Souze can...


 * climb fences;
 * track with great accuracy;
 * notice and respond appropriately to human emotional distress.

Biography
Souze began life with a breeder who sold him to a wealthy couple to be trained as a guard dog. He and the other dogs on the property were given basic obedience and Schutzhund training, but weren't socialized with humans. This made Souze and his pack-mates too dangerous to adopt when their owners divorced and dumped them in a shelter. Fortunately, a volunteer recognized Souze's potential and called Hope's Crossing Kennels. Alex Rojas took over Souze's training and rehabilitation, and Souze helped prevent Neal Evans from shooting Atlas in Extreme Honor.

Later, in Ultimate Courage, Souze is the dog Elisa Hall chooses to meet first. In her presence, Rojas realizes how sensitive Souze is to human distress and mood shifts. After the dog pulls Rojas out of a PTSD induced flashback, the former-SEAL adopts Souze and begins to train him as an emotional support canine.

Relationships
Souze had very little socialization with humans until Rojas started training him. The dog did well under the trainer's instruction, but didn't really begin to trust Rojas and bond with him until after getting to know Elisa.

Trivia
Souze...


 * responds to a mix of German and English commands.
 * goes completely silent when he's prepared to kill.