Name: Dakota

Age: About 5 1/2 years younger than Aleu and Kodi

Species: 7/8 Siberian Husky, 1/8 Wolf

Parents: Kiska and Tungsten

Siblings: Kenai, Naira, Spica, Ferric (first litter) // Iron, Maya, Alasie, Luken, Kala (second litter)

Mate: Summer

Pups: Sundance

Appearance: Dakota is a tall, muscular wolf dog with a bright red main pelt and a cream underbelly. His entire face is red except for his muzzle and a stripe between his eyes, and he has a line of cream fur wrapped around his neck. His red fur reaches about halfway down his legs, but is cream starting between the knee and the ankle. He has bright blue eyes. His ears are large and shaded brown like Balto’s.

Personality: Dakota is very charming and coolheaded. He’s good with words and always knows the right thing to say. He’s a bit of a flirt. He doesn’t like conflict, but will do what he can to defend his family, friends, or his values. He likes to pretend he’s macho, but in reality he’s very tender and caring and hates seeing people upset. He’s a sweetheart and goes out of his way to help others. He can be a bit cocky, and also has trouble swallowing his pride.

Likes: Girls, running, winning, meat, hanging with friends

Dislikes: Bullies, cheaters, seeing his loved ones hurt or upset, false rumors

History: Dakota was the first pup to be born in Kiska and Tungsten’s second litter. He was often the “leader” out of him and his younger siblings, making up games for them all to play. He also enjoyed being babysat by his older siblings from his parents’ previous litter. At eight weeks, he and his brother Iron were adopted by a musher of a racing team in Nome. Knowing of their lineage as well as their strong body build, the musher was sure Dakota and Iron would make great sled dogs.

    Once they were of age, Dakota and Iron were placed on the racing team their musher owned. They often raced against their brother Ferric and cousin Willow, but the competition was always friendly. Dakota quickly became one of the most popular male dogs in Nome due to his good looks, sled dog status, and relation to Balto. Sometimes he would let it get to his head, but after hearing stories about Steele from his older siblings, he learned to keep his cocky attitude in check. Oftentimes, Iron would follow Dakota around, which got on Dakota’s nerves a little bit, but he got used to it and figured there wasn’t any harm in taking him under his wing. However, things got out of control when in a vain attempt to impress a girl, Iron pretended he was Dakota. Dakota ended up getting upset at his brother and spit out some nasty words, but apologized once he realized Iron was simply looking for a mate and just needed the extra confidence boost. He promised he would help Iron to find more confidence in himself so that people could see the real him.

    As Dakota reached age three, he still continued to remain popular among the dogs in Nome. He brought his team to many victories and his charisma continued to win people over. But he felt something was missing in his life — though he wasn’t sure what it was. But after seeing almost all his friends and siblings with their significant others, Dakota realized what he wanted was a mate to call his own.

Relation to Balto: Balto’s grandson