Name: Cooper

Gender: male

Birth Date: July 22, 1927

Breed: one-fourth wolf and three-fourths husky

Parents: Balto and Jenna

Siblings: first litter - Aleu, Kodi, Saba, Dingo, Rose, Luke

second litter (Coop's litter) - Maria, Fiata, and Amber

third litter - Lera, Sam, Denali, Taylor, Rika

Mate: Sadie

Pups: Look For Them Soon!

History: Cooper was not only the only boy of the litter (nicknamed "The Little Prince" because of) but he was also the only one to look as wolf as Balto and Aleu. Of course, Cooper was unable to find himself a home and stayed on his father's boat for his entire puppyhood. Balto's only other experience with raising one of his pups was with Aleu, so he tries to get Cooper to embrace his wolf side. Cooper rebels from this expectation of his father when he is almost a year old. Balto is shocked that his son rans away from the boat and into Nome.

Balto goes looking for Cooper the next day to bring him back home, but Cooper refuses to go with his father, declaring that he doesn't want to be a wolf. In his anger, Balto shouts that Coop can never be a husky either before he rans back to his ship. Cooper tries not to show how much his father's words hurt him, but he really only wants to be a normal husky.

As time passes, Cooper tries to make things right with his mother, who is dusgusted at both her son's and her mate's behavior. To him, Jenna is more willing to listen to Cooper's dreams, and she is the key to his future when she introduces her brother, Jared, to Cooper. Jared sees the longing Cooper has for becoming a sled dog like Jared, so Jared takes the yearling under his wing and becomes a father to him.

While growing, Coop stays on the streets, but enters himself in many street races until he not only has a name among the street dogs but among the humans as well. He becomes friends with a street mutt named Sadie, who always tries to lighten up Coop's grim mood. Despite Sadie's obvious affection for him, Coop is falling for the up-town girl, Delilah. Coop's best friend, Roger, warns him against trying to woo the black beauty, but Coop can't help but find competition with Alan, a prized sled dog who seems to have already claimed Delilah.

Cooper's moment to prove himself finally comes along when an Iditarod champion musher comes to Nome looking for another dog to add to his beloved team because he recently retired on of them. Jared cautions Cooper that he should not try for such a high prize when he is so young, but Cooper sneaks into the race the morning it is held, without paperwork, an owner, or the knowledge of any of his family or friends. Roger spotted Cooper at the starting line, and ran to find Sadie, Jenna, Jared, and Balto.

During the race, Cooper manges to get behind only five dogs, one of them being Alan's friend, Eric, who purposely trips up Cooper. He falls onto the same frozen lake as Balto did years ago. With a burst of memories of his father's stories, Cooper tries to follow Balto's path. But Cooper was not trained for the obstacles, and falls through the ice. Sadie, on her way to the finish line, sees Cooper's failed leap, and rans to the edge of the water just as Coop climbs out of waters on onto the snow.

After his failure, Cooper gives up on his dreams as a sled dog, fighting with both Jenna and Sadie over the decision. He hears word that Alan won and found himself a place on the team. While wondering one of the back allies, Cooper sees Alan and Delilah on the outskirts of town, nuzzling each other affectionately. Heartbroken and defeated, Cooper spends the night on Balto's ship, watching the couple, while Balto searches the streets for his son.

In the morning, Cooper and Balto finally have their heart-to-heart and all is forgiven. Cooper hurries into Nome to see his mother and uncle to apologize for scaring everyone. He also searched all over town for Sadie, and finds her just as the day is ending. They both rush to apologize for the harsh words they had shared earlier, but soon end up laying on the ground laughing again.

During the next month or so, Cooper sees Alan and Delilah off, settling all bad feelings between the two males; Cooper and Sadie become mates; and Cooper becomes much closer to his father.

Personality: Coop can seem very cold and snappish, but that is only because he feels so out of control of his life. He shoves is frustrations with himself on others, but his consciencse easily fills him with so much guilt that he apologizes for it. He doesn't trust very easily, but once someone is able to peel away his outter layer, they find a very kind heart. When he feels comfortable with someone, he loves to make them smile; he becomes as playful as a pup. Coop also has a habit of becoming over-protective of someone he cares for, but they seem to have gotten used to his rough behavior and harsh tongue.

My Reason For Creating Him: I have always had the idea to rewrite Balto's story through his son, but I ended up changing it up ALOT! Basically, Cooper is what Balto would have been without a happy ending with the popular pretty girl, but he finds his own happy ending!