Information

Name:
Ruben.

Name Meaning:
Behold, a son. - Hebrew origin.

Nickname(s)/Alias(es):
Is often called ‘Specks’ by his owner, David, for the markings on his face resemble spectacles.

Age:
About three years.

Gender:
Male.

Breed:
¼ Wolf, ¾ Siberian Husky.

Orientation:
Heterosexual.

Family

Generation:
Third.

Parents:
Balto(Father - Wolf/Husky), & Jenna(Mother - Husky).

Sibling(s):
Aleu, Kodiak(Kodi), Saba, Dingo, & Inua Anana(Inua).

Grandparents:
Aniu(Paternal Grandmother), Miki(Paternal Grandfather), & Sila(Maternal Grandmother), Takiyok(Maternal Grandfather).

Other Important Family Members:
Nukka(Paternal Aunt), Aput(Paternal Uncle), & Polaris(Maternal Uncle).

---
Crush:
None.

Mate:
None.

Past-Mate(s):
None.

Offspring:
Neutered.

History

Ruben was born a middle pup in Balto and Jenna’s first litter, just a few minutes before his younger brother Kodiak. Ruben was a fair good size bigger than his siblings, but he never tended to eat any more than they did. As they grew, Ruben was always among the last to venture out and do anything. This wasn’t because he was afraid of experiencing new things, he just wasn’t as apt to be as adventurous as his siblings. This didn’t stop him from going out and playing with his siblings and messing around with their uncle Boris, however, these were things he was much more than willing to jump headlong into.

When the time came for the pups to go to their new homes, he was the second one to be adopted. He was taken by a little girl whose name was Nancy. Nancy was a sweet girl and loved Ruben with all her heart, but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. Whenever Nancy would try to get close to Ruben she’d break out into a coughing, or sneezing, fit and would have to leave the room. Ruben was worried for his new girl but never thought much of it. That is until he was taken to a new home. It turned out Nancy had an allergy to dogs, and it prevented her from getting near Ruben. Because Nancy couldn’t get near him, the family couldn’t keep him and so he was sold to a young musher named William. William was nice enough, he treated his animals well, and always made sure they were well fed. Ruben liked him though it did take him a while to get used to his new name. While he was with Nancy he’d been called ‘Max’, but now he was being called ‘Buck’.

It wasn’t long after he was sold to William that the man began training him to be a sled dog. Ruben took to it well, as was in his blood, and before long he actually found that he rather enjoyed it. Ruben had lived with William for a little over a year, becoming one of his more prized dogs, despite his position as a swing dog, when a major turning point in Ruben’s life occurred. It was during a fairly routine run, which Ruben had been made to sit out on because of a minor injury he’d received the week before. The dogs were nearing their final turn on William’s personal training track when a young man, Ruben had guessed he couldn’t have been more than nineteen at the time, stumbled onto the track. It was clear he was lost and didn’t realize where he was, and by the time that he had it was already too late. William called for his dogs to stop, but they were simply going too fast. In less time than it took for one to blink, Ruben had made the decision to lunge forward, knocking the man off the track and taking the hit from the sled himself.

Ruben was badly injured and suffered permanent damage to his left front leg, right hip, and one of the dogs had trampled him crushing his throat in the process. But he survived and after a long few months in recovery was more or less the same dog he’d been before. Except that he would never be able to pull a sled, or talk, ever again. William, as much as he loved Ruben, had no use for a dog who couldn’t work, and so Ruben was placed up for adoption once more. This time, he was taken in by a young man named David, the same man Ruben had saved the day of his accident. Seemed he’d taken a great liking to Ruben, and he had come to visit him often during his recovery. When he heard that Ruben was going up for sale, he jumped at the chance and snatched him up. It was David who gave him the name 'Ruben', as he’d said he didn’t really like the name ‘Buck’, plus it was a hint at the fact that he was the son of the most famous dog in town. Ruben was fine with the name change, in fact, he too rather liked this particular name over ‘Buck’ as even after being called that for little over a year, he still hadn’t gotten used to it.

About a week after Ruben left to live with David, he learned that the young man was a miner and he’d been looking for a dog who could keep him company while he looked for gold. Ruben had never been out by the mines before, so he believed that it might make for an interesting experience. Ruben took to life with a miner well, it was a little hard at first, but once he got the hang of the daily routine, he fit right in with his new lifestyle. Ruben never entered the mining area itself, David would never let him, but he did always wait for his master to return just outside the entrance. It was during just one of these times that the second turning point in his life happened.

Ruben had been napping at the entrance to the mine when the sound of rumbling woke him, at first he dismissed it, thinking it was just the sound of a cart being pulled or something, but when it came again, louder, followed by the sound of something collapsing, Ruben knew something was horribly wrong. Not even giving it a second thought, Ruben jumped to his paws and rushed into the mining area, but was nearly blinded as the whole place was filled with a cloud of smoke from whatever had happened. After the dirt and dust cleared, Ruben set about looking for David, it didn’t take him long to find him, but when he did he almost wished he hadn’t. David was alive, but just barely, and he was trapped under what looked like a mountain of splintered wood and beams. Luckily for the young miner, a group of other men had been nearby and rushed to help. It seemed a wayward cart had crashed into one of the support beams of the large wooden sluice that David had been working on, and when he tried to jump away when he realized that it was going to fall, his foot had got caught on something and when the sluice fell, it took David with it. The other miners had been calling it a freak accident when they rushed to get David to the hospital. Ruben was left to believe that what had happened was his fault. He hadn’t been the one working the cart, but he hadn’t been able to warn David of the danger either, so didn’t that leave him just as much to blame as the one who had?

For the next six months, David recovered in the hospital while Ruben was taken care of by David’s friend, a girl named Emily who worked at the hospital as a nurse. During that time, Ruben’s family had tried to comfort him(Inua especially tried to help cheer his brother up) and tell him that David would be fine and he couldn’t have done any more than he already had, but Ruben was convinced that what happened to his owner had been his fault. When David was finally able to return home, he was ordered to remain in his bed as much as possible. It quickly became apparent to Ruben that David wouldn’t have been able to get out of bed even if he had wanted too. For the next month or so, Emily stayed with them to help David and to continue caring for Ruben because David still couldn’t do it. Ruben still wasn’t sure why David couldn’t move, but this question was soon answered when the carpenter, Mr. Joanson, stopped by to make a delivery for David. At first, Ruben wasn’t sure what the thing was until he overheard David talking to Emily about it. The thing was called a ‘wheelchair’, and it was going to be how David would get around from then on because he could no longer use his legs.

It took quite a while for Ruben to get used to David’s new wheelchair, it made odd noises as it rolled across the floor and it prevented David from doing most of the things that he was once able to do, like reach the higher shelves of the cupboard. These were things that Emily helped him with until David finally decided that everything would just be moved to be placed on the lower shelves and on the counter. Ruben also had to learn how to do things he hadn’t done before, like help David pick things up off the floor when he dropped them to sometimes push a door open for him when he couldn’t reach the handle. While it took a while to learn everything and get into the hang of doing those things Ruben soon fell into his new way of life. Ruben was the type of canine who needed a routine to follow, and that was something he’d always had up until then, but they were soon able to work out a steady routine together, and Ruben was able to relax once more.

About a month or so after David was able to get around his home and most of town on his own again, Emily had gone back to her own home to care for her own family, David was offered to become the new owner of a local supplies store whose owner could no longer work because of his age. Seeing as he wouldn’t be able to go back to his old job, or work in the mines anymore, David gladly took the offer and soon began working as the store’s new owner. Ruben was always there to help him and soon began to make himself known among David’s more common customers. He could always be found either helping David behind the counter or helping one of the customers when they couldn’t reach or find the thing they needed. Because of this, more and more people would come to the store and soon business was boomy. Ruben was happy and settled into the new routine with ease. He soon began to make a name for himself outside of the store and around Nome as well. Mainly because of the antics of his younger brother Inua, who always managed to get himself into trouble and it was Ruben who would always have to bail him out. This never seemed to bother Ruben’s reputation, however, it only served in making him more well known as a kind, helpful dog.

Personality

Personality:
Ruben is quiet and reserved. Having suffered an injury that left him mute, he can’t talk to those around him which results in a very quiet character. Still, he has been able to work around that issue and is able to make his thoughts known even without the use of words. Because he prefers the quiet life over the bustling of town, he can often be found out in the forest either bird watching, or fishing with his owner. Other such activities, like strolls along the beach and simply resting by the fireplace, also tend to catch his fancy. Being reserved, he’s never one to express his opinion on things, and in truth, prefers to stay on the neutral side. When asked his thoughts on most things, he’ll simply shrug and direct the asker’s attention to the next person in line.

Because of his reserved nature, Ruben can at times come off as indifferent and uncaring when this is in fact not the case. Ruben is actually very caring and is generally concerned with the well-being of others, even strangers. He has at times been seen to care too much, to the point that he’s nearly driven himself to hysteria with worry. This, however, doesn’t happen often and one event in particular to note was when David was in the hospital recovering from his injuries when the gold sluice collapsed. Ruben had nearly driven himself crazy with guilt and worry over it, thinking it had been his fault.

Ruben can be very quick to anger at times. Especially when it comes to certain topics, namely those regarding his lack of voice, his heritage, or David’s condition. He has been known to lash out before if pushed too hard, however, he’d immediately regret it afterward and try his best to make it up to whoever it was he’d snapped at. He’s also been noted to he particular sensitive as well, with even the slightest of mentions of certain events or topics being enough to nearly drive him to tears. It is because of this that he tends to remain indifferent to most things and why, if a topic he doesn’t particular care to discuss is brought up, he’ll excuse himself and go find something else to do.

Ruben is the type of dog that needs stability in his environment in order to function properly. As in, a daily routine is needed for him to feel comfortable and relaxed even in his own home. For most of his life, routines were always present. Such as his training as a sled-dog, and the routine runs that William would put them through every week or so. Daily routines were also present with William as he always tended to follow a pattern that was easy for Ruben to follow as well. When he was first sold to David routines were present in the times he would leave for his mine and the things he would do to prepare before going. After David’s accident, and for a short while when he was in recovery, all sense of a routine was gone and this had made Ruben very uneasy and even snappish to those around him. Once a routine returned, shortly after David was given his wheelchair, Ruben was able to fully relax once more and he returned to the same gentle dog he’d always been.

Ruben is very loyal to his friends and family. Especially to his owner, David. In fact, he is so devoted to those close to him that it can almost be a fault at times. He is very protective, at times even going so far as to risk his own life to ensure the safety of those closest to him. Because of this, it isn’t uncommon for him to be found as close to David as possible wherever he goes. This protectiveness doesn’t just extend to David however, his family also tends to receive the same treatment and he is more often than not told to settle down a bit because of it. He knows that his family can care for themselves, but at times he simply feels the need to protect them from anything and everything.

Ruben is not, and likely never will be, leader material. Ruben has always been a subordinate type dog, and would much rather follow orders than give them. If he were to ever be given the choice he’d likely turn the option down. Because of this, Ruben can often be found following along with the rather unusual antics of his younger brother Inua, who insists on dragging Ruben along with him. During his very brief time as a sled dog, he was given the placement of swing dog, a position that suited him perfectly as he would be following orders from both the lead dog and his musher. Because of this, he worked very well, however, an incident occurred shortly after that resulted in him being unable to continue as a working dog.

When interacting with others Ruben has a very well-mannered demeanor. When he could talk he was always polite in his choice of words and in the way he acted around others. This is a side of himself that he continues to try to show even with the loss of his voice. Always greeting strangers with a smile and a nod, he doesn’t hesitate to help someone out if they’re having trouble finding their way around town. He is also very well behaved around humans as well, not just around other dogs. Ruben is friendly and doesn’t shy away even when complete strangers will walk into David’s store and pet him. He has even been known to help them get something if they are either having trouble finding it or can’t quite reach it. Because of this, he has become quite well known to many of David’s regular customers.

In regards to his family, Ruben shares a fairly equal relationship with all of his siblings. Except for Aleu, Ruben was never as close to Aleu as he was with his other brothers and sister. Still, Ruben did share a fairly close bond with his sister and wished her well when their father told him of what happened to her. With his other siblings, Ruben is probably the closest to Inua though this isn’t exactly by choice. He still loves his little brother regardless, however. Ruben actually has a rather edgy relationship with his father, this is because he is reluctant to accept his heritage of the wolf. He accepts that his father is half wolf, but he just doesn’t like the idea of those vicious creatures being a part of his bloodline. With his mother, Ruben is the definition of the perfect son, and while he wasn’t a ‘momma’s boy’, he is still really close to his mother.

As far as relationships go, Ruben’s never actively pursued them. While he has had puppy crushes on some females from around town, they’ve never been any more than that. He has had a few females ask him out before, as well, but he’s always turned them down as nicely as he can without a voice. For now, Ruben is content to simply be the loyal companion he’s always been to David. If the right someone were to reveal themselves to him, however, he wouldn’t hesitate to follow where his heart led.

Like(s):
Ruben really enjoys spending time with his owner, to the point that he’s almost never not by his side. Ruben also enjoys long walks along the beach and napping by the fireplace. He’s come to really like the bear meat that David can sometimes snag from the store, and he also doesn’t mind the occasional cooked fish every now and then. Out of the four seasons, autumn is his favorite. He loves the smell of the dying leaves, and the feel of the air as it dances in a comfortable place between warm and cold. And pumpkin spice is always nice. He’s come to actually enjoy the company of his younger brother, Inua, and he tends to seek him out when David isn’t around or too busy with the store.

Dislike(s):
Ruben despises loud noises, especially howling. To him, it is one of the worst sounds in the world, and one he could very much do without. He also doesn’t like it with David gets mad at him over simple things such as the occasional pair of chewed shoes, or digging holes in the yard. He doesn’t tend to like most sled dogs as they always tend to view themselves above regular house dogs. And he really doesn’t like the smell of the rotting meat that the butcher tends to throw out. Of all the seasons, he hates spring the most. Unlike autumn, who’s weather tends to feel rather pleasant, spring can’t seem to make up its mind what it wants to be. Cold, or really, really, cold. He also doesn’t much care for the smell of cooking meat. Unlike most dogs, he finds the scent repulsive, and while he greatly enjoys the taste, he could very much do without the smell.

Dreams/Wishes:
Ruben wishes that he could one day be a much better dog to David than what he has been. He also dreams to one day be the perfect son his mother always thought him to be, even though he knows in reality he’s far from it.

Fear(s):
He has an interesting fear of the dark, and most nights David has to leave a small oil light on in order for Ruben to even get any sleep. He has a slight fear of wolves. He’s never met one himself, besides his father and he’s only half, but from stories that the sled dogs at William’s kennel told, he’d guess that they must be very frightening creatures. He one day fears that David will eventually hate him for his incompetence and throw him out on the street. 

Regret(s):
Not being able to warn David of the danger before it was too late.

Other

Voice Actor:
Brina Palencia - Pup.
Crispin Freemen - Adult(later acts as the voice of his ‘thoughts’).

Relation to Balto:
Balto and Jenna’s son, the ‘Red-Faced Pup’.

If Rendered:
Use Kirby(with a rounder face and larger thinner ears), or one of the background dogs from Balto I.

Trivia

He is the second darkest of all of Balto and Jenna’s first litter, whereas Kodiak and Saba are the darkest and lightest, respectfully.

He was born the largest of his siblings, where Inua was the runt.

He is the only one of the pups in the first litter to have a white undercoat.

His birth name was ‘Buddy’, which was given to him by Rosie when he was born. Rosie was actually the one that gave all of the pups their 'birth’ names. He and Inua were the only two to get name changes after they were adopted.

All of the people in Ruben’s life(excluding Nancy) appeared in the first Balto film. William and David were shown in the sled race scene as onlookers, and Emily was seen as a receptionist in one of the windows of the hospital Jenna looked into to find Rosie.

During his entire time with William and for a short while after he was sold to David, Ruben lived near White Mountain and so did not hear of all the happenings in his family until after he moved back to Nome with David.

Ruben knows what happened to Dingo but doesn’t have an opinion on it. He was never as close to Dingo as he was some of his other siblings, so the fact that Dingo wants nothing to do with them doesn’t seem to bother him much.