The Caninoid Race

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The Caninoid Race
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History:

Bipedal Caninoid:

This form looks like a wolf standing upright on two legs, with hands where hir front feet would be.

Quadraped/feral Caninoid:

This form looks just like a wolf of earth. S/he still maintains hir intellect completely. However s/he is unable to use Federation Standard or any other humanoid language in this form. Instead s/he has to use a universal translator in the form of a commbadge attached to a collar.

General Biography:

Caninoids have three genders; female, hermaphrodite (or fe/male), and male. However, usually only two are needed to reproduce. It is assumed that a fe/male Caninoid can not reproduce alone, and of hirself. Male Caninoids are exceedingly rare, almost to the point of extinction. A Caninoid who contributes the egg(s), conceives, and carries a litter, is usually considered the mother, irregardless of gender.

A pregnant Caninoid's body reverts to their quadruped (sometimes called their feral form) form sometime during the middle of their pregnancy, once the fetus(es) are developed enough to withstand the change, and to allow them to continue to develop. The gestating fetuses will develop in a similar fashion and at a similar pace that their wild counterparts do. It lasts however, slightly longer in order to allow the brain to develop more.

Caninoids are born very much in the same condition as their wild counterparts, blind, deaf, and helpless. Their size and appearance is nearly indistinguishable from wolves as well. Both parents will contribute to the care of the new litter, and the mother will remain in the feral form until the newborns are old enough to begin to explore on their own.

At a certain point after their primary care is seen to, the pups will often be adopted out to other families, separated from their siblings in order to better learn how to socialize outside their own family. Usually no more than two of the pups will be adopted together. (Pups which develop in the same embryonic sack are considered twins, and it is considered bad luck to separate twins. Twins among Caninoids are common, but triplets or more, and exceedingly rare.)

A young Caninoid will grow, develop, and be raised in their new home much like one might expect a domestic canine puppy to be. They will usually be fed, well cared for, sheltered, and sent to school. They will spend upwards of twelve years with their adoptive family, until such time as they have their 'first change'.

Once they reach approximately 18 solar months of age, a Caninoid is considered a 'feral adult'. They have reached the pinnacle of their feral development, and are physically able to begin a family of their own. However, similar to adolescents on many other planets, it isn't common. While not frowned upon for these “teens” to do so, there is still a “wild” population among many of the species on [REDACTED]& [REDACTED. Also the resulting young will never develop to have their first change, and they will have about half the expected lifespan of a typical Caninoid.

A first change is a milestone for a Caninoid and can be best described as a sort of 'second puberty'. It usually happens at about twelve solar years, but can be as early as ten or as late as fifteen. A Caninoid starts to develop into a full adult. They are reunited with their birth family with much pomp and celebration. They enjoy a time of a sort of second childhood, and get reacquainted with their family, and continue to learn how to cooperate and interact with the other intelligent species on Barnum Prime. Soon after they will enter what most other species in the Federation consider primary school.

A bit on [REDACTED]:

The binary star of which the system is named, is called collectively, The [REDACTED], and the inhabited planet in the system is called [REDACTED], its singular moon is [REDACTED]. This, combined with the large variety of intelligent life in the system, lead to the nickname by outsiders as; "The [REDACTED] system".

The [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]and [REDACTED] are just outside of the Lan`tuan sector – a sector of space where most of the intelligent species are quadrupeds. Thanks to a unique combination of radiation coming from the sector and the binary star, nearly all mammalian life on [REDACTED]and avian life on [REDACTED] developed into a form of bipedal intelligence.

Dr. Vanth is an easy going free-spirited individual. S/he is loyal to hir coworkers, teammates, and superiors. When on duty s/he has an average work ethic, and is focused on the task at hand, and works well with others. S/he isn't however a “stick-in-the-mud” and doesn't mind a bit of fun and perhaps some flirting from time-to-time. Though, s/he is always a consummate professional.

Quite often being the odd one out – partially due to hir kind being new to the Federation – Dr. Vanth doesn't let this break hir however, and s/he is on the constant lookout for a new friend, companion, or partner. Dr. Vanth likes to try new things, and s/he likes to be invited to and enjoy new activities. S/he enjoys a variety of arts including fictional stories, and comics. S/he sometimes likes to partake in holo-adventures involving the characters s/he has read about.

Being of a pack species, s/he is sociable. S/he enjoys the company of others and will often seek them out, including the sort that s/he complains s/he doesn't ever get. Beware, one of hir kind's most common form of greeting, instead of a handshake, is a friendly hug. Most of the “beastinoids” on hir planet don't have the same social inhibitions about personal space and affectionate touching that many humanoids do, and as a result Vanth may make others slightly uncomfortable until they get used to hir affections.

Being a predatory species, sometimes, though rare, the doctor gets the urge to “pounce”, or to “hunt”. This does not usually lead to violence, but is all in good fun, as Vanth has little to no aggression, unless called for. S/he is more often likely to recluse hirself in a holodeck until hir prey drive is met. Though a good commander might know when to take advantage of these skills.

Other Information:

A bit on PRONOUNS: Vanth has requested and been granted the requirement of the use of special pronouns in recognition of hir unique gender. Those are as follows:

1. “S/he” instead of “she” or “he”

2. “Hir” in place of “her”, “him”, and the possessives, “hers”, and “his”

3. “Hirself” where appropriate, and finally,

4. “Shir”, though s/he admits hirself, s/he is lax on this, and “sir” will work in a pinch.