I love my dog almost as much as I love White, so I decided that I should make Harmony into a character. Not only that, but I felt the need to ensure she is a great character.

Let me give you some information about Harmony (the character).


She's just about as blind as my dog-- she can barely see anything that isn't directly in front of her. She uses her senses to get around instead of getting glasses, since she knows that she's going to continue losing her sight, so it isn't worth it. Harmony owns a white cane but never touches it.

The pained, distant, weak smile on her face comes from a variety of things I used from my dog's own life. It's to show that Harmony tries her best to be happy and keep on with her life, no matter what obstacles are in her way. These are those obstacles in her life that keep her from smiling fully:

1) Harmony, as a character, was once an orphan. We got Harmony from an animal shelter, and, since then, she's been multitudes happier than she was there.

2) Harmony is going blind and also being brought to an early death due to diabetes. This is also true with the real Harmony.

3) Harmony (the character) is in her late thirties and has lost her husband. Though you can't see it here, she still wears the wedding ring. I suppose I have a story to explain this...

Long ago, our neighbors had a German shepherd named Jonas. He was the only dog I think Harmony could consider a friend, as she loved to be around him, especially when he passed by our fence in the back yard and the two would poke their noses through the fence and wag their tails and generally be happy. Harmony would even jump on top of our covered jacuzzi to look over the fence to see him. I really think she loved that dog.

Our neighbors had a really low fence in their backyard. It was only about a foot tall and nothing could stop anything from getting onto the hill between our street and the houses below us down the hill. This is how Jonas would visit Harmony and run around behind our barred fence.

Unfortunately, this is also what allowed Jonas to escape into the night and, one day, cross the street next to our house at the worst possible time. He was hit by a truck, and we were shouted at to help the driver. Our dog, immediately following the screech and, if I remember properly, the sickest whine I'd ever heard from an animal, began to bark insanely.

I think she knew what happened, but I'm not sure if she was aware of the fact that Jonas, after we wrapped him up in a towel and warned his owners, didn't survive the animal hospital visit. Yes, Jonas had died, and he was even buried in our neighbor's back yard. But, like I said, I don't think Harmony knew Jonas was gone for a while-- after that day, she continued to hop up on the jacuzzi to look for Jonas over the wall, but she never would see him again.

I think the most heartbreaking part is that after weeks of this, when she eventually realized, Harmony seemed extremely sad. I really think she loved Jonas.

Anyway, I've paid my respects to him by making him an important part of Harmony's character. But, I'd like to think that he is probably one of the more important reasons why Harmony, the character, doesn't smile fully.


There's more about Harmony that I could tell you, but I think I've said enough for one submission.


Harmony (C)  neonnoble / Michael "Neon Noble" Nicolosi