Cujo the Ghost Service Dog!
This is a part of my wheelchair/cane user Danny AU, and while I first had plans to draw Vlad and Dani in this AU- I just had to try my hand at drawing Cujo.
Cujo is a mobility assistant dog, he provides Danny with an additional level of balance support when Danny walks. He also has other tasks like item retrieval and "opening" doors.
He's also a trained diabetic alert dog! May as well put those heightened ghost dog senses to work.
More design explanation and little "rambles" under the cut, as always!
Someone in one of the other posts mentioned Danny using a hurrycane, and while I originally gave Danny a non-folding acrylic one for the aesthetic, I did want to give drawing different cane styles a go. This one has a wider base that swivels as he walks, and a small model of Pluto attached to the strap. I imagine that, even though Danny would probably take the NASA designation very seriously, Pluto would become his favourite 'planet' after he develops his ice powers. Plus, in roman myth, Pluto is the equivalent of Hades- Hades has the dog Cerberus. And Pluto is a dog name- it was just too perfect.
When Danny brings Cujo to school with him, he brings a pouch of specialty ectoplasmic dog treats and Cujo's squeaker toy. He keeps those attached to his hip with a carabiner
Danny's new cane in this art has glow in the dark star stickers stuck all over it.
Cujo is modelled after a mastiff and bully- for no reason other than I wanted him to have the mastiff fur pattern and big ol' cheeks
Cujo being a diabetic alert dog actually comes from a gag line from a comic I've been working on. Danny was trying to get out of detention and fight a ghost, but Lancer rejects each of his excuses before he can make them, and one is "No, you may not go get Sam some juice or a snack, if she has low-blood sugar, I will get something for her."
But then I think it could just be a nice thing to train Cujo to do; I imagine that when Cujo is out with Phantom, he's alerted to a few random citizen's blood sugar levels
Cujo's full list of tasks include:
balance support for Danny while walking
"opening" doors (touching his nose to them to turn them intanglible for Danny)
item retrieval (less used due to how difficult ectoplasmic dog drool is to clean)
circling (where Cujo paces around Danny's chair in crowded places to give Danny space to move, stand up, or sit down)
wheelchair pulling (this is NOT an average mobility dog task- this is EXCLUSIVELY because Cujo is a ghost, he's got ghost strength)
and diabetic alert for Sam and other civilians.
More design rambles
Cujo's muzzle is non-restrictive. It's merely there as a signal to Cujo that he's still working, even if one or both of his vests have been removed.
The mobility assistant vest is inspired directly by a harness from Bold Lead Designs. I chose that one due to the adjustable height of the main bracer, but made a few changes; there is a leather bracer in front that's short and stays upright. The metal bracer can rotate back to lay against Cujo's side when it's not needed- and the plastic handle is moulded to curve around the shape of his body to make it lay flatter. There's a wool lining around the main parts of the vest for Cujo's comfort. Here were my reference images:
The patches on the purple vest include "Mobility Assist" and "Diabetic Alert", a "Danny Phantom Certified SAFE GHOST" patch, another patch that says "Service Dog: Do Not Pet", and Danny's Casper High ID.
The light and dark gradient of Cujo's eyes is the reverse of what the humans have. Humans have highlights at the top of their irises and darker shades at the bottom, but Cujo has dark on top and highlight at the bottom.
Cujo's Axiom Labs dog tag has been replaced with a Danny Phantom tag.
The patches on the purple vest include "Mobility Assist" and "Diabetic Alert", a "Danny Phantom Certified SAFE GHOST" patch, another patch that says "Service Dog: Do Not Pet", and Danny's Casper High ID.
The light and dark gradient of Cujo's eyes is the reverse of what the humans have. Humans have highlights at the top of their irises and darker shades at the bottom, but Cujo has dark on top and highlight at the bottom.
Cujo's Axiom Labs dog tag has been replaced with a Danny Phantom tag.
Phew. That's a big list. Hope I didn't forget anything.
And that's about it for now. Like I said, I have plans for Vlad and Dani- but for now I just want to say this:
Thank you all so so much for the overwhelming support on my original post for this AU. 2K notes on the first drawings I did is insane- I have been blown away by how kind and excited ya'll have been about my design choices and art! And I'm so so so incredibly grateful for all of the wonderful people who gave me their feedback and advice, and corrected me on some of my mistakes. I hope that as I post more, I continue to learn and improve.
also if I knew it was going to get so much attention I would have drawn backgrounds for the first two posts. They look so unfinished to me now ;-; When I get time I'm going to go back and add some simple backgrounds to those two posts.
Thank you for sticking around and reading the rest of this post!
