Comments | deathtocapslock: Padfoot's Breed

annoni_no in deathtocapslock

Padfoot's Breed

Feb 12, 2014 18:04

Rowling never specified what breed of dog Sirius' Animagus form was, and 'a bear-like black dog' doesn't do much to narrow the field of possibilities. However, if we assume that the transformation closely reflects the wizard's personality, and perhaps reinforces it, I think I might have identified our mystery breed.

( Meet the Russian Newfoundland, also called the Moscow Water Dog. )

meta, sirius black, animagus transformation, characterization, padfoot, author: annoni-no, animagi

Comments 38

terri_testing February 12 2014, 23:37:02 UTC

And best of all, it would annoy Walpurga by not being a Pureblood.

I like!

annoni_no February 13 2014, 06:36:02 UTC

This is all your fault, you know ;) One of the recent sporkings reminded me of your James the Stag essay, and I decided to take a stab at figuring out what Sirius actually was. Once I narrowed the field to only the larger breeds and started sorting by temperament, the Russian Newfoundland popped up pretty quickly.

Glad you enjoyed!

hwyla February 13 2014, 05:20:12 UTC

I'm afraid I disagree. I'm sure that Sirius' form is actually a Grim ( ... )

annoni_no February 13 2014, 06:24:54 UTC

The problem with Sirius being a Grim is that that would make him the only character whose Animagus form was a magical beast of some kind. I'm pretty sure Rowling has outright stated (though in interviews) that no Animagus ever takes the form of a magical beast or being. Besides, when Sirius hitches a ride to Platform 9 3/4 the primary concern is about his behavior, not the fact that a dog that is literally (as opposed to metaphorically) as large as a bear would be impossible to miss or even fit in the vehicles in the first place. Also, if he were a dog physically the size of a bear/cow, how could he wander through all of England and Scotland utterly unremarked? Surely we would have had word of Obliviators being called in to deal with sightings of such a beast if that was truly Sirius' size. Would he even have fit though the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack ( ... )

oneandthetruth February 13 2014, 07:07:06 UTC

Instead of consigning a human to such a cruel fate, a pure black dog would be buried alive, and after its death would become a Grim watching over the graveyard.

What a hideous story! No thanks for sharing that. Our ancestors were certainly fiendish. >:-( It's that kind of thing that makes me think Christopher Hitchens was right about religion being poisonous.

for_diddled March 27 2014, 00:42:00 UTC

In defence of our ancestors, I think that the secular twentieth century could beat them on the fiendishness front.

Thread 36