Guinea Dog

Guinea Dog (2010), a humorous novel for children by American writer Patrick Jennings, tells the story of Rufus, a boy who desperately wants a dog but instead becomes the reluctant owner of a very unusual guinea pig, which he names Fido. As Rufus gradually comes to love and accept Fido, he learns about friendship and self-acceptance. Rufus figures out that what matters most—in people and guinea pigs—is on the inside. Guinea Dog won the Washington State Book Award in 2011 and is followed by two sequels, Guinea Dog 2 and Guinea Dog 3.

Fifth-grader Rufus dreams of dogs. His best friend since kindergarten, Murphy Molloy, has an awesome black lab named Buddy. Even his worst friend, the bully Dmitri Sull, has a tough black chow called Mars. Nevertheless, Rufus’s dad refuses to let him have a dog. Rufus wishes he lived in a normal house. Rufus’s mom, a “lateral thinker” with a big smile, works at a hardware store mixing paint colors. His dad has turned into a “Super Insane Fussy Work-at-Home-Dad Guy,” who wears a full suit and tie and fuzzy slippers while he edits a golf e-zine. Rufus’s dad is having a hard time adjusting to working at home and is blaming everything but himself for his lack of productivity. He has a lengthy bullet-pointed list of reasons why Rufus can’t have a dog: dogs are smelly, filthy, and needy. They also produce lots of poo and are prone to attacking people. Since Rufus’s dad is home all day, he would be constantly interrupted by, and cleaning up after, a dog.

Rufus finds life irritating. His house is clean and quiet and boring. Rufus thinks he is “unsatisfactory” too, with his average brown hair and long neck. Even his hobby of collecting Scrabble tiles and making anagrams is quiet and nothing like having a dog. Rufus idolizes his friend Murphy, who has cool parents, a great dog, and is friends with everybody. When Rufus’s mom brings him a guinea pig in place of a dog, Rufus is angry with her, feeling as if his dream has died. The guinea pig is “orange-ish brown” with a “spiky white mohawk” and a pink nose. Rufus names her Fido, which is what he would have named a dog. Fido immediately takes to Rufus. She follows his commands like a dog and sleeps in his bed. Fido squeals when Rufus is away at school, which upsets Rufus’s dad. Rufus discovers that Fido wants to play with him and will fetch sticks, roll over, and make little barking and growling sounds. Still, Rufus thinks Fido is no substitute for a dog. He and his father vote to return the guinea pig to the pet store, Petopia. Oddly, the pet store has disappeared; the storefront is empty, Petopia isn’t listed in the phone book, and Rufus’s mom didn’t keep Fido’s receipt. Rufus and his dad are stuck with Fido.



One day, Fido stows away in Rufus’s backpack. Rufus, afraid of being laughed at, doesn’t want any of the kids at school to know he has a guinea pig, especially Dmitri, who would tease him even more than usual. Dmitri is new at school, and the only reason Rufus hangs around him is that they are both friends with Murphy. Rufus thinks Dmitri tries too hard to be popular by bragging, showing off, and bullying people. During recess, Fido escapes from the backpack, chasing Rufus across the school playground in front of everyone like a “crazy, hyperspeed, punk guinea pig.” Rufus is mortified.

Lurena Shraits, a girl at school who also makes anagrams, meets Fido and offers to buy her from Rufus. Lurena thinks Fido would be a great friend for her chinchilla. Rufus agrees. But when Fido makes friends with Buddy and Mars, keeps up with Rufus and Murphy when they ride their bikes, and even chases a squirrel up a tree, Rufus begins to warm to her. He still wants a dog, but he decides to put his “dreams away forever and try and accept her for what she was.” Rufus tells Lurena that Fido is not for sale. Rufus’s dad admits that his attitude has been uncompromising and says that he wants to keep Fido around. When Rufus slips and breaks his foot hopping on rocks in the river, Fido brings help. Rufus is proud of her. Fido keeps Rufus company while he recovers at home for a week. Rufus trains Fido to fetch and change DVDs. She plays games with Rufus, watches movies with him (she especially likes dog movies), and does tricks for him. Rufus’s mom gets Fido a leash and collar, and Rufus’s dad helps him build Fido a doghouse.

Murphy thinks Fido is amazing and offers to trade Buddy for Fido, but Rufus declines. He loves Fido. Rufus discovers that even easy-going Murphy’s life is not perfect: He is flunking fifth grade. Rufus agrees to help Murphy study. When Dmitri visits Rufus, he shows a kinder side of himself as he plays with Fido. Rufus realizes that people are different inside from what they show on the outside.