Guinea Dog

By Patrick Jennings

Rufus really wants a dog. He really really wants a dog. Everybody he knows has a dog, from his best friend to his worst friend. The family down the street has three! But his clean-fiend Dad says no way! Dogs bark and beg. They drool. They slobber. They carry bloodsucking fleas.

When Mom, despite protests, brings home a guinea pig as a compromise, the whole family is in for a shock. Because Rufus’s new pet doesn’t act like a guinea pig at all: She runs. She fetches. She’ll eat his homework. If Dad thinks dogs are trouble, wait until he has to live with Fido, the guinea dog!

Patrick Jennings’s hilarious novel is perfect for everyone who’s begged for a pet and gotten more (and less) than they bargained for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781606843277

Patrick Jennings

Patrick Jennings grew up in a small town in Indiana, where there were no wild, lethally venomous snakes. His family then moved to rural Arizona, where lived many, including seventeen varieties of rattlesnake. Patrick got seriously freaked out. He now lives on the Olympic Peninsula, where there are scarcely any wild, lethally venomous snakes. We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes is his fourteenth book for young readers.

Reviews for Guinea Dog

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An amusing chapter book with a fantastical element: a guinea pig that can do tricks and act as well as any dog. All Rufus wants is a dog but his father is dead set against it. His mother's solution is to buy him a guinea pig which is no solution at all. Rufus stubbornly names it Fido and hopes they'll get to return it to the pet store, but he later realizes the pig is pretty good at following commands and doing tricks, so much so, that Rufus becomes the envy of his classmates.

[marthajeanne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is hilarious. 'Fido' doesn't behave like any guinea pig I ever saw, but the book is lots of fun.

[benuathanasia · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

So cute! And very well written. I enjoyed this immensely.

[youthgpl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Elly says, "Fun to read, aimed at 8 - 10 year-olds, Rufus, 5th grade, wants a dog, obsessively neat-nik anti-germ dad refuses, mom brings him a guinea pig that actually acts like a dog. Many misadventures at home and school when Roo tries to hide the fact that he has a guinea pig named Fido and not a dog. Father and mother are cartoony, Roo and his friend are more realistic. Rivalry between Roo and another boy is believeable. Finally acceptance comes more from others saying Fido is cool rather than Roo deciding he doesn't really care what others think, he likes the guinea pig just fine. Still a nice story for younger readers.

[melanietaylorridgway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a great book for children in grades 3-5. Even though the main character was a boy, I feel that girls will like this also as there are minor female characters in the book too. It was quite funny and I thought the characters were realistic and believable. The plot moved at a good pace and you wanted to know how the story ended.

[dchaikin_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My 9-yr-old daughter recommended this5th-grader Rufus wants a dog, but his anal dad can't stand the idea. So, Mom gets him a guinea pig. Rufus is so disappointed, it takes him a long time to realize this isn't a normal guinea pig. It understands "sit" and "quiet" and "go get help" and even how to eject CD's...It's cuteSome extra bits:1. The best character isn't Rufus, but his friend Murphie who comes late to school, is nearly failing 5th grade, and who everyone likes (including me). Not sure what that says.2. Slight annoyance with yet another juvenile story where the main character supposedly loves books, but never takes a second to read them (or, in this case, say anything about them).

[phh333 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Liked the book. Would recommend this book to 3rd grade boys who like funny books.

[brangwinn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick fun read that's not too challenging for third grade readers. And best of all, its by a Washington state author. One of the things I found appealing about this book was the idea....what if a guinea pig acted like a dog. I had a cat who would fetch and go for walks with me, very uncatlike behaviors. So maybe it really could happen.