Rufus

"Find Jack!"

- John Marston to Rufus

 is a minor character featured in Red Dead Redemption. He is the Marston family dog; a yellow Labrador Retriever, he accompanies John and Jack on several hunting missions near the very end of the story.

Background
Not much is known about Rufus, other than he is a good tracking dog. In the final mission, he presumably goes missing or is killed. It is likely he escaped as the soldiers focused more on John Marston and his family rather than anything else, although it is confirmed the soldiers do shoot at Rufus when he is out in the open. He has been seen roaming around Beecher's Hope after the main storyline is complete.

Interactions
He helps John and Jack hunt elk and wolves towards the end of the game. He also helps John track Jack when he goes after the grizzly bear, and is present during the final mission.

Trivia

 * Rufus, Charlie and Lucy are the only named animals in the game.
 * Some players have speculated is killed, since he was going around the back as the soldiers came, and, when Jack goes around the house, he is no where to be found. But his corpse is not seen hinting he probably did escape. It's more likely that Rufus died because of natural causes during time between 1911-1914, though no grave is yet found.
 * Rufus appears to be a yellow Labrador Retriever, not to be confused to Golden Retriever. (You can tell because Golden Retriever's ears are the same color as their coat.)
 * Sometimes, after the end of the game, while roaming around in a random town, Rufus may appear and maybe follow you. If you shoot and kill him, Jack will take note on what he just did to his dog.
 * During the mission The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed, if you follow Rufus, he will keep walking until he gets into a small room, where he will continual move as if dodging something. If the player moves their camera away, and then moves it back, they will discover that Rufus has disappeared.
 * Sometimes if the player kills a dog while playing as Jack Marston he will say "I guess I just miss Rufus." hinting that Rufus died or got away, never to be seen again.