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Oh, that's Rufus, he's... loyal, dumb, and angry... so he reminded us of you.
Abigail Marston introducing John to Rufus.

Rufus is a minor character featured in Red Dead Redemption, Undead Nightmare, and Red Dead Redemption 2. He is the Marston family dog; a yellow Labrador Retriever.

History[]

Background[]

Not much is known about Rufus, other than he is a reliable tracking dog, and a "good boy".

Events of Red Dead Redemption 2[]

Rufus arrives at Beecher's Hope during the epilogue, having been adopted by Abigail and Jack Marston. He is described by Abigail as "loyal, dumb and angry". During the mission "Trying Again", he is bitten by a snake while John and Jack are fishing, and John must suck the venom out of him. Rufus can then be found wandering around the ranch, playing with Jack, and occasionally following John while he completes his daily chores. 

Events of Red Dead Redemption[]

Rufus appears in the mission "John Marston and Son" where he assists in tracking down elk. He then accompanies Jack and John in the mission "Wolves, Dogs and Sons" where he assists in tracking down packs of wolves. Rufus then assists John in finding Jack during the mission "Spare the Love, Spoil the Child". Rufus is last seen running behind the house during the mission "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed".

Events of Undead Nightmare[]

Note: The events of Undead Nightmare are not considered part of the same canon as Red Dead Redemption. The following description is therefore not contiguous with the preceding section on Red Dead Redemption.

During the mission "Love in the Time of Plague", Rufus is seen being chased behind the house by the undead Jack. After John hogties the undead Abigail, Jack turns his attention to John, and Rufus runs off towards Tall Trees.

Rufus is never seen again in Undead Nightmare after "Love in the Time of Plague", leaving his fate unknown. Even after when John returns to his family at the beginning of "On a Pale Horse", Rufus does not appear when the family embrace each other.

Mission appearances[]

Red Dead Redemption
Undead Nightmare
Red Dead Redemption 2

Trivia[]

  • Rufus, Charlie and Lucy are the only named domestic animals in Red Dead Redemption.
  • Rufus appears to be a yellow Labrador Retriever, not to be confused with the Golden Retriever (Golden Retrievers have a longer coat). This is confirmed in Red Dead Redemption II.
    • In Redemption 2, Rufus has a different model from all other Labradors in-game, being lankier and with noticeably larger ears for his body size. This may indicate that Rufus is still in adolescence (around 8-12 months old) and is not finished growing. 
    • Rufus also has a different skin from other labradors, with darker markings compared to other yellow labs, as well as being liver-based rather than black-based (as can be told by his brown nose).
  • Rufus is a nod to Red Harlow's only dog.
  • Sometimes, if the player kills a dog while playing as Jack Marston, he will say "I guess I just miss Rufus."
  • In Redemption, Rufus can occasionally be found inside the House (Beecher's Hope) and is found in Jack's room and lies down until he wakes up.
    • In Redemption 2, Rufus cannot enter the house in normal gameplay and appears to sleep on the porch.
  • If the player kills Rufus, like when killing members of John's family, the game will fail.
  • On rare occasions, two Rufus dogs will spawn, but the player cannot kill either of them.
  • Rufus may be killed by a cougar, should one enter Beecher's Hope. This does not affect missions, however, and he will simply respawn.
  • A glitch may occur where after the mission "The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed" and the stranger-side mission "Remember My Family", Rufus can be found seen sitting in Jack's room on the rug. It is possible to nudge Rufus out of the house, however after that, he will just run away and if the player moves their camera off of him just once, he will disappear.
    • If the player saves the game while Rufus is still in Jack's room, he will have disappeared once the player exits the save screen.
  • If the player studies Rufus in Red Dead Redemption 2, the text will simply read "Rufus is a good boy", instead of the typical breed information shown when studying other dogs.

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