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. ( )

My 9-yr-old daughter recommended this

5th-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 cute

Some 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).

2014
http://www.librarything.com/topic/163456#4536320 ( )

When his mother brings home a guinea pig instead of the dog he has always wanted, fifth-grader Rufus is not happy--until the rodent starts acting exactly like a dog. ( )

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. ( )

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