Dogmeat (Fallout)

Dogmeat is a dog NPC that can be found in Junktown. He can be found terrorizing Phil, an old man in Junktown, by 'guarding' the doorway to his house and keeping him out. The protagonist can distract him for the old man and, by doing this, recruit him as a companion. His previous owner had been killed by thugs hired by Gizmo (most likely the Skulz) about a month previous. In the Vault Dweller's memoirs it is disclosed that Dogmeat died in the military base after running into a force field (although in the game, it is possible to survive the military base with Dogmeat alive - usually by sealing him inside different rooms to protect him from the Super Mutants).

Dogmeat is also a special NPC you can locate and recruit in Fallout 2. He can be found in the special encounter "The Cafe of Broken Dreams."

Recruiting Dogmeat
Use an Iguana-on-a-Stick or wear a Leather Jacket to distract Dogmeat from Phil's house.
 * Fallout

Dogmeat can be recruited simply by wearing your Vault 13 suit and speaking to him. (In other words, undress.) He will remember the Vault Dweller from Fallout and join you.
 * Fallout 2

Follower Details
He can be obtained as a follower in both games regardless of your Karma.

Dogmeat cannot wear armor or use weapons. You can use Stimpaks on him.

In Fallout, he is incredibly effective in combat, as he can do three medium to high damage attacks per turn, and has the same amount of health points as a full grown man. However, one should think carefully before getting him to follow them. He will become a follower, but will not behave like other NPC's in Fallout. You cannot give him directions or ask him to leave you. In order to remove Dogmeat from your party you have to get him killed. This can be a difficult task for low level characters. This is because you are unable to talk to Dogmeat and give him orders like you can with normal NPC followers in the first Fallout.

Dogmeat was changed in Fallout 2, including making him much more powerful. It is not uncommon to see Dogmeat move obscene distances and attack 5 - 6 times during his turn. He was also given normal scripting commands like the other NPC's in the game, and this means you can command Dogmeat the same as you would command, for example, Sulik.

Appearances in games
Junktown, in front of Phil's house.
 * Fallout

In the random encounter Cafe of Broken Dreams.
 * Fallout 2

He was not going to appear in Van Buren.

Behind the scenes

 * He is a reference to the dog Mad Max has in the film Road Warrior, a Blue Heeler simply named "Dog." As a result of heterochromia (a common trait among Blue Heelers), Dogmeat has one blue eye and one brown. These are the same eye colors possessed by Dog in the film. Dog was also very loyal to Max and would attack anyone who tried to harm him or come near his things. Also, in Fallout, Dogmeat's deceased owner's physical discription matches that of Mad Max, including his trademark shotgun and one-sleeved leather jacket (the same jacket on which Fallout's Leather Jacket Armor is based).
 * Scott Bennie was the designer who came up with the name "Dogmeat." The name was initially applied to Jake's dog in the Hub (previously called Dogshit). The name was later applied it to the current NPC Dogmeat, either by Tim Cain or Jason Anderson.
 * There is a character in Troika Games' Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura who bears strong resemblance to Dogmeat. He is a dog, simply named Dog. He will remain 100% loyal to the player regardless of his actions (whether good or evil.) Dog is a powerful melee fighter despite the fact that he cannot use weapons, items or armor. He also does not count against the player's max number of followers. It is likely that Dog and Dogmeat are the same character, as Troika Games consisted of former Interplay Entertainment staff - most notably Tim Cain.
 * Dogmeat might also be based from the 1975 movie A Boy and His Dog. The movie is about a "Solo" wandering a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The first thing Vic, the "solo wanderer" called the dog in this movie is "Dogmeat." Later in the film it is learned that his name is actually "Blood." In the movie the dog is very loyal regardless of Vic's actions, retrieves weapons, and helps in fights. However, Blood's breed is a Komondore, and Blood has the ability to speak telepathically to Vic. Dogmeat does not.