This page is about the Fallout and Fallout 2 character. For other characters and items with this name, see Dogmeat.
“I wouldn't trust that beast if I were you. That thing is a killer.”— Phil
Dogmeat is a dog that has seen the worst of the wasteland and provided a source of companionship to the greatest of heroes it's ever seen. He appears as a companion of the Vault Dweller in Fallout and potential companion of the Chosen One in Fallout 2.
Around a month before the Vault Dweller exited Vault 13 in 2161, Dogmeat's previous owner, a man named Mel was killed in or near Junktown by thugs hired by Gizmo (most likely the Skulz). In his depressed state, the canine wandered onto Phil's property and harassed him by barking, keeping him out of his home until the Vault Dweller came to Junktown on December 30, 2161 and managed to gain Dogmeat's companionship while allowing Phil back into his home.[Non-game 2] The canine traveled with his new master during his adventures to first find a water chip to save Vault 13 and later to end the threat of the Master and the Unity. When the party went to the Mariposa Military Base to destroy the FEV Vats producing the super mutant army, Dogmeat ran ahead of his master and ended up being obliterated by a protective energy shield.[Non-game 3]
In 2241, after the Chosen One, grandchild of the Vault Dweller, left Arroyo on their search for a G.E.C.K., they may have come across the Café of Broken Dreams, a special location where wastelanders congregate from across time and space, including Dogmeat, who might travel with the wasteland hero again if they are wearing their ancestral Vault 13 jumpsuit.
He can be recruited by giving him an iguana-on-a-stick or wearing a leather jacket (his previous owner wore one according to Phil) to distract Dogmeat from Phil's house in Junktown.
He is incredibly effective in combat, as he can do three medium to high damage attacks per turn, and has the same number of HP as an adult male NPC. However, one should think carefully before getting him to follow them. He will become a follower, but will not behave like other non-player characters in Fallout, he cannot be given directions or asked to leave/wait. In order to disband Dogmeat, he has to die. This can be a difficult task for low-level characters because it is impossible to talk to Dogmeat and give him orders like with normal companions in the first Fallout.
If Katja and Dogmeat are both following the Vault Dweller, Katja will say "I hate dogs" repeatedly.
Dogmeat can be found in the special encounterCafé of Broken Dreams. He can be recruited by the Chosen One, by simply showing their Vault 13 jumpsuit (in other words, undress) and speaking to the dog. Dogmeat will remember the Vault Dweller from Fallout and join the PC. When not in the player character's party, Dogmeat fights for the NCR. If he is dismissed and the player character's NCR reputation is low enough, he might charge at them.
Dogmeat was made even more powerful than his past version. It is not uncommon to see Dogmeat move obscene distances and attack five to six times during his turn. He was also given normal scripting commands like the other non-player characters in the game, and this means the player character can command Dogmeat the same as they would command, for example, Sulik.
Attacking Dogmeat at the Café in Fallout 2 may spawn Mel, a man with a strange accent, who claims to be Dogmeat's owner. Mel will defend Dogmeat in combat.
Mel fits the description given of Dogmeat's previous owner in Fallout.
Dogmeat can be obtained as a follower in both games regardless of the player character's general Karma, though he will attack the Chosen One if they have a low enough NCR rep. This can happen upon dismissing Dogmeat from the party as well.
Unlike humanoid companions, Dogmeat cannot wear armor, equip weapons, or use items. He has a Damage Resistance & Damage Threshold equivalent to leather armor. He can be administered stimpaks by the player character.
Dogmeat's name is a reference to the titular dog in the 1975 film A Boy and His Dog, itself based on the novella series by speculative fiction author Harlan Ellison. Its plot concerns an apparently psychic dog conversing with the human Vic as they both scour the wasteland for food and women. The dog's name was "Blood," but Vic also called him "Dogmeat."[Non-game 4]
In practice, Dogmeat strongly evokes Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) as well as A Boy and His Dog. Both movies famously featured a lone wanderer and his dog companion in a post-apocalyptic world. Tim Cain confirmed that Mad Max 2 was one additional inspiration for Dogmeat, as Leonard Boyarsky had the film playing on repeat during development, and he made the comment that having a dog companion in the game would be "really cool."[Non-game 4]
Phil describes Dogmeat's former owner in the original Fallout as fitting the description of Max in Mad Max 2: "Oh, the guy was tall, dark-haired with a little graying around the edges. He was dressed all in black leather, like that's a good idea in the desert, and carried a shotgun."
Scott Bennie was the designer who arrived at the name "Dogmeat." The name was initially applied to Jacob's dog in the Hub, previously named Dogshit. Later, the name was applied to the companion dog by either Tim Cain or Jason Anderson.[Non-game 5]
Tim Cain credited Jesse Heinig as "one person to thank for Dogmeat," as Heinig got the companions system to work in the first place during Fallout's development.[Non-game 4]
↑Vault Dweller's memoirs: The Vats "My job was still not finished, for I still had one task remaining. The Master had literally built his army one mutant at a time. Humans, preferably with little radiation damage, were to be captured and sent to the Vats. There they were dipped in something called FEV, which transformed them into the large, grotesque mutants. I had to find these Vats, and put them out of action as well, lest another take the Master's place and continue to build the mutant army. Fortunately, my friends at the Brotherhood had a few clues, and helped me reach my goal. Invading the Vats, I came across more mutants and robots. None could stand in my way. I had a mission. I had a goal. I had a really large gun. It was here that Dogmeat fell, a victim of a powerful energy forcefield. I miss that dog. I destroyed the Vats that day, and with it, the mutant army. The last I heard, they splintered and disappeared into the desert."
