Ender's Game Dog Names

There are several dogs throughout history that could have been named for characters from the book, if only the book had been written already. In the 1960’s the first of many pets on the long-running British children’s show Blue Peter was named Petra, a name she shares with the only female battle school student in Ender’s Game. Although the puppy from the first episode died from distemper, a lookalike was quickly found and given the name that had been voted on for the puppy, a fact that was hidden from the viewing audience. Petra not only appeared on the show from 1962 to 1977 but also birthed another Blue Peter pet, her son, Patch.

In 1945, a Collie dog by the name of Peter, the same name as Ender’s older brother, was awarded the Dickin Medal as a search and rescue dog in London. He was originally transferred to the war service by his owner, who apparently noted that he had a particular talent for destruction and ignoring commands, but when pressed into service he became a determined and talented search and rescue dog.

The dog I’d like to bring your attention to, however, is a more recent addition to pop culture, a fictional canine by the name of Mouse, a Temple dog owned by Harry Dresden, the main protagonist in a series of books called “The Dresden Files.” When Ender is playing the Giant’s Game in battle school, the avatar with which he finally beats the ruthless Giant is a mouse, an act which requires breaking the rules of the game. Like Ender, Mouse the dog breaks rules on occasion. Mouse is one of a litter of puppies rescued by Dresden and Dresden acquires the dog when, while Mouse’s brothers and sisters are being flown home, Mouse stows away in Harry’s car and misses the flight to Tibet. He grows into an imposing and large canine who stands about waist high to Harry and sports a thick coat of long grey fur. Mouse, like Ender, is even more impressive and capable than he first appears, and throughout the series he is able to intervene for people several times, at one point waking an entire enchanted apartment building with his bark and in other instances, chasing down both goons and supernatural monsters. Like Ender, Mouse is compassionate, taking a bullet for Dresden’s protégé, Molly Carpenter and later serving as a guard dog and emotional support animal for Dresden’s daughter, Maggie.