Meet the Village
Welcome to a sunny little village by the sea, where everybody knows everybody, and every day brings a new adventure.
Sergeant Rufus
Protector of the Village
Rufus is a miniature pinscher in a red hoody and black harness, with three yellow chevrons on his chest, showing the rank he gave himself. He keeps watch over the village, throws himself into every problem and usually discovers that helping is not quite the same as being in charge.
Dotty
Made from Flowerpots
Dotty is a living flowerpot woman made from hand-painted terracotta pots, joined with string, and she wears a flowery dress. Lovely Lisa made her, but love is what brought her to life. She is warm, helpful and brave, although her delicate fired fingers are not made for force.
Kookie Eyes
The Governor
Kookie Eyes is the white street cat the locals call the Governor. From his place high on the sea wall, he misses nothing and rarely wastes a word.
Stephanie
The Seagull
Stephanie was once known as the village troublemaker. She is trying to prove she has changed, although the village's trust sometimes takes longer to catch up with her good intentions.
Carl
Crab of the Rock Pools
A crab of the rock pools, and the hardest catch on the beach. Carl has seen plenty of buckets, nets and traps come and go. He keeps a sharp eye on everything that happens along the shore, which makes him the witness nobody thinks to ask.
Romeo
Lovely Lisa's Cat
Lovely Lisa's cat. Romeo sees a great deal more than he lets on. He is often on the sea wall, watching the village go by, and when he does have something to say, it is usually the thing everyone else missed.
Billy
The Ex-pat Bulldog
An ex-pat bulldog who never says a word. Billy likes to charge up behind Rufus and arrive last, as though that had been the plan all along.
Paco
The Fisherman's Dog
A fisherman's dog, small and nervous. Crowds make Paco bolt. But he has the best nose at the market, and there is a lot more to him than the village first thinks.
Sushi
Never in a Rush
A calm Akita with a ginger-gold and cream coat and a thick curled tail. Sushi is never in a rush. She goes at exactly the speed a thing needs. Where Rufus charges in, Sushi stops, looks and works out what is really going on. And when something needs a steady dog standing in the way, she is very good at being in the way.
Peter
The Pigeon
A pigeon, often up on the rooftops. Peter never says a word, and he has never solved anything. He is usually somewhere close by when things happen, though, and somehow nobody ever thinks of him.
Lovely Lisa
Maker and Mender
Lovely Lisa is the village artist who made Dotty, pot by pot and knot by knot. She paints, repairs and notices when somebody needs help without wanting everyone to see. Lisa rarely makes a fuss; she simply finds the careful thing that needs doing and does it.
Victor
The Old Fisherman
Victor is an elderly fisherman who reads the sea as easily as other people read a clock. He never hurries simply because everyone else is worried. When the tide, wind or water matters, Victor is the person the village learns to listen to.
More friends in the village
Rufus is never short of neighbours. Here are some more of the people and animals you will meet in the stories.
Gloria
The Café on the Square
Gloria runs the café on Sea View Village Square, looking out over the beach.
Veronica
The Beach Shop
Veronica runs the beach shop beside the wooden stairs, with buckets and spades, rubber dinghies, sun hats and armbands out front. She never charges Rufus for anything.
Antonieta
Veronica's Mum
Antonieta is Veronica's mum. You will often find her sweeping the step outside the shop.
Sonia
The Post Office
Sonia runs the post office at the top of Cardiac Hill. She is full of enthusiasm, and always turns up with exactly what nobody asked for.
Arthur
The Artist at the Window
Arthur lives in the last house before the top of Cardiac Hill. Every morning he draws the village from the chair by his window.
Mia
David's Little Sister
Mia is six. At the rock pools her rule is simple: don't take anything home, just look.
David
Mia's Big Brother
David is seven, a year older than his sister Mia. Their mum is Carla.
Shelly
The Snail
Shelly lives on the geranium pots on the Great Stair Climb, and she is never in a hurry.
Luna
The Donkey with the Bell
Luna belongs to the Maia family, a local Portuguese Romani family with a clothes stall on the promenade.
Bruno
The Post Donkey
Bruno belongs to the Maia family too. His job is carrying the post up the hill.
Dona Fátima Maia
The Clothes Stall
Dona Fátima runs the Maia family's clothes stall on the promenade every day. She keeps a water bowl by the stall for Rufus, and gives Bruno a carrot before his post round.
Senhor Joaquim Maia
Dona Fátima's Husband
Senhor Joaquim helps at the family's clothes stall on the promenade, tape measure always to hand, and he keeps the donkeys' straps mended.