Rin Tin Tin

The first Rin Tin Tin

I'm reading Susan Orleans' new non-fiction book Rin Tin Tin, about the German Shepard movie icon. Orlean wrote another book a few years ago called The Orchid Thief that got quite a bit of attention. Although these books are "about" dogs and flowers, she weaves in history, sociology, personal stories and character portrayals so her writing is entertaining. The research is top notch--Orleans is a staff writer for the New Yorker magazine which says it all.

The first Rin Tin Tin was rescued by American serviceman Lee Duncan a few months before the end of WWI. He was part of a litter of shell-shocked pups in a bombed out dog kennel in France. Duncan brought him back to California and got started in silent films. In his time, Rinty was as famous as the movie hero Douglas Fairbanks. His ability to show "emotion" and his athletic feats astonished audiences. Rinty could scale a 12 foot fence, climb up and down trees and leap over chasms. In his movies he was usually cast out by cruel humans due to some misunderstanding, but he forgave them (and was forgiven) in the end.

True to the breed, Rinty the actor wasn't very friendly, or at least he had that reputation. He fought viciously in most of his movies and Lee said he enjoyed it. I'm not sure male dogs can "pretend" to fight. If you have a few minutes, you can watch him in action in this YouTube silent movie clip. Ouch.



The person who founded the German Shepherd breed in the 1800's believed that dogs should bond only with their masters. He considered "excessive and promiscuous friendliness" (as he called it) to be a weakness in a dog.

Lee Duncan raised and trained Rinty exclusively and hardly ever let anyone else handle him. Was he mean? An unpredictable dog would have been hard to manage on the movie set, and Rinty starred in 22 films over 8 years. Not only that, he was fine around kids and was taken to orphanages and used at all kinds of PR activities.

Still, there is a reserve and watchfulness about the breed that makes them so well suited for military work and personal protection. They're intelligent and were once popular as guide dogs for the blind. My friend Marilyn, who is a guide dog puppy raiser, says that Labs are preferred now because people relate to them more easily, which is social advantage for the blind owner.

Speaking of guide dogs, this is Marilyn's latest puppy waiting patiently at exercise class a few months ago.

Here she is now. Who could be afraid of that sweet face?

A dog lover once said that the dog's greatest weakness is they don't live long enough. There were generations of Rin Tin Tins after the original Rinty died in 1932, and the bloodline continues to this day. Lee Duncan lived until 1960 and had other success with other German Shepherds in what became the Rin Tin Tin TV franchise.

But when we outlive our most beloved animal companion, nothing ever shines in quite the same way again.