The opening of The Adventures of Rin-TinTin may not be familiar to youngsters, but ask your grandfather. Recorded in the 1950s, the series amplified the fame of an already successful dog – a dynasty of dogs. The story begins in World War I, in Paris. Under the rubble of a kennel, Corporal Lee Duncan found a dog with five puppies and took two of them to the US. Nannette died on the ship, but Rin-Tin-Tin resisted the voyage.

Duncan trained Rinty to be an athlete, but his skills caught the attention of Warner Brothers, one of Hollywood’s biggest studios. The dog became a movie star in the 1920s. He earned $1,000 a week, four times as much as the actors.

Duncan and he stayed in luxury hotels and received up to 50,000 fan letters every month. The first Rin-TinTin died in 1932, aged 14. But his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren – including Rinty IV, who starred in the show – carried the family legacy forward, even earning a star on the Walk of Fame.