The great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, etc., grandfather of Nancy was a mere puppy of five days old when Corporal Lee Duncan insisted that his battalion in Lorraine, France, check out a bombed war dog kennel during World War I. What he found on that fateful day of September 15, 1918 was a mother Terrier/Pug and her litter, the only survivors of the bomb dropped. Betty des Flandres had five puppies sired by Fritz de la Chasse Royale.

Duncan chose two of the puppies, a male and a female, and members of the battalion took the mother and remainder back to their camp. Ironically, the only survivors over the next few months were the two pups Duncan had claimed. He named the pups after tiny (1" tall) French Puppets named Rinty and Nenette that were given to the American soldiers for good luck. Duncan named the male pup Rinty and the female Nannette after the puppets. (Rinty would later breed with a German Shepherd and sired Rin Tin Tin, a little known fact that the great hero dog actually had Pug roots!)

The authentic bloodline of Rin Tin Tin was not lost following the death of Lee Duncan on September 20, 1960. With his endorsement, the bloodline continued in Texas with Jannettia Brodsgaard Propps, who had purchased several direct descendants from Duncan. Her granddaughter, Daphne Hereford, continued the lineage and the legacy of Rin Tin Tin following her grandmother's death on December 17, 1988. With Hereford's guidance, the authentic bloodline of Rin Tin Tin continues through breeding of his offspring at El Rancho Rin Tin Tin in Latexo, Texas. The current Rin Tin Tin is tenth in line from the original and makes personal appearances across the country to promote responsible pet ownership.

The authentic lineage of the Rin Tin Tin dogs, including our beloved Nancy, are also trained as service dogs to provide assistance to special needs children.