The beauty of purebred dog ownership is that it sprawls across generations, but we recognize that for some of you, the man in this photograph is unfamiliar, nor does the name, “Jimmy Durante” ring a bell. If you’re that person, give listen to this song, we think it might elicit an, “Oh yeah,” from at least some of you.

Because we believe it’s important to know about the people who came before us, a few factoids. Durante was one of the more important comics and radio personalities of his era, but he was also a truly charitable and loving human being. Durante was born in New York in 1893 and died in 1980. His signature trademarks were a gravelly voice and a unique punctuation of speech. A devout Roman Catholic, Jimmy never had his own children, but he raised an astounding amount of money for kids who needed medical help or were abused. Somehow to us, it seems that an Irish Setter was a good fit for such a generous man.

Image of Jimmy Durante with his Irish Setter in Times Square, 1944. It was said that the dog got all of his exercise from walking in Times Square.