American Reunion Inspired Dog Names

Jim Levenstein is the lead character in all of the American Pie films, including American Reunion. He is a dorky high school student who has some hilarious experiences before he meets high school band member Michelle Flaherty. They get into a relationship and in the fourth installment, they end up married and have a son together. The American Pie films were wildly popular during the early 2000s and Jim has always been the center of the Pie movies and is arguably the most recognizable character.

But, during the 1920s, the most popular “Jim” was a dog from Louisiana. Known as “The Wonder Dog”, Jim was a Llewellyn Setter who is said to have some remarkable skills. Jim was bought from a litter of pureblood champion English Setters by Sam Van Arsdale. While Jim looked like any ordinary dog, Van Arsdale soon discovered that Jim is not like any other. Initially, he thought Jim was a hopeless case since he did not respond to his bird dog trainer like the rest of the other dogs. However, when he brought Jim to the field for the first time, he instantly made his way to a covey of quail and remained until Van Arsdale took the shot. After ordering him to “fetch”, Jim brought the quail to his owner. Being an avid hunter who traveled across states to hunt, Van Arsdale, brought Jim along and the pooch quickly proved his worth. In fact, Jim was even called “The Hunting Dog of the Country” because of his skills.

Apart from his bird dog abilities, Van Arsdale also discovered Jim’s incredible talent to understand his commands perfectly. On one hot day, he called out to Jim and said that they should go rest “under that Hickory tree”. To his surprise, Jim immediately made his way to the Hickory even though there are several other types of trees in the area. He then asked Jim to go to the Walnut tree, then a Cedar and then a stump and finally, a tin can, which the dog dig quickly and without a miss.

This was only the start of the astonishing capacities that Jim can do on command. Word of his “special” skills quickly got out and he became a celebrity. He was able to locate cars by color, make or license number. He could also pick out “the man who has a Bible”, “a visitor from Kansas” or “one who takes care of the sick” from a crowd. In 1930, his intelligence was tested in a public demonstration, when he was asked to pick the sex of an unborn baby and given a command to do in different languages, all of which he was able to perform perfectly. He also correctly predicted the winner of the Kentucky Derby for seven years straight. There were several financial offers for Jim but Van Arsdale turned them all down.

These were just some of the several marvelous “talents” that Jim possessed, which earned him the nickname “The Wonder Dog”. In 1937, when Van Arsdale and his dog went out to go hunting, Jim collapsed by a pond. He was rushed to the vet but did not make it alive. His corpse was buried under a tree in Marshall’s Ridge Park Cemetery. Not far from his burial site is the Ruff Hotel, where he lived with his owner. Here, a statue and memorial garden were built in his honor.