Who is "Paul Anka" in the series "Gilmore Girls"?

In Gilmore Girls, Paul Anka is a dog owned by Lorelai Gilmore. Lorelai adopts the dog during the sixth season, while she and her daughter Rory are estranged, and gives him the name Paul Anka after the Canadian-American singer and songwriter.

The name creates a deliberate running joke because Paul Anka is also a real person. The singer Paul Anka became famous in the late 1950s for songs including “Diana,” and he later wrote or co-wrote major pop standards. In the series, characters often need to clarify whether they mean Lorelai’s dog or the musician, making the unusual pet name part of the show’s humor.

The dog is a Polish Lowland Sheepdog and becomes a memorable part of Lorelai’s home life in the later episodes. The real Paul Anka appears as himself in the season-six episode “The Real Paul Anka,” where Lorelai has a surreal dream involving both namesakes. That episode is the source of one of the show’s clearest jokes about the difference between the famous singer and the fictional pet.