Lassie, then and now...

I’m a fan of both Lassie and the Sunnybank collies, and I have written about the Sunnybank collies in previous posts.  But even though I had read a biography, “Lassie: A Dog’s Life, The First Fifty Years” by Ace Collins, I didn’t know much about Lassie’s more recent history.    So I began to research just what happened to “Lassie" over the last twenty years.

Lassie is one of the most recognized animals in history.  People all over the world know and love this iconic collie.  She traveled across great distances to return to her family, saved adults and children from danger, and she was a shining example of unending loyalty and devotion.  While the original Lassie was a character from the book, Lassie Come Home, she soon found her way onto the silver screen.  After starring in multiple films, she moved from the Big Screen to television to continue capturing the hearts of millions of people.

The book, Lassie Come Home, was written by Eric Knight and published in 1938.  The story was written about a tri-color collie, named Lassie, who traveled from the north of Scotland all the way to Yorkshire, England.  She was sold because her family needed money for food, but this devoted collie ran away from her new owners to make a perilous, solitary journey home to the family she loved.  The book inspired the film, also called “Lassie Come Home.”  The film was released in 1943 and along with Lassie, starred Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor, both child actors at the time.

With the release of “Lassie Come Home,” a star was born.  There were soon more movies released, all starring this beloved collie character, who could conquer any challenge and face any danger to be with the ones she loved.  Americans could not get enough of Lassie, and in 1954 the television show was launched, with Lassie as the mainstar.  The television show ran from 1954 – 1973, and then a second Lassie television show ran from 1989 – 1991. 

Though Lassie is a female collie, all the canine actors who starred in the role were males.  The male collie retains more coat in the summer, and is larger than the female, so a male has always been used in all the Lassie films and television shows.  The first collie cast in the role as Lassie was a beautiful sable and white, show dog.  A stunt dog, named Pal, was also cast in the movie.  During the filming Pal was asked to swim across a river, and struggle dramatically out of the water.  Pal did such an amazing job, that he stole the part from the show collie. 

Pal became the official “Lassie,” and starred in the role from 1943 – 1951.  He was owned and trained by Frank and Rudd Weatherwax.  Because Pal was a sable and white collie with four white paws, a full white collar and a white blaze up the nose, it became a requirement that all of the collies who starred as Lassie had these same markings.  However, all the generations of collies who have assumed the role of Lassie, after Pal, are direct descendants if the second Lassie, as Pal was never bred.  The current collie starring as Lassie is the 10^th generation. 

In 2000, Bob Weatherwax sold the Lassie Trademark to Classic Media.  Bob Weatherwax is the son of Rudd Weatherwax, and had followed in his father’s footsteps as a dog trainer and the handler of all the “Lassie” dogs.  Bob remained under contract to Classic Media from 2000 – 2004, and supplied one of his own collies to fill the role of Lassie.  His collie, Laddie, was the last Weatherwax owned collie to star as Lassie.  In 2004 Carol Riggins, who owned a 9^thgeneration descendant of Pal, signed a contract with Classic Media, and her collie became the new “Lassie.”  Her collie, named Pal, a 10^thgeneration descendant of the original Pal, became the next “Lassie.”

Fans of Lassie can still meet Pal’s descendants, who are now owned and trained by Carol Riggins, at different events.  I have been lucky enough to meet both Laddie, owned by Bob Weatherwax, and Hey Hey II, owned by Carol Riggins.  While Lassie isn’t currently making any new movies or television shows, comforting to know that Lassie will continue on, never to be forgotten.