Since the collie is such a fun loving breed, I thought we would share some collie humor today!
This collie comic is from Existential Comics |
Two new collie puppies joined our family last year, and currently live with my daughter. Rosie, a sable and white rough puppy, and ZuZu, a smooth tri color puppy. They both turned a year old this past December, and we finally started entering them in dog shows. We delayed entering them for a couple reasons, the first being that they were too young. Then when they were old enough, the scary dog virus was making the rounds, so we decided to wait until the dog shows were being held outside, as the virus was respiratory in nature. The third reason, is that my daughter does most of the handling at dog shows, I’m just the back up, and she was busy giving me my first granddaughter! My 3rd grandbaby was born in February, and her name is Merryn, and she is absolutely beautiful! So now that she has arrived, we are back to entering dog shows, and have some exciting news to share.
Last month, in April, we entered four collie specialties, being held on the same weekend. It was Rosie and ZuZu’s first shows, and they did such a great job. My daughter gets all the credit, as she did an amazing job training them for the show ring. Out of the four shows, ZuZu won Reserve Winner’s Bitch twice, and Winner’s Bitch once, giving her the first points towards her championship! Rosie looked beautiful, and showed like a dream, but was somehow overlooked during the shows. I’m still very proud of her, and so was her breeder, who was also at the show.
We are entering quite a number of shows in the upcoming months. Please wish us luck!
A friend and I recently took our collies to a local University for a therapy visit. It was held at their School of Nursing, since it was Nurses Week and final exam week. Addison went on this visit, and as she had been there before, the students recognized her, calling out her name as we walked around the campus. She pranced around happily, like a little celebrity. For the students who had never met her, we got asked what kind of dog she was, and I replied, “She’s a smooth collie, like Lassie, but with short hair.” Every time I said this, I was met with a blank stare. None of these twenty-something students had ever heard of Lassie!
It just seems impossible that Lassie is unknown by recent generations, she is such an icon! I have seen, and own all the Lassie movies, and treasure my collection. And even owning the movies, whenever I hear that a Lassie movie is being broadcast on television, I just have to sit and watch it again. I have even played the old Lassie movies for my collies, they are all fans.
This was Scarlett, watching back in 2012.
And this was Peyton, watching in 2020.
Lassie even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is definitely well deserved, her career in both television and film has earned the recognition. So which of the Lassie movies is your favorite? Have you seen them all? Please let us know in the comments.
Lassie Come Home - 1943
Courage of Lassie - 1946
The Hills of Home - 1948
Challenge to Lassie - 1949
The Sun Comes Up - 1949
The Painted Hills - 1951
Lassie’s Great Adventure - 1963
Lassie New Beginnings - 1978
Lassie, Best Friends are Forever - 1994
Lassie - 2005
There are also two new Lassie movies, but I don’t believe they are available in the United States yet:
Lassie Come Home - 2020 (made in Germany)
Lassie A New Adventure - 2024 (made in Germany)
There have been quite a few magazines devoted to the collie, and sadly most of them are no longer in print. Magazines like Collie Cues, Collie Review and Collie Expressions gave collie aficionados the chance to see pictures of collies from across the country. They enabled collie owners and breeders to share their pride in the new titles their collies earned. They also had articles that kept us entertained and educated about our beloved breed.
Unfortunately, the information age has greatly contributed to the demise of magazines and newspapers. Everyone wants to read content daily, or even hourly, and are less willing to wait for a printed magazine to arrive in the mail. This is a huge loss, as there is something very special about waiting, anticipating, the upcoming release date for that magazine or book. I have very happy memories of attending midnight release parties at the local bookstore. There was such excitement as we all waited to be handed that brand new, first edition of a favorite author’s newest release.
And I had the same feeling of excitement when the new Collie Expressions magazine was delivered, as we couldn’t wait to see the beautiful collie pictures, stories, and judging results from the collie specialties held around the country. I still have favorite editions of the old collie magazines saved, so I can reread an article, or view some of the collies from the past.
Yes, that’s my Scarlett on the cover! |
What many may not know, is that there is still a collie (and sheltie) magazine in print. This charming little magazine, called The Cassette, has been around for at least 60 years! They publish just four editions a year, in the Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall. (The Spring edition will be mailed out soon.). I’ve had a subscription for a number of years now, and eagerly look forward to each printing. The Cassette has even printed a few of my stories over the years, which has been such an honor to see my words in print!
If you are like me, and enjoy collecting collie (or sheltie) memorabilia and stories, then I highly recommend subscribing to this magazine. We need to save the small, printed magazines, before they all disappear. The nostalgia alone is worth the price of the subscription. (And a subscription makes a very thoughtful gift!). If you do subscribe, please let us know, I really think you will enjoy it!
Still reminiscing, so Sharing this post From June 2013, back when my Kori was young…
Americans have always been enchanted by the rough collie, thanks in large part to all the Lassie movies filmed throughout the years. Lassie became a star of both television and the silver screen and everyone fell in love with the beautiful, majestic collie breed because of her. Lassie also had books and memorabilia created with “her” image, and her very own comic book series. (A little trivia, the collies playing Lassie in the movies and tv shows, were always male.) People became avid collectors of all things Lassie, and for many, a deep rooted desire to one day have a collie of their own was born. It’s really not a surprise, Lassie was a hero collie, portrayed as brave, compassionate and highly intelligent.
But how do the real life collies compare to this icon? Well, some of the capers that Lassie found herself embroiled in were highly improbable. No collie could perform such daring rescues, such harrowing escapes, or such problem solving feats…could they? I have to say no, at least not with the regularity portrayed in the movies, books and television shows. But that doesn’t mean they are incapable of greatness, I have read many stories of the countless acts of heroism and of the intelligence of the collie breed.
Albert Payson Terhune wrote one such true story about his collie Wolf. In his book, entitled Wolf, Terhune writes of how his brave collie saved a stray dog from being hit by an oncoming train, only to be struck and killed during the rescue.
In 1954 a collie named Tang was honored by being awarded the very first annual Ken-L Ration Hero Award. On five separate occasions this hero collie saved children from death or life threatening injuries. On four of the occasions, people witnessed Tang pushing a child out of the path of oncoming cars. And for the fifth rescue, he placed himself in front of a milk truck, barking to alert the driver that a two year old little girl had climbed on the back, saving the child from a serious fall.
In 1957, a sable collie named Blaze won the Hero award for saving his family’s two year old daughter from an enraged mother sow who was trying to protect her piglets. In 1964, another collie named Buddy, guided a herd of goats out of a burning barn, and kept all 70 goats safe until his family could arrive to put out the fire. In 1966, a collie named Hero lived up to his name. He won the annual award for saving his family’s three year old son from an attacking horse. The blue merle collie was a show dog, and had a sweet, friendly temperament. But at the time of the attack, the normally affable collie, prevented the horse from trampling the young boy by fighting off the crazed animal. Hero suffered multiple injuries during the rescue, including four broken ribs and a skull fracture. He fully covered, and returned to competing at dog shows a couple months later.
Buddy, with two of the goats he saved |
Hero, and his boy |
There are many other stories, of collies saving their families from house fires, drowning, and finding lost children. One of our own collies showed an uncanny ability, when he escaped my sister’s yard. He somehow found his way across town, and arrived at our Grandmother’s house, and alerted her to his presence when he barked to be let inside. What made this even more remarkable, Reggie was still a puppy and had only been to her house once before!
In the book, The New Collie by the Collie Club of America, there is a story of how my Uncle Fran’s collie, Dove, helped find my cousin when she was lost. It was in August of 1967, on Cape Cod, where my Uncle was working as a naturalist, when two year old Martha wandered away. Dove, using one of Martha’s stockings, was able to track Martha by scent, and led Uncle Fran to her just as the sun was setting.
Martha and Dove, Blackrobe Snow White Dove, CD |
In my writing, I have extolled the collie’s compassionate and sweet temperament, which enables them to excel at therapy dog visits. And I’ve also written of my collies countless antics, which show both their intelligence and their innate sense of fun. So while they may not perform heroic acts on a daily basis like Lassie, I think there is a heroic heart inside every collie.