CH Black Hawk of Kasan

 When you research the history of the collie, you will find countless stories about the rough collie.  There are many well documented stories and books written about the famous rough collies that were imported and used as the foundation of the American collie.  I’ve found many articles written about the top winning rough collies of the past, and the top collie breeders of the past, but very little has been written about the smooth variety.   Even the beloved fictional books, like Lassie Come Home and Lad of Sunnybank, feature only rough collies.  So it’s easy to see why the smooth collie is overshadowed by the rough collie.

Hawk’s Pictures are from Facebook and Google

The smooth collie has never received the attention and adoration of the rough coated variety.  Both varieties share the same gentle and loving temperaments.  Both the rough and smooth collie make excellent family dogs, and are versatile companions who excel in herding, obedience and a wide variety of other dog sports.  They are both beautiful and graceful, and both possess the carefully developed intelligence that makes them ideal working dogs.  Both varieties are double coated, the only difference is the smooths have the shorter coat length.  

So in the hopes of helping people get to know the smooth collie better, I decided to share some famous smooth collies of the past.  The first smooth that has to be recognized is Hawk, or CH Black Hawk of Kasan.  He was whelped (born) on May 13, 1966.  He was owned by Sandra Tuttle of Kasan Collies, and his handler was Les Canavan.

Hawk was the first smooth collie to win Best in Show at the Collie Club of America National Specialty in 1970.  Hawk was a beautiful, tri color smooth collie, and also won the smooth Best of Variety at the National on 6 other occasions.  Hawk was the first smooth collie to win Best In Show at an all breed dog show as well.  He was so influential, that he produced 78 champion offspring!  With his winning record, and impressive list of progeny, Hawk definitely helped promote the smooth collie.  He inspired many people to take a closer look at the smooth collie, and he was one of the reasons my family started showing smooths.  I wish I  could have seen this handsome collie in person, but I am grateful for the legacy he left behind.