Let me introduce you to Lassie!

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! 

Dreaming of a collie like Lassie?

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. 

It all started with a book!

 When I was a young girl I would stay with my grandparents while my Mother was working.  With the beach at the end of the street, Summers were always fun, there was swimming, exploring the beach and collecting sea glass with the other neighborhood kids.  But in the cold New England Winters there was less to do, less to entertain children.  And while there was always television, this was back when families only had one TV, a limited number of channels, and a ten year old was not usually interested in watching soap operas with Grandma.  On one of those days a random act had a profound impact on my life.

Searching for entertainment, an old, worn book cover caught my eye.  I pulled it off the shelf, recognizing it as one of my Uncle Fran’s books, which he had left behind many years ago.  I immediately knew it was his because it had a collie on the cover.  From my earliest memories of my Uncle, every time he would visit with his children, he would have at least one collie by his side.  The book was about a collie named Lad.

I still remember reading that book for the first time.  I fell in love with the beautiful, heroic collie named Lad.  I had always loved the Lassie movies, which were usually shown on Sunday afternoons, along with the old black and white Shirley Temple and Tarzan movies.  But when I discovered Albert Payton Terhune’s books about his collies, I knew I had to have my own collie one day.  Those books weren’t works of fiction to me, I believed every story about his amazing dogs.  The collies were real, he wrote about his own beloved Sunnybank Collies, and some of the stories actually did happen.  Some of the stories were slight fictionalizations, some were true stories about other dogs incorporated into his books, and some were pure fiction.  But at the time, I believed every word, and vowed I would have a collie to love.

When I was little, all of my Uncle’s collies were rough coated.  It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that he got his first smooth collie.  I didn’t like the way the smooths looked at first, they were so different in appearance from the famous Lad and Lassie, and my Uncle’s other collies.  It took a while, but since they had the same great collie temperaments as the rough coated variety, they soon won me over.  They didn’t resemble the collies that graced the pages of Terhune’s books, in fact he never mentions smooths in any of his stories.  But if you look into their eyes, you can see that smooths are just as devoted and loving as any collie found in the pages of a book.

So when my daughter and I finally got our first collie twenty years ago, he ended up being a sable and white smooth collie, and of course we named him Lad.  He may not have had the beautiful, majestic coat like Sunnybank Lad, and during his lifetime he may not have performed any of the heroic acts found on the pages of Terhune’s books, but he was perfect in our eyes.  Our Lad taught us just how amazing life with a collie truly was and how much joy this wonderful dog breed elicits in the hearts of their families.

There have been many collies in our family, each beautiful and unique, and their stories can be found in past and future posts on our blog.  I may not have the talent to write entire books about my collies, but I can share them here, with you.  They are all loved and every day with them is treasured, and my life with collies started with the opening of a book.

A collie named Lassie, a place called Sunnybank

Did you have a favorite movie star when you were a child?  I'm not ashamed to admit that most of mine walked on four feet instead of two.  I loved watching old movies on Sunday afternoons, this was back before we had 800 or more television channels to choose from.  On Saturday mornings we watched our favorite cartoons, and the rest of the weekend was spent playing outside with our friends...unless it rained.  On those rainy days I would search through the TV Guide, which came in the Sunday morning paper, and look for a good movie to watch.

On Sundays they often showed old Shirley Temple movies, old Tarzan movies and old Lassie movies.  I loved old movies, but my favorites were always the movies that featured dogs.  So it isn't a surprise that I loved Lassie, especially since I came from a family of collie lovers.  Lassie was smart and heroic, and her loyalty and devotion to her family made her the perfect dog.  This was a dog that matched the truest definition of a best friend.

I discovered a love of reading when I was around 9 years old.  And shortly after that I discovered the books written by Albert Payson Terhune.   His books were fictional stories about his collies, who were also brave, smart, heroic and beautiful, just like Lassie.  So while I didn't grow up with a collie of my own, I always knew I would have one,"someday."  And now I have collies in my life, and they make me happy.  I belong to collie clubs, and we attend collie specialty dog shows, and I have friends who share my passion for this wonderful breed.  Ask any of them why they fell in love with collies, and most of them will tell you it's because of either Lassie or Terhune.  And this coming weekend, many of those friends will be driving to Sunnybank, the home of Albert Payson Terhune, for The Gathering.  It's almost time to gather and celebrate the collie...

To learn more about Sunnybank click here:
Sunnybank!
Sunnybank Revisted
Books and Movies for Dog Lovers
It's That Time Of Year Again
Sunnybank Then And Now - Always Beloved

And how I fell in love with collies:
For the Love of a Collie

Books and movies for dog lovers...

Do you have favorite dog books or movies?  We have many, and thought it might be fun to share a few with you each month.  Since we love collies, our first post features books and movies about collies, which shouldn't be a surprise.

The first book we want to mention is Gray Dawn, written by Albert Payson Terhune.  If you read our recent post about Sunnybank then you know Terhune's collies really existed, and lived at Sunnybank.  (If you haven't read about Sunnybank, click on this Link.) This book was written in 1927, and like many of Terhune's books, the writing and opinions are a product of that time period.  But even though some of the notions are not politically correct, I love the characters in this book.  The most lovable of all his collies, Dawn is a young puppy who is sweet and clumsy, facing his fears to "save" the people he loves from danger.  Gray Dawn is not without faults, but those faults endear him to the reader and made me fall in love with his courage.

Lad: A Dog, is a movie based on one of Terhune's most popular books of the same title.  Lad is a hero, and his story is told in such a way that you can tell he was a beloved and treasured companion.  (And why we named our first collie, Lad). The movie was recently released on DVD, and can be purchased on Amazon.  It's a great movie for a rainy afternoon, curled up on the couch with your best four-legged friend.

 The next movie is a well known classic.  This movie made collies famous, and is the reason most rough collies are greeted with "Hi Lassie!" From strangers where ever they go!  It tells the story of Lassie's love and loyalty for her family, and how nothing can keep her from returning to her boy's side.  I don't know how many times I have watched this movie, but it always brings tears to my eyes.

And last, but not least, Wolf.  This book is about Lad's son, Wolf.  I love this book, I love this collie.  Most of the stories written by Terhune are works of fiction, with elements of truth throughout the stories.  The ending of this book will make you cry, possibly even sob if you are anything like me, because it is a true story about a courageous collie.

The return of Lassie

In the past, I’ve written about my family and our history of collies.  My Uncle was the first to fall in love with the collie breed.  He also loved to travel, and he would pack up his children and collies in their RV, and they traveled all over the United States.  He would send letters to his mother, my grandmother, about their adventures.  They traveled as far east as Cape Cod, and as far west as Alaska!  I inherited those letters, and I wonder what it would have been like, to see all those amazing places, with my collies by my side.

My uncle gave my grandparents their first collie, Jade.  He was a sweet, tri-color, rough collie and made a lasting impression on my sister.  As an adult, when she was ready for a puppy, she asked my uncle to send her a collie of her own.  That collie, another male tri-color, was different than Jade though.  My sister’s first collie was a smooth collie, and she named him Reggie. 

Jade with my Grandmother

I grew up loving all dogs, completely dog crazy.  (and that hasn’t changed)  But I was also a huge fan of the Lassie movies, and Albert Payson Terhune’s books, which were written about his Sunnybank Collies.  I eagerly looked forward to my Uncle and cousins visiting us, but also couldn’t wait to see their beautiful collies.  So it isn’t really a surprise that I planned and dreamed of the day I would one day have a collie of my own.

Lassie

When I read one of Terhune’s books or when I watched one of the old Lassie movies, I am transported back in time, back to a time when I believed a collie could fix all of life’s problems.  I remember how much I loved watching those reruns of the old Lassie movies on a rainy afternoon, or reading those musty, but deeply treasured, out of print books.  So it was with both delight and some misgivings that I learned of DreamWorks Animation’s intention to produce a new Lassie movie.  In the past whenever a new movie came out featuring a specific dog breed it would mean disaster for that breed.  There would be a rash of individuals and puppy mills producing the puppies of that particular breed.   The puppies were mass-produced to cash in on the current popularity of the breed, and the parents of these puppies were not health tested, and little thought was given to temperament or genetic issues.  Before long, all those poorly bred puppies, that were the current fad, ended up in rescues and animal shelters. 

 (Scarlett puppy loves Lassie movies!)

Because of this, I naturally worry what a new Lassie movie might mean for the collie breed.  However, it would be wonderful to see Lassie capture the hearts and imaginations of a new generation.  When people were asked what words they associated with Lassie, the most common answers were “loyal, brave, hero and heartwarming.”  When we take our collies for a walk, someone always calls out to them, “Hi Lassie!”  And all too often I hear people say to each other as we pass, “Look, it’s a collie, isn’t she beautiful?  You never see collies anymore!”  In fact there are so few collies being registered with the AKC these days, that collie owners are encouraged by the Collie Club of America to have their collies act at ambassadors for the breed.  So while it would be great if there was more recognition of what this wonderful breed has to offer, collie breeders are greeting the news of a new Lassie movie with some trepidation.

Ryder, showing off his Lassie collection!

What do  you think?  Is a new Lassie movie a good thing or a bad thing?  Do you have a dog breed that was part of a past fad? (Dalmatian, Chihuahua, German Shepherd, Great Dane, etc). I have to admit, despite my misgivings, I can’t wait to see the new Lassie series!

Collie pup loves Lassie!

Scarlett loves her Lassie movies!