lassie

The first dog to star as Lassie in the 1943 movie Lassie Come Home was "Pal", originally from Glamis Collies of California. The original owner could not train the dog and hired Studio Dog Training School to do the job. When the owner could not pay the bill, Pal was acquired and trained by brothers Rudd Weatherwax and Frank Weatherwax. Also assisting with training on the MGM studio lot was Frank Freeman (a.k.a. Frank Inn), who later went on to fame as the trainer of Higgins, the dog who played Benji in a series of 1970s films. In 1950, Rudd Weatherwax co-wrote a book, "The story of Lassie, his discovery and training from puppyhood to stardom", recounting Pal's rise to an international icon.

Pal was bred with a number of female dogs to ensure the Lassie look could be continued. The Lassie looks of sable coat with a white blaze, large white collar, and four white paws is legally trademarked. The collies are also intentionally bred oversized so that the males selected can work with older child stars.

All collies playing Lassie have been male, playing a female dog. The female collie loses her coat at least once a year, making it unsuitable for use year-round. Also, the male is larger and a child actor can play opposite the dog for longer before outgrowing him.

Eight generations of Pal and his descendants portrayed the beloved collie in more than ten movies and two television series, until the late 1990s. All of the canines starring in those movies and TV series were owned and trained by Frank and Rudd Weatherwax and later by Rudd's son, Robert Weatherwax.

This tradition continued in 1997, when Cinar began shooting the third Lassie television series for the Animal Planet network. In the first season (1997–1998), Lassie was played by "Howard", an eighth generation collie descended from Pal.

Midway through production, Cinar replaced Howard with a non-Pal descended dog. Lassie fans objected, arguing that only a dog in the Pal bloodline could be considered an "authentic" Lassie. They protested to Cinar and Animal Planet, along with Golden Books Family Entertainment (which had licensing rights at the time to the Lassie image). In response, "Hey Hey II", a ninth-generation direct descendant of Pal owned and trained by Carol Riggins, was brought in to assume the role of Lassie for the final thirteen episodes of the show in 1999.

Following Animal Planet's cancellation of the TV show, Classic Media subsequently acquired the Lassie trademark from the Weatherwax family in 2000. In 2003, Classic Media ended its contract with Weatherwax to supply Pal-bloodline collies to portray the Lassie character.

In the 2005–2006 remake of the original Lassie movie, a non-Pal bloodline collie named "Mason" was used in the title role. Although Mason was praised as "photogenic" by Chicago Tribune critic Michael Wilmington, Lassie devotees objected to the movie's use of a non-Pal bloodline collie.

In late 2005, following the shooting of the movie, Classic Media contracted with Carol Riggins to supply "Hey Hey II", as the ninth generation Lassie in the Pal bloodline. More recently, Robert Weatherwax has disputed the use of collies other than his as authentic Pal-bloodline "Lassies", which has received some news media attention and comment on Lassie fan websites.

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA