Credit: Wikipedia

Think of famous fictional dogs and Lassie probably springs to mind first. Spanning over 50 years, this delightful rough collie pooch was the starring character of books, films and TV programmes. Origins of Lassie The character of Lassie was conceived in 1938 by British writer Eric Knight for a newspaper short story. Two years later, a book was released entitled Lassie Come Home. The story focused on a family in Yorkshire that is forced to sell their dog to survive the economic depression. So popular was the book that in 1943, MGM turned it into a film, with six sequels to follow. While most of the storylines were set in the UK, Lassie eventually moved stateside in 1954, when a television series was produced. Storylines The television series of Lassie ran from 1954 to 1973, with storylines that centred on Lassie's adventures and interactions with her owners and other animals. As a good-natured, responsible, caring, loyal and family-oriented dog, plots would focus on Lassie's heroic exploits, usually involving helping her master out of troublesome situations, and ultimately, 'saving the day'. By representing the theme of a boy and his dog, the programmes reflected American boyhood of that era. During the early episodes, Lassie lived on a farm and was owned by 11-year-old Jeff Miller and his family. Lassie was then taken over by 7-year-old Timmy Martin and his parents. When Timmy's character became too old for the part, Lassie finds a new home with rangers in the wilderness, from the 11th series. She then has a period of travelling solo, before settling at a children's home. As well as characters changing frequently over the years, the opening and closing theme to the shows also periodically altered. Despite Lassie being axed from TV in the early 1970s when ratings fell, several spin-off films and programmes have been produced over the years, to varying degrees of success. The casting of Lassie Although Lassie is characterised as a female, ‘she’ is actually a ‘he’. Since female collie dogs have a tendency to shed hair, which changes how they look, it was preferable to cast Lassie using a male collie dog. Male dogs also look bigger than females, so the lead child would appear smaller next to Lassie, giving the actor's role increased longevity. The original Lassie was actually a male dog called Pal, owned by dog trainer Rudd Weatherwax. When Pal turned up to the casting call for the part of Lassie, he was up against 300 other canines. Pal wasn't originally picked for the role, but the dog that did win the part was found to suffer from stage fright. Eventually, after some pro-active work on Rudd's part, Pal got the job. After Pal became too old to play Lassie (he passed away in 1958), his male descendants took over. More than ten generations have since played Lassie. As Pal had a white streak across his face, finding descendants to match hasn't always proved easy! Achievements Lassie enjoyed massive success and received two Emmy Awards. Having been named as one of the 100 Icons of the Century, Lassie is one of only three animals to boast a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The American Dog Museum claims that the increase in popularity of collie dogs is down to Lassie. Whether you own a collie dog or any other breed, you'll probably enjoy adventures of your own with your pooch. Make sure you're appropriately and stylishly dressed for the occasion when walking your dog, by choosing high-quality branded clothing such as Barbour and Joules from Griggs.