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Lassie is a fictional collie dog character and a stage name for several dog actors. The fictional character was created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a talented dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal`s owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long running, Emmy winning television series Lassie debuted, and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal`s descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, telelvision, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal`s descendants continue to play Lassie today.

he character of Lassie was created by British-American author Eric Knight in the short story "Lassie Come-Home" published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1938 and as the novel Lassie Come-Home in 1940.

In Knight`s story set in Depression-era England, a young Yorkshire boy owns an exceptionally beautiful and loyal collie (described as mahogany and sable in color), but when the family faces severe economic hardship, the dog is sold to a wealthy nobleman. Both boy and dog grieve over the separation, made worse when the new owner transports Lassie hundreds of miles away to his estate in Scotland. However, the collie`s instinct and courage cause her to escape, and the book follows Lassie`s desperate efforts to return to the boy she loves.

In 1943, the book was made into the first Lassie movie, Lassie Come Home, which generally followed the plot of the book, and which starred Roddy McDowall and Elizabeth Taylor. The movie was a hit and enjoyed favorable critical response.[1]

MGM followed its success with more movies in the 1940s featuring the canine hero: In 1945, Son of Lassie premiered, starring Peter Lawford and June Lockhart. The next year, 1946, Courage of Lassie premiered (with Elizabeth Taylor, from the first film), and the "Lassie Radio Show" began (aired until 1949).

Between 1954–1973, the television series, Lassie was broadcast in the U.S. Unlike the novel and films which were set in Britain, the American television series brought Lassie to a weatherbeaten farm in the American midwest and teamed her for the show`s first ten seasons with boys and then for its following seasons with adult forestry workers and finally, with the juvenile inmates of a home for troubled children. The long running series was the recipient of two Emmy Awards. Rudd Weatherwax (who had trained Pal for the six MGM films), also trained the several portrayers of Lassie for the television series.

Eventually, other series followed in the 1980s and 1990s from different production companies. In 1997, a Canadian production company, Cinar Inc. (now Cookie Jar Entertainment), produced a third Lassie television series (1997–1999) for the Animal Planet network in the U.S. and YTV in Canada.

The various series had different casts, with some tying back to the original series and others being new concepts. All included the basic theme of Lassie being a highly intelligent collie frequently helping her owners get out of trouble, making the Lassie concept one of the longest running of a

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