Collie breeds and breeding
HistoryLassie shares a lineage with a breed of herding dogs that date back centuries. The Collie Club of America was formed in 1886, and even then the origins of the breed were shrouded in mystery. The name may derive from the Gaelic or Irish terms for “doggie”cilean and cilean. Other suggestions are that it comes from “coal” or the word “colley”a Sottish black-faced mountain sheep. Today, collies are bred for either the traditional herding profession or for shows and domestic environments. (more…)
The history of Lassie
Some stories just reverberate throughout history and become an integral part of one’s childhood. For millions of people of all generations, the story of Lassie the collie is just that. But where did it all begin, and how has it managed to keep its staying power for all this time?Lassie began as an idea in the head of author Eric Knight, an Englishman who served in the Canadian and American armies, and also worked as a newspaper reporter and film writer. Based on the collies Knight raised with his wife Jere Knight, Lassie first appeared in the 1940 novel Lassie Come-Home. The novel proved so popular that a film version was made in 1943, in which the male dog Pal played the female Lassiea gender-bending role that he would reprise in six more films and two television pilots. (more…)