Will Lassie be on TV anytime soon?

Yes! Lassie will be appearing on the Florence Henderson show on March 31, 2008 on the RTL network. The segment will also feature a Lassie pup that does therapy work. For times in your area, vist the RTL site at http://rl.tv/

Also stay tuned to the Lassie Network at www.lassie.net for news of another exciting TV appearance of Lassie in the near future!

I really wanted to see Lassie 10 in Maryland! Did the Lassie Network cover the event?

Yes we did! We were there when Lassie 10 made his second performance ever at the World of Pets Expo in Maryland!

For photos of the event, visit http://www.lassie.net/wopmd.htm

When is the next Lassie appearance?

The next scheduled public appearance of Lassie will be in Timonium, Maryland at the World of Pets Expo.

For more info-

http://www.worldofpets.org/MDmain.htm

What does lassie.net think of the new Jon Provost book, "Timmy's in the Well"? Thumbs up or down?

Fans of Jon and his years on Lassie will probably want to add this book to their collection. Not a "Lassie" book, this is a book focused on Jon's early life, his childhood and the challenges and sacrifices of being a child star, as well as the rewards, the effect on their families and the exploitation of child stars. Many other well known child stars contribute their memories of working and growing up with Jon, and their own experiences as child stars. The book follows Jon making his transition through the teenage years, and to adulthood outside the spotlight, a transition many child actors never survive. There are many wonderful photos throughout, some rare, but they are difficult to see with any clarity because they are so small and placed in the margins.

Welcome Lassie 10!! I was in MA this past weekend and got to see the premiere of Lassie 10! What a great dog! How old is he?

Lassie 10 (aka Rockie) is 13 months old and this past weekend's appearance was his first of what is sure to be a very long career. He is not quite as large as his famous father and grandfather, but is more like the old Lassie's of Rudd's. He still has some growing to do, and doesn't have his full adult coat yet. He will be truly blossoming in the next year! Look for him at other appearances in the near future!

It seems like everyone is writing a Lassie book these days. Which ones do you recommend?

To our knowledge there are no Lassie books currently on the shelves that are authorized or licensed. There are only three books that lassie.net recommends:

1) The Story of Lassie- Told by the master himself, Rudd Weatherwax

2) Lassie, A Dog's Life- by Ace Collins

Who else but the original owner and trainer could tell the story of how Lassie began? "The Story of Lassie" is a treasure but unfortunately out of print.

Our good friend Ace Collins painstakingly researched the history and legacy of Lassie for his book, "Lassie, A Dog's Life- the first 50 years". He spent months working with members of the Weathewax family, cast and crew and searching through archives of press clippings. It is the foremost authority on the legacy of Lassie in existence and has come to be known as the "Lassie Bible". We use it here at lassie.net as our source for the most credible information available. Also out of print, it can be found more easily online.

If you are searching for more information on the collie breed, "The Collie Concept" by Bobbee Roos is the best! Again, this is a highly sought after book that is out of print.

I heard lassie.net gave out promo copies of "Lassie's Pet Vet" recently. How do I get one?

The promo episodes of "Lassie's Pet Vet", and other promo items, were supplied to us by Classic Media. During the Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, copies were given to attendees of the presentation, "Lassie, A Dog's Tale", and some were given out at National Dog Day by lassie.net. Current fan club members in good standing will be receiving a copy in the mail, but because our quantities are limited, they are not available through other means. You can view the promos and a full episode at lassie.net and also at the official Lassie Pet Vet site.

Is Bob's Laddie a littermate of Lassie (HeyHey)?

No. Laddie was born on 12/12/1998. HeyHey was already appearing in the Cinar series at the time Laddie was born. They are both sons of Lassie 8 (Howard) but with different mothers.

I was at MANC and saw the video on Lassie collectibles. Is that available online?

Yes it is!

The video that was shown was a segment from HGTV's Ultimate Collectors and featured lassie.net's Cathy Schmidt's collection. You can view that clip, and many others at http://www.lassie.net/hgtv.htm, or click on the Video/Audio link for a complete list.

I just received an auction catalog that has "bootleg" Lassie items. What does that mean?

"Bootleg" is a term that is used to describe a product that is illegal in some way. During the Wrather years when thousands of licensed Lassie products were produced, many products were made by companies and individuals that did not secure licensing, and offered for sale without permission. Those items were considered "bootleg" and although illegal, gained a certain popularity among collectors. Because they were not licensed, they had limited distribution.

Will Lassie be doing more personal appearances?

Yes!

Lassie will most definitely be doing more personal appearances! After last year's premiere of the latest Lassie movie, a summer tour and just wrapping the first episodes of Lassie's Pet Vet, Lassie has been taking a well deserved vacation.

Even while Lassie is resting at home, Lassie is dreaming about his fans, and continuing to train the 10th generation Lassie. Meanwhile the folks at Classic Media are busy making arrangements for the next places Lassie will visit.

Upcoming appearances of the one and only Lassie will include the World of Pets Expos in MA and MD where Lassie will be joined by "Timmy" (Jon Provost).

Is Bob Weatherwax angry at lassie.net?

Occasionally Lassie goes through "growing pains". Change can be hard for some. We all want the comfort and security of things staying the same. But Lassie has always changed, and we have always changed with Lassie. Sometimes the changes were the actors on the show or the fictional family Lassie lived with. Sometimes the trainer changed, from father to son, or from trainer to co-trainer. Sometimes the dog changed as one dog retired and another younger dog was brought in. Until 1997, the only consistency in the Lassie world had been that all of the dogs that played Lassie were direct descendants of the original Lassie, Pal, and since then even that has been broken several times on screen and appearances.

In 2000 the Weatherwax family sold the Lassie trademark 100% to Classic Media and in 2003 Bob Weatherwax ended his association with Lassie. This meant the family gave up all rights to the use of the name and image of Lassie from that time forward and Bob would no longer supply dogs to be Lassie. These were choices they made. There was no "corporate takeover" and Bob was not forced out. With those decisions, Bob voluntarily gave up any involvement in the breeding, choosing or presentation of current or future Lassies. He might continue to breed line dogs, but none of them will ever be Lassie again, without a contract with Classic Media.

Earlier this year Bob has resurfaced in the public eye and has a new website. We've become aware of a bevy of negative statements and unsubstantiated claims being made about us, and Carol Riggins, on his site, ALL UNTRUE. If such accusations were true, they would be in a courtroom, not on a blog. From our 10+ years experience working with Bob directly, we know that he rarely went near a computer, not even for email, and it would be a radical change for him to actually be writing the web content himself. Even as recently as this past weekend, he made a point later in the day at an event to personally come in to the vendor tent to visit Cathy's table and say hello. His recent comments are not only untrue but were quite a shock coming from out of nowhere a week later.

With the exception of Bob's bookkeeper, the people that are now working with Bob and producing his site are all new business associates since the sale of the Lassie trademark by the Weatherwax family. None of those people are previous business associates of lassie.net or Colliewoode Productions, nor were they involved in the many professional or personal experiences and decisions made by Bob and/or lassie.net during the years we worked together. It's a mystery how anyone who was not present and involved could possibly write about anything that happened between us. What we present on our site is not only the history and ongoing activities of Lassie, but is an autobiographical journey of our past 12+ years with Lassie, which includes 8 years of personal memories with Bob.

It's can be somewhat disturbing, yet humorous, to watch a fan in middle of the Midwest, who doesn't have all the facts, who was never involved, and is relying on heresay, creating fantasies and lies about us that are so different from reality. But it's not funny to see this kind of tactic being used in a way that presents Bob as a bitter, angry man who hates everyone who once worked with him and supported him for many years. As one of the most famous trainers in the world, Bob certainly does not need people to attack anyone's integrity in order for him to succeed in his new endeavors.

Bob deserves to be recognized for his body of work outside of Lassie and significant contribution to Lassie. He also deserves the opportunity to move into new ventures and be successful there as well. Those that think it's necessary to attack the integrity of others to lift Bob up have grossly underestimated Bob's talent. Regardless of what you may read elsewhere, we continue to wish Bob success now and in the future, and will always treasure our years together.

I want to be Lassie's Pal! How do I do it?

Just send us your photo, name and city and state to LassieNet@aol.com , and we'll add you to the new Lassie Pals page! That's all there is to it!

I saw that there is now a Weatherwax collie kennel name granted by the AKC. Does this mean Lassie and all the line dogs are now AKC registered?

No, none of the line dogs have ever been, and are not now, AKC registered.

According the AKC, Bob Weatherwax applied for the kennel name of Weatherwax and asked for a special exception to the usual breeder criteria because his family had been breeding collies for over 50 years. He was granted an exception based on the family's public record and all this does is reserve the name Weatherwax to him, and only for the collie breed. He couldn't use it to register Cairn Terriers for example, he'd have to re-apply for the kennel name under that breed. Anyone else could apply for the use of the name Weatherwax for a kennel for any other breed other than collies. This granting of a kennel name does not in any way deem Lassie, Bob's collie, or any of the other living line dogs, as AKC registered dogs.

How was Hey Hey selected to be Lassie?

In the late 1990's the Lassie series being shot in Canada had replaced Lassie 8 after 26 episodes. They began shooting the next 13 episodes with collies they had purchased from a breeder in the midwest. It was the first time in history the part had not been played by a genetic line dog. A successful worldwide campaign was waged by http://www.lassie.net/ to restore the genetic line dog to the series.

At that time Bob Weatherwax asked longtime assistant Carol Riggins to take her genetic line dog to Canada to finish the series. This was the first time the 9th generation direct descendant was seen on screen, and HeyHey continues today as the Official Lassie. Although there are rumors floating on the net that HeyHey was not the dog Bob selected, the credits of the show clearly show the facts. Dogs were supplied by Weatherwax Trained Dogs. The Script Consultant was Robert Weatherwax and Owner/Trainer was Carol Riggins.