Lassie, America's most popular and successful canine star, has appeared in books, in film, on radio (see entry under 1920s—TV and Radio in volume 2), in comics, and on television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3). The brave, intelligent, and ever-loyal collie's adventures often involved finding and rescuing lost people, alerting humans to danger, and comforting those in distress. Lassie first appeared in a Saturday Evening Post (see entry under 1900s—Print Culture in volume 1) short story in 1938. Author Eric Knight (1897–1943) modeled the character after Toots, his own loyal dog. The public's great reaction to Lassie encouraged Knight to expand his tale into a 1939 novella, which was soon optioned for film by MGM (see entry under 1920s—Film and Theater in volume 2).

The original Lassie story concerns a poor Yorkshire family that is forced to sell its beloved dog to pay for rent and food...