Lassie?

In one of my previous posts, I think I referred to dressing as Lassie for Halloween this year.  I did a little random research and discovered something interesting regarding my television hero, and that is this startling fact:

Even though the character Lassie is a female dog, every single dog that ever played this famous canine was a male!  Imagine my shock upon learning this today!  I could not believe it, so I did some further research and it turns out that it is true!

The reasons for this use of a male dog were somewhat interesting.  Most of it appears to have been for purely cosmetic reasons, as a male dog has a thicker and glossier fur coat than a female (at least in the summer), so the directors and producers all thought that it looked better on television.  Can you imagine?

Another reason for the use of a male dog involves the ol' dog years phenomenon.  As we all know, dogs mature faster than their human counterparts, and the fact that a male collie is bigger than a female collie meant that it would help keep the human support staff (aka actors and actresses) looking younger for longer if they used a male dog.

Is it me, or is this absolutely mind-blowing to you as well?  I mean, for all of this time I thought I was admiring the heroic actions of a heroine canine, and instead I find that I have been tricked!  You would think I would have known better.  Sadness in the Podar house today.