Sunnybank, Lad and Lassie…

This past weekend the Collie Health Foundation held The Gathering at Sunnybank.  We were lucky enough to once again attend this annual event, and we had a wonderful time.  We caught up with old friends, walked the beautiful grounds and introduced our new puppies to the world of dog shows during the puppy match.  The only regret I have, I wish I had gone both days.  

Anice, Gray Dawn, Sandy, Victrix and APT

There is just something so special about visiting Sunnybank, the home of Albert Payson Terhune, his wife Anice, and the Sunnybank Collies. Visiting Sunnybank feels like stepping into the heart of collie history.  It’s a place where the landscape, the collies, and generations of collie lovers gather together in celebration of all things collie.  I have written countless posts about reading Terhune’s books while growing up, and how much those stories meant to me.  And I’ve written about how I’ve traced my own collies’ pedigrees back to the Sunnybank collies.  And knowing my collies are related to those past Sunnybank Collies, the collies that once raced across the very ground we were walking on, always makes it more special.  Walking the grounds of Sunnybank with your own collie by your side feels like stepping into a living piece of history. There’s a quiet sense of connection in knowing that generations of collies once walked that same land - their grace, intelligence, and devotion woven into the very character of “the place.”

Lassie and Timmy (Jon Provost)

Tempi and Timmy (Jon Provost)

In honor of the 30th anniversary of The Gathering, this year Sunnybank had a special guest.  The legendary Actor Jon Provost attended The Gathering.  As a child, he played “Timmy” on the Lassie television show from 1957 - 1964.  We got to meet him, and he was kind enough to pose for a picture with our collie puppy, Tempest!  So of course, as true Lassie fans, we had to recreate one of his most iconic photos from back in the day!  And we were not alone, he spent the entire weekend posing for pictures, talking about his time on the Lassie television show, and listening to everyone express how much Lassie and Timmy meant to all of us growing up.  He is such a kind man, and the collies all enjoyed meeting him as well.

Growing up I always enjoyed watching the Lassie television shows, and movies, and I still watch them today.  Amazon Prime video actually plays the old Lassie tv episodes 24 hours a day, so you can watch an episode whenever you are feeling nostalgic.  This past weekend was such a magical experience, it combined a celebration of Terhune and the Sunnybank Collies, Lassie and Timmy, and all of our collies.  We are so grateful to the Collie Health Foundation for hosting this memorable event.

It was an unforgettable weekend…and the icing on the cake?  Our little Shannon won the 2 - 4 month puppy class at the Lad Match!

You can read some of my other posts about Lassie by clicking here.

What kind of dog was Lassie?

This is a question that is Googled often.  When our collies run into strangers, and we are asked what kind of dog they are, we tell them “they are collies, like Lassie.” If the person is younger than 35, we are usually met with a blank stare, as they have never heard of Lassie.  Gen X seems to be the last generation who remember Lassie, her movies and her television shows.  But for older generations, those born before 1960, Lassie was a household name.  They grew up watching her weekly tv show, watching her exploits on the Big Screen, and reading her books.  Which gave me an idea…

Each year in December we pick a date, and I invite my friends with their therapy collies, and we watch a Lassie movie with the residents of a local nursing home.  The residents love to watch these sweet, charming old movies starring the iconic collie.  And to get to watch the movie with our therapy collies by their sides is an experience that has them all smiling!

Therapy collies Finn, Addison and Kelsea

I think the collies really enjoy the admiration they receive during the movie, as if they are sharing in Lassie’s dramatic onscreen adventure.  This year we had around 30 residents join us, and we watched Lassie Come Home.  The movie was made and released in 1943, so it’s over 80 years old.  I have watched it dozens of times, and I still cry when Lassie limps into the schoolyard to meet her boy, Joe.  The endearing love and loyalty of the collie is captured so poignantly in that moment that it never fails to touch my heart.

Of course, having collies of my own makes the movie even more heartwarming.  And our therapy collies, who visit this particular nursing home regularly, have become friends with the residents.  Watching a Lassie movie with a therapy collie is deeply meaningful for elderly nursing home residents because it brings together comfort, memory, and emotional connection in a unique and powerful way. For many residents, Lassie represents a familiar and beloved figure from their earlier years—a symbol of loyalty, courage, and the unconditional love of a faithful dog. Seeing those stories again can awaken warm memories of childhood, family, and simpler times.

Having an actual collie present while watching the movie enhances that experience in a profoundly tangible way. The therapy dog provides gentle companionship, physical warmth, and a calming presence. Residents aren’t just watching a story about a heroic, loving dog—they are feeling the soft fur, steady heartbeat, and patient affection of a real one beside them. This blending of memory and sensory comfort can reduce feelings of loneliness, ease anxiety, and spark joyful conversation.

The experience also creates moments of connection among residents. Sharing smiles, memories of past pets, or simply the delight of watching our collies react to the movie builds a sense of community.  For individuals who may struggle with isolation, cognitive decline, or physical limitations, this kind of emotional engagement can be uplifting and grounding.

In short, watching a Lassie movie with a therapy collie is more than entertainment—it’s an experience that warms the heart.  I hope to offer this experience to other nursing homes in the future, as we love to share our therapy collies with everyone, and watch them work their magic.

Why a Collie?

Collies are beautiful, versatile and make wonderful companions.  They are great with children, so they make excellent family dogs.  They are also ready for any activity involving their person, from hiking to binge watching a favorite TV series, your collie will be right by your side.

The collie breed was developed in Scotland and was originally bred to assist with livestock.  In the 1860s Queen Victoria fell in love with the breed and added them to her own private kennels.  With the Queen’s interest in the collie, the breed soon gained in popularity.  It wasn’t long before Americans began importing the collie to our country.  In 1877 the collie debuted at Westminster, one of the top dog shows in our country.  With more and more collies being imported and bred in America, the Collie Club of America was formed in 1886, and created the written collie standard.  The CCA’s  collie standard outlines the structure, intelligence and temperament that every collie should possess.

Collies gained in popularity through the stories written by Albert Payson Terhune.  Terhune was an American writer and collie breeder, and helped to elevate the breed’s popularity by writing about the collie breed’s endearing and admirable qualities.  He initially wrote short stories about his collie, Lad, that were published in a variety of magazines.  The public loved the stories so much, he ended up publishing the collection as a novel, Lad: A Dog, in 1919.  The book became a best seller, and led to Terhune writing numerous other books about his Sunnybank collies throughout the 1920s and 1930s.  Terhune’s books engendered in the public a love and admiration for the breed and ensured that the collie became one of the most beloved dog breeds of that time.

In 1940, Eric Knight published his book, Lassie Come Home, which was then made into a film in 1943. With the debut of Lassie, our obsession with the collie breed was renewed.  The popularity of Lassie Come Home led to the creation of numerous other Lassie movies and eventually multiple, long running, television series.  The collie breed was now the star of books, films and television, and people dreamed of bringing home a collie of their very own.  While the collie is no longer one of the most popular breeds, it is currently ranked #39 in popularity by the AKC.  This ranking includes both rough and smooth collies, which are considered to be two varieties of the same breed.  In the UK they are considered separate breeds, and are not bred together.

Unfortunately, when a dog breed is extremely popular, we see an increased demand for puppies, which can lead to some poor breeding practices by those individuals looking to make a quick profit.  With indiscriminate breeding, any dog breed can end up developing health problems.  But through the hard work of ethical, preservation breeders, the efforts of the Collie Health Foundation and the Collie Club of America, and with the advent of genetic testing, today’s collie is considered to be a relatively healthy breed.  So what type of tests should people look for?

• MDR1 - Collies should be tested for MDR1, which is a gene mutation common in collies that makes them sensitive to certain medications.  Collies should not be given certain medications, heartworm preventatives and anethestics, as the MDR1 gene mutation prevents their bodies from removing certain drugs and toxins from the brain and spinal cord. This can lead to seizures and respiratory distress, along with a few other symptoms.
• CEA - Around 80% of all collies will have some form of CEA, so collies should not only have the genetic test that identifies if they are a carrier, clear or affected, but also be examined by a certified canine ophthalmologist.  Most collies will have mild CEA, which should not impair their vision at all.  The least harmful form of CEA is called choroidal hypoplasia.  The more concerning forms of CEA would be colobomas or retinal detachments, but fortunately those are less common.
• PRA - PRA stands for progressive retinal atrophy.  It can lead to blindness, but the genetic test for this disease is included in the Collie Health Panel and breeders can now exclude these collies from their breeding programs.
• DMS - dermatomyositis.  This is another genetic disorder that can affect collies.  It is progressive, and can cause lesions, hair loss, and muscle weakness.  It is included the collie genetic health panel, and can identify which collies are at low risk for developing this disease.

These health issues while concerning, should not dissuade families from adding a collie to their family, as reputable breeders will test the parents before breeding them.  They will be able to disclose the possible risk your collie has of developing any issues in the future.  With the collie’s sweetness, versatility, intelligence and beauty, the rewards far outweigh any potential risks.  And with the testing now available, owners will know the family history and if their collie is a carrier or at risk, before bringing that collie home.  The collie has remained a beloved companion for generations and will continue to bring love and joy into the hearts of their families.  As with any breed, everyone should do their research and find the dog that fits best into their lifestyles.  But for us, the collie will always be our personal favorite.

Let me introduce you to Lassie!

A friend and I recently took our collies to a local University for a therapy visit.  It was held at their School of Nursing, since it was Nurses Week and final exam week.  Addison went on this visit, and as she had been there before, the students recognized her, calling out her name as we walked around the campus.  She pranced around happily, like a little celebrity.   For the students who had never met her, we got asked what kind of dog she was, and I replied, “She’s a smooth collie, like Lassie, but with short hair.”  Every time I said this, I was met with a blank stare.  None of these twenty-something students had ever heard of Lassie! 

Dreaming of a collie like Lassie?

Americans have always been enchanted by the rough collie, thanks in large part to all the Lassie movies filmed throughout the years.  Lassie became a star of both television and the silver screen and everyone fell in love with the beautiful, majestic collie breed because of her.  Lassie also had books and memorabilia created with “her” image, and her very own comic book series.  (A little trivia, the collies playing Lassie in the movies and tv shows, were always male.)  People became avid collectors of all things Lassie, and for many, a deep rooted desire to one day have a collie of their own was born.  It’s really not a surprise, Lassie was a hero collie, portrayed as brave, compassionate and highly intelligent.

But how do the real life collies compare to this icon?  Well, some of the capers that Lassie found herself embroiled in were highly improbable.  No collie could perform such daring rescues, such harrowing escapes, or such problem solving feats…could they?  I have to say no, at least not with the regularity portrayed in the movies, books and television shows.  But that doesn’t mean they are incapable of greatness, I have read many stories of the countless acts of heroism and of the intelligence of the collie breed. 

Albert Payson Terhune wrote one such true story about his collie Wolf.  In his book, entitled Wolf, Terhune writes of how his brave collie saved a stray dog from being hit by an oncoming train, only to be struck and killed during the rescue.  

In 1954 a collie named Tang was honored by being awarded the very first annual Ken-L Ration Hero Award.  On five separate occasions this hero collie saved children from death or life threatening injuries.  On four of the occasions, people witnessed Tang pushing a child out of the path of oncoming cars.  And for the fifth rescue, he placed himself in front of a milk truck, barking to alert the driver that a two year old little girl had climbed on the back, saving the child from a serious fall.

In 1957, a sable collie named Blaze won the Hero award for saving his family’s two year old daughter from an enraged mother sow who was trying to protect her piglets.  In 1964, another collie named Buddy, guided a herd of goats out of a burning barn, and kept all 70 goats safe until his family could arrive to put out the fire. In 1966, a collie named Hero lived up to his name.  He won the annual award for saving his family’s three year old son from an attacking horse.  The blue merle collie was a show dog, and had a sweet, friendly temperament.  But at the time of the attack, the normally affable collie, prevented the horse from trampling the young boy by fighting off the crazed animal.  Hero suffered multiple injuries during the rescue, including four broken ribs and a skull fracture.  He fully covered, and returned to competing at dog shows a couple months later.

Buddy, with two of the goats he saved

Hero, and his boy

There are many other stories, of collies saving their families from house fires, drowning, and finding lost children.  One of our own collies showed an uncanny ability, when he escaped my sister’s yard.  He somehow found his way across town, and arrived at our Grandmother’s house, and alerted her to his presence when he barked to be let inside. What made this even more remarkable, Reggie was still a puppy and had only been to her house once before!

In the book, The New Collie by the Collie Club of America, there is a story of how my Uncle Fran’s collie, Dove, helped find my cousin when she was lost.  It was in August of 1967, on Cape Cod, where my Uncle was working as a naturalist, when two year old Martha wandered away.  Dove, using one of Martha’s stockings, was able to track Martha by scent, and led Uncle Fran to her just as the sun was setting.

Martha and Dove, Blackrobe Snow White Dove, CD

In my writing, I have extolled the collie’s compassionate and sweet temperament, which enables them to excel at therapy dog visits.  And I’ve also written of my collies countless antics, which show both their intelligence and their innate sense of fun.  So while they may not perform heroic acts on a daily basis like Lassie, I think there is a heroic heart inside every collie. 

It all started with a book!

 When I was a young girl I would stay with my grandparents while my Mother was working.  With the beach at the end of the street, Summers were always fun, there was swimming, exploring the beach and collecting sea glass with the other neighborhood kids.  But in the cold New England Winters there was less to do, less to entertain children.  And while there was always television, this was back when families only had one TV, a limited number of channels, and a ten year old was not usually interested in watching soap operas with Grandma.  On one of those days a random act had a profound impact on my life.

Searching for entertainment, an old, worn book cover caught my eye.  I pulled it off the shelf, recognizing it as one of my Uncle Fran’s books, which he had left behind many years ago.  I immediately knew it was his because it had a collie on the cover.  From my earliest memories of my Uncle, every time he would visit with his children, he would have at least one collie by his side.  The book was about a collie named Lad.

I still remember reading that book for the first time.  I fell in love with the beautiful, heroic collie named Lad.  I had always loved the Lassie movies, which were usually shown on Sunday afternoons, along with the old black and white Shirley Temple and Tarzan movies.  But when I discovered Albert Payton Terhune’s books about his collies, I knew I had to have my own collie one day.  Those books weren’t works of fiction to me, I believed every story about his amazing dogs.  The collies were real, he wrote about his own beloved Sunnybank Collies, and some of the stories actually did happen.  Some of the stories were slight fictionalizations, some were true stories about other dogs incorporated into his books, and some were pure fiction.  But at the time, I believed every word, and vowed I would have a collie to love.

When I was little, all of my Uncle’s collies were rough coated.  It wasn’t until the late 1980’s that he got his first smooth collie.  I didn’t like the way the smooths looked at first, they were so different in appearance from the famous Lad and Lassie, and my Uncle’s other collies.  It took a while, but since they had the same great collie temperaments as the rough coated variety, they soon won me over.  They didn’t resemble the collies that graced the pages of Terhune’s books, in fact he never mentions smooths in any of his stories.  But if you look into their eyes, you can see that smooths are just as devoted and loving as any collie found in the pages of a book.

So when my daughter and I finally got our first collie twenty years ago, he ended up being a sable and white smooth collie, and of course we named him Lad.  He may not have had the beautiful, majestic coat like Sunnybank Lad, and during his lifetime he may not have performed any of the heroic acts found on the pages of Terhune’s books, but he was perfect in our eyes.  Our Lad taught us just how amazing life with a collie truly was and how much joy this wonderful dog breed elicits in the hearts of their families.

There have been many collies in our family, each beautiful and unique, and their stories can be found in past and future posts on our blog.  I may not have the talent to write entire books about my collies, but I can share them here, with you.  They are all loved and every day with them is treasured, and my life with collies started with the opening of a book.

A collie named Lassie, a place called Sunnybank

Did you have a favorite movie star when you were a child?  I'm not ashamed to admit that most of mine walked on four feet instead of two.  I loved watching old movies on Sunday afternoons, this was back before we had 800 or more television channels to choose from.  On Saturday mornings we watched our favorite cartoons, and the rest of the weekend was spent playing outside with our friends...unless it rained.  On those rainy days I would search through the TV Guide, which came in the Sunday morning paper, and look for a good movie to watch.

On Sundays they often showed old Shirley Temple movies, old Tarzan movies and old Lassie movies.  I loved old movies, but my favorites were always the movies that featured dogs.  So it isn't a surprise that I loved Lassie, especially since I came from a family of collie lovers.  Lassie was smart and heroic, and her loyalty and devotion to her family made her the perfect dog.  This was a dog that matched the truest definition of a best friend.

I discovered a love of reading when I was around 9 years old.  And shortly after that I discovered the books written by Albert Payson Terhune.   His books were fictional stories about his collies, who were also brave, smart, heroic and beautiful, just like Lassie.  So while I didn't grow up with a collie of my own, I always knew I would have one,"someday."  And now I have collies in my life, and they make me happy.  I belong to collie clubs, and we attend collie specialty dog shows, and I have friends who share my passion for this wonderful breed.  Ask any of them why they fell in love with collies, and most of them will tell you it's because of either Lassie or Terhune.  And this coming weekend, many of those friends will be driving to Sunnybank, the home of Albert Payson Terhune, for The Gathering.  It's almost time to gather and celebrate the collie...

To learn more about Sunnybank click here:
Sunnybank!
Sunnybank Revisted
Books and Movies for Dog Lovers
It's That Time Of Year Again
Sunnybank Then And Now - Always Beloved

And how I fell in love with collies:
For the Love of a Collie

Books and movies for dog lovers...

Do you have favorite dog books or movies?  We have many, and thought it might be fun to share a few with you each month.  Since we love collies, our first post features books and movies about collies, which shouldn't be a surprise.

The first book we want to mention is Gray Dawn, written by Albert Payson Terhune.  If you read our recent post about Sunnybank then you know Terhune's collies really existed, and lived at Sunnybank.  (If you haven't read about Sunnybank, click on this Link.) This book was written in 1927, and like many of Terhune's books, the writing and opinions are a product of that time period.  But even though some of the notions are not politically correct, I love the characters in this book.  The most lovable of all his collies, Dawn is a young puppy who is sweet and clumsy, facing his fears to "save" the people he loves from danger.  Gray Dawn is not without faults, but those faults endear him to the reader and made me fall in love with his courage.

Lad: A Dog, is a movie based on one of Terhune's most popular books of the same title.  Lad is a hero, and his story is told in such a way that you can tell he was a beloved and treasured companion.  (And why we named our first collie, Lad). The movie was recently released on DVD, and can be purchased on Amazon.  It's a great movie for a rainy afternoon, curled up on the couch with your best four-legged friend.

 The next movie is a well known classic.  This movie made collies famous, and is the reason most rough collies are greeted with "Hi Lassie!" From strangers where ever they go!  It tells the story of Lassie's love and loyalty for her family, and how nothing can keep her from returning to her boy's side.  I don't know how many times I have watched this movie, but it always brings tears to my eyes.

And last, but not least, Wolf.  This book is about Lad's son, Wolf.  I love this book, I love this collie.  Most of the stories written by Terhune are works of fiction, with elements of truth throughout the stories.  The ending of this book will make you cry, possibly even sob if you are anything like me, because it is a true story about a courageous collie.