Robert Weatherwax, a professional dog trainer for film and television who took over the business from his father, Rod, Lassie's original owner, died Thursday at the age of 83.
Weatherwax was born on June 4, 1941, in Burbank, California—exactly one year before Pal, the dog who portrayed Lassie in seven Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films and the pilot episode of the television series “Lassie.” Growing up, Weatherwax and his sister Joan were tasked with helping their father with his business, including teaching their pets new routines. Their grandfather, W.S. Weatherwax, was an animal trainer during the silent film era.
The Weatherwax family's furry clients included some of the screen's leading dogs, such as Skippy, also known as Asta, who appeared in Golden Age comedies like “The Thin Man” and “The Awful Truth”; Terry, who played Toto in “The Wizard of Oz”; and Spike, the floppy-eared dog known to the public as Old Yeller.
As a young adult, Weatherwax trained under his father on the soap opera “Lassie” after serving in the U.S. Army. The show aired on CBS from 1954 to 1974, and naturally, the show saw many Weatherwax dogs play the eponymous role over those two decades.
He returned to Southern California, working on various productions with his father before starting his own company, Weatherwax Trained Dogs. Notable credits in his career include Back to the Future, Nickelodeon, The Thing, and Dennis the Menace.
His book, Four Feet to Fame: A Hollywood Dog Trainer's Journey, was published in 2017 and co-authored with Richard Lester. Weatherwax's last collie was the offspring of an actor from the TV series Lassie.
