A con artist handyman tricks the Martin's into giving him work by claiming Lassie bit him and chased him up a tree when all he wanted to do was seek a job. But Timmy and Boomer suspect the old geezer and set out to spy on him to catch him at his con tricks.
NOTE: Gotta love the retort "Lassie never bit anyone" claimed by the Martins, when numerous prior episodes saw Lassie defending her family by taking down every bad guy with plenty of fangs chomping into arms and body wrestling with a fast bite grip on the baddie.
TRIVIA: During World War II ( US involvement in the conflict was from 1941-1945) the U.S. military called for the donation of pet dogs for service to be used in the war effort overseas - as couriers, attack and guard, and detection dogs.Only purebred and first generation crossbred dogs were accepted because the conventional wisdom at that time was that mixed breeds might be less stable in character. The project began with more than thirty breeds being donated and through trial and error, the military narrowed the selection down to basically four breeds that were ideal for military training: the German Shepherd, Belgian Sheepdog (including the varieties Tervuren and Malinois), Doberman Pinscher, and the Farm Collie (not quite the Rough or Smooth Collie we see in the show ring, but close enough in ancestry). The collie was used mostly in courier and guard services as they made outstanding watchdogs and were quick to sound an alert if someone was approaching. Collies were also so highly intelligent that they could follow even complex commands. However, the armed forces found the collie totally unsuitable for any bite or attack work. Collies do not have a mean bone in their bodies, and while they can learn to do the movements of an attack, they didn't have the drive and desire to take someone down. They were too friendly to everyone!
After WWII, most of the dogs that survived were issued an honorable discharge from the K-9 Section and returned to their families. Approximately 3,000 dogs were discharged from war service and by early 1947 all borrowed dogs had been returned to their original owners or placed in new homes.
Sadly, this policy changed in 1949 when the structure of the military was fragmented by President Truman into separate departments under the Department of Defense. Under the new structure, designed to eliminate waste and over-spending, the military's dogs became "equipment" and could be left behind or destroyed when their usefulness was up. This didn't go over well with the public and after the Vietnam War when soldiers tried to bring back their canine partners but were not allowed, pubic ire was rightfully aroused. However, it wasn't until 2000 that things changed. A Congressman named Roscoe G. Bartlett learned about the DOD's war dog policy in an issue of Stars and Stripes and immediately spearheaded a drive to change the military policy and to bring these "canine soldiers" home. The movement gained national and military support and was strong enough to get Congress to act quickly. On November 6, 2000, President Bill Clinton passed the "Robby" law (Public Law 106-446) - in honor of the military dog (a Belgian Malinois) that had not been allowed to be adopted by his handler and brought home - that stated military dogs who were no longer able to go into combat or be used for training purposes could be adopted under certain conditions. Upon a military dog's retirement the handler was offered first choice for adoption, followed in turn by any previous handler. Law enforcement agencies and other qualified handlers were also permitted to adopt. In April 2001 another Belgian Malinois named "Ronnie" was the first dog to be brought home and adopted under the new law.
Today military dogs, as well as police dogs, are considered as personnel and are accorded all the benefits of a valued member of their armed forces.
6 окт 2014
