Is lassie real

While the Collie- as she was is a real dog breed, it should be understood that (Lassie) was a fictional character. No real animal could survive all of the assorted mishaps, kidnappings, accidents, forest fires,....and the ASPCA would not permit such hazardous stunts- of necessity there were different Lassie dogs trained for different stunts- a fight sequence Lassie ( with another animal) would be a different temperament than a cuddly pet humanitarian Lassie. For some bizarre reason the entire series was chemically devoid of the least traces of comedy, heavy fare for tykes, and no comic relief. The novels were even more downbeat.