When they decided to make the movie, didn they expect a direct descendent to play the part? Why couldn the producers just wait until Lassie could get into the country?
Ireland, the U.K. and most of Europe have very restrictive animal/pet import laws that were strengthened further after 9/11 and outbreaks of mad cow disease in recent years. Any animal or pet is subject to a rigorous testing, mandatory quarantine and an extensive paperwork process before they can obtain the proper permission for entry into the country. This can take more than six months. The brief pre-production schedule of this film did not allow sufficient time to obtain pet passports for “Lassie” bloodline dogs. Despite appeals to the U.K. and Irish regulatory authorities, the producers were unable to obtain an expedited quarantine. Still, the producers of the movie felt that it was so important for a bloodline dog to appear in the movie, that at considerable expense, they have made a decision to film a pivotal scene in the U.S. with a direct descendent of the original “Lassie”.
