Bob and (Howard) Lassie VIII Leslie Rugg
Bob Weatherwax, who was an icon of Hollywood’s canine world, died on Thursday, August 15, Us Weekly can solely affirm. He was 83.
Because the son of Rudd Weatherwax — who was the unique proprietor and coach of Lassie — Bob spent practically his complete life within the leisure canine coaching enterprise.
From a younger age, Bob was by his father’s aspect as he assisted with canine at Rudd’s kennels. As well as, he was usually known as on to help in coaching whereas Lassie or one other Hollywood canine discovered a routine.
Bob and his sister JoAnne have been the one youngsters who may actually say that their household pet was the true Lassie. In reality, Pal — the canine who made film historical past by portraying Lassie in seven MGM movies and starred within the pilot of the Lassie TV collection — was born one 12 months earlier than Bob’s start.
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For a short time, Bob served his nation in the US Military. When he returned dwelling to California, nevertheless, Bob determined to comply with in his father’s footsteps and formally develop into a Hollywood canine coach.
After studying his father’s craft, Bob grew to become an achieved coach and established Weatherwax Skilled Canines as his model. All through his profession, Bob labored with a number of well-known canine together with Asta, Toto and Previous Yeller.
Bob and pet (Laddie) Lassie IX Leslie Rugg
On his Fb account, Bob would usually obtain rave evaluations for his reward of bonding with animals and educating them new expertise and tips.
“He’s not condescending. He’s not pushy. He makes use of a reward-based coaching, which I favored,” one canine proprietor wrote in a overview posted on Bob’s Fb web page in February. “He taught [my dog] to be an obedient canine and gave me the instruments to have the ability to management him. I’m very pleased with the end result and I completely advocate him.”
Lassie Silver Display screen Assortment/Hulton Archive/Getty Pictures
Earlier than his dying, Bob loved spending time along with his final collie, who was a grandson of the final Weatherwax-trained Lassie.
As for what made Bob so good at his job, these closest to the coach imagine it was his skill to kind an genuine relationship with the canine he labored with.
“It was the eye-to-eye, heart-to-heart constructing of belief,” Bob’s staff mentioned in a press release to Us. “It was translating the immense potential of a species just like us however completely different sufficient that what we shared could possibly be captured within the elevating of a paw, reducing of a head, crawling on the bottom, swimming towards treacherous currents, leaping out of home windows into the arms of the grownup or little one who cherished the canine and wanted the canine in that prompt.”
The assertion continued, “It was Bob’s magic to have the ability to join by voice, eye, gesture, a easy nudge, a elevating of arms. The canine all the time knew what was meant, and audiences reaped the rewards.”
Reporting by Andrea Simpson
