Lassie - Episode #184 - "Old Henry" - Season 6 Ep. 2 - 09/13/1959

Timmy buys an old workhorse to save it from slaughter. VERY cute scene with Timmy being admitted to the local bank by the bank president after hours, and procuring "a loan" for 1 silver dollar to buy Old Henry. Notice that Lassie now looks different - Spook had taken over the role with the retirement of Lassie Jr. due to cancer. Jr. recovers, but never assumes the role again. TRIVIA: At the beginning of the 6th season a new collie, nicknamed Spook, becomes the regular "Lassie" due to Lassie Jr's disappearance due to real life cancer. The audience immediately noticed the difference and the studios were flooded with letters regarding "the switch", quite unlike the populace's blase acceptance of actor switches (Reilly and Lockhart for example). Spook actually appears briefly at the end of season five, and takes over the full Lassie duties in Season 6 and throughout most of Season 7 Spook's final appearances was in the first episode of Season 8 ("Lassie at the Grand Canyon") when the next collie to take the title Lassie took Spook's place. This collie, Baby, was the Lassie with the largest, most expressive eyes and stunning coat. Baby continued the role of Lassie for the remainder of the Timmy Martin years, with then continued into the majority of the Forest Ranger years.