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Bobbie: A Great Collie
Includes new introduction by Collie Chatter founder Emily SowulewskiBefore the fictional Lassie Come-Home, a real Collie called Bobbie traveled nearly 3,000 miles in 6 months - crossing the Rocky Mountains at the height of winter - to return to his family. His well-documented journey earned him the title of “Wonder Dog,” an entry in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, his own silent film, fan mail from all over the globe, and more fame than a dog knew what to do with. While some parts of the book are necessarily fictionalized, others are drawn from interviewing the people who knew Bobbie or those who met and cared for him on his long journey home. Now you too, can meet the dog who was the precursor to Eric Knight’s iconic work. This publication is a complete and unabridged reprint of the original 1926 edition which has been out of print for decades, with a new introduction by Collie Chatter founder Emily Sowulewski.
- GenresDogs
99 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2020
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 9, 2025
Love the old books on dogs. This one was published in 1926, but my copy from 19337, and in the cover in pencil says ‘August 23 – 1939 to our sister Emma Alexander by Willie & Carrie.’ The book is based on a true story of a dog from Oregon that gets separated from his owners while in Wilcott Indiana. Somehow over the course of six months, the dog made his way the 3,000 miles to go back to his previous owner. Some of his stops along the way were documented by people who recognized the dog later from a picture in the newspaper. It helps the dog has some recognizable scars. The appendix in the book has details from collaborating letters.
I do liked this bit in the appendix:
‘So from Denver through the Far Northwest wilderness to the Columbia River in Oregon, his exact course and his adventures must remain unknown. But inasmuch as he required two months in crossing this vast stretch, at the height of a savage winter, he must indeed have fallen into adventures outdistancing any accredited to him in the story. In this desolate country he could have defeated starvation only by killing his ow meat. After his return home, it was weeks before he would touch cooked food again. Only raw meat would he eat,—which is evidence enough of the winter fierceness he endured in the Rockies and for five hundred slow miles westward, and each move he made.’
Bobbie got separated because he was in the car taken to the garage, and there he was chased off by the garage dog and dogs in the neighborhood.
‘But it is not given any collie to surrender. Much Bobbie owed his master in the way of duty, and through all the relentless days and nights he fought, in a puzzled fashion, to find the lost garage again. But first he owed his master unending bravery, the will not ever to lose any fight that other dogs forced on him. And thus, because of these two duties, he searched and fought at once. By day he made his way to towns, darting into busy garages where grease-smudged workmen hurled wrenches at him. Outside, the pack awaited him.’
The dogs prevent him to go back to the garage in time and when he searches other garages for his master meets with other dogs. The old books like to talk about fights between dogs. I hate it when even a ‘bad’ dog gets hurt or worse by the ‘good’ dog. Stories like this with Collies makes me believe in the breeds courage and ferocity in a fight. My neighbor has a rough collie and they can be big!
‘It was, in a way, because Bobbie was not beatable; because his speed, as he flashed about on his hind legs, outdistanced their speed, because his reach, his powerful shoulders, his rending fangs held off or fatally finished these fat farm dogs, that he was never let go. Had he taken one beating, all soon would have quieted, the more timid of his enemies slipping back home.
It was not possible for Bobbie to feign fear, to cower before his attackers while strength remained to stand and slash them. Not ever again, had he cowered, could he have met his master’s eye proudly, and with that sense of equality that some thoughtful men and some dogs may grant each other. And through all the annoyance of swirling along in the midst of a yapping pack, he did not forget that his place was by the master’s tent at night, on the car by day.’
The appendix actually talks about how for a while the course of Bobbie’s travels took him in a circle. Along the way he found people he could get aid from.
‘It was only when he could run no farther that Bobbie sought some friendly doorstep. Then, as when he dozed and stuffed himself over Thanksgiving Day in Des Moines, he never deceived his hosts as to his intention of adopting them. The day following Thanksgiving he left them, dejectedly, after their caresses and pleadings, but firmly. The ancient voices in his brain broke in a chorus; he felt, uncertainly, that he was near home, that a few more days of running would lead him to the master. ‘
Dogs do have some kind of compass though back home. I like it when books speak of it.
‘He knew, now; his nose pointed like a weather-vane into the west; the wind whispered warnings of bulked mountains, of slinking beasts, of torrential floods; but his nose now was a compass, pointed homeward, true and unswerving.’
The best part of the book is an adventure in the middle of winter where he joins up with sheepherders in a blizzard. This is where it seems the author embellished some, which I think could have even been expanded further.
‘It was a thrill and a madness, the yelping shepherd dogs, the bleating, wool-laden creatures with dumb yellow eyes and quick little jerks of their witless heads, the snow world, the herders. It got into Bobbie. He leaped with the other dogs, watching to see what they did and doing likewise.’
I like the melodramatic aspects of old books. I enjoyed this one but it didn’t quite all come together as well as other dog story adventures and for this reason I will only give it 4 stars. I would still recommend the book if you like the old timey books, and especially if you are a Collie fan. And for those of you who don’t like to read a book where the dog dies in the end, no Kleenex is needed. It ends the way I wish most dog books ended, where they live forever:
‘Bobbie lives now with his master in Silverton. He receives more mail than he ever can read. It comes from everywhere. It is addressed simply and correctly enough to “Bobbie, the Wonder Dog.”
I do liked this bit in the appendix:
‘So from Denver through the Far Northwest wilderness to the Columbia River in Oregon, his exact course and his adventures must remain unknown. But inasmuch as he required two months in crossing this vast stretch, at the height of a savage winter, he must indeed have fallen into adventures outdistancing any accredited to him in the story. In this desolate country he could have defeated starvation only by killing his ow meat. After his return home, it was weeks before he would touch cooked food again. Only raw meat would he eat,—which is evidence enough of the winter fierceness he endured in the Rockies and for five hundred slow miles westward, and each move he made.’
Bobbie got separated because he was in the car taken to the garage, and there he was chased off by the garage dog and dogs in the neighborhood.
‘But it is not given any collie to surrender. Much Bobbie owed his master in the way of duty, and through all the relentless days and nights he fought, in a puzzled fashion, to find the lost garage again. But first he owed his master unending bravery, the will not ever to lose any fight that other dogs forced on him. And thus, because of these two duties, he searched and fought at once. By day he made his way to towns, darting into busy garages where grease-smudged workmen hurled wrenches at him. Outside, the pack awaited him.’
The dogs prevent him to go back to the garage in time and when he searches other garages for his master meets with other dogs. The old books like to talk about fights between dogs. I hate it when even a ‘bad’ dog gets hurt or worse by the ‘good’ dog. Stories like this with Collies makes me believe in the breeds courage and ferocity in a fight. My neighbor has a rough collie and they can be big!
‘It was, in a way, because Bobbie was not beatable; because his speed, as he flashed about on his hind legs, outdistanced their speed, because his reach, his powerful shoulders, his rending fangs held off or fatally finished these fat farm dogs, that he was never let go. Had he taken one beating, all soon would have quieted, the more timid of his enemies slipping back home.
It was not possible for Bobbie to feign fear, to cower before his attackers while strength remained to stand and slash them. Not ever again, had he cowered, could he have met his master’s eye proudly, and with that sense of equality that some thoughtful men and some dogs may grant each other. And through all the annoyance of swirling along in the midst of a yapping pack, he did not forget that his place was by the master’s tent at night, on the car by day.’
The appendix actually talks about how for a while the course of Bobbie’s travels took him in a circle. Along the way he found people he could get aid from.
‘It was only when he could run no farther that Bobbie sought some friendly doorstep. Then, as when he dozed and stuffed himself over Thanksgiving Day in Des Moines, he never deceived his hosts as to his intention of adopting them. The day following Thanksgiving he left them, dejectedly, after their caresses and pleadings, but firmly. The ancient voices in his brain broke in a chorus; he felt, uncertainly, that he was near home, that a few more days of running would lead him to the master. ‘
Dogs do have some kind of compass though back home. I like it when books speak of it.
‘He knew, now; his nose pointed like a weather-vane into the west; the wind whispered warnings of bulked mountains, of slinking beasts, of torrential floods; but his nose now was a compass, pointed homeward, true and unswerving.’
The best part of the book is an adventure in the middle of winter where he joins up with sheepherders in a blizzard. This is where it seems the author embellished some, which I think could have even been expanded further.
‘It was a thrill and a madness, the yelping shepherd dogs, the bleating, wool-laden creatures with dumb yellow eyes and quick little jerks of their witless heads, the snow world, the herders. It got into Bobbie. He leaped with the other dogs, watching to see what they did and doing likewise.’
I like the melodramatic aspects of old books. I enjoyed this one but it didn’t quite all come together as well as other dog story adventures and for this reason I will only give it 4 stars. I would still recommend the book if you like the old timey books, and especially if you are a Collie fan. And for those of you who don’t like to read a book where the dog dies in the end, no Kleenex is needed. It ends the way I wish most dog books ended, where they live forever:
‘Bobbie lives now with his master in Silverton. He receives more mail than he ever can read. It comes from everywhere. It is addressed simply and correctly enough to “Bobbie, the Wonder Dog.”
October 1, 2024
Sept 30, 2024 * 4 stars
Read for the Back to Hogwarts Read at him - September 2024:redad a book about a quest or journey and "Bobbie, the Wonder Dog" had and incredible journey, traveling from Indiana to Oregon in foot and alone in has quest to bet back home to his owner.
Read for the Back to Hogwarts Read at him - September 2024:redad a book about a quest or journey and "Bobbie, the Wonder Dog" had and incredible journey, traveling from Indiana to Oregon in foot and alone in has quest to bet back home to his owner.
July 8, 2024
This is a true story of a collie that goes missing and makes his way back home again, crossing the midwest farm lands and over the Rockies. Published in 1926
I enjoyed this book because the events were based on letters that the owner and newspaper received about how a dog had come to their door, stayed a night, sometimes more depending on his need, and then left.
I enjoyed this book because the events were based on letters that the owner and newspaper received about how a dog had come to their door, stayed a night, sometimes more depending on his need, and then left.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews