Lassie - Episode #28 - "The Pit" - Season 2, Ep. 2 (09/18/1955)

Jeff and Porky find a suspicious man with a car full of bull terriers, and when Lassie is attacked by one of the man's dogs Jeff tells Gramps, who begins to suspect the man is planning some illegal dog fighting. TRIVIA - Porky is given some very funny lines in this episode, and shows his great comedic talent in the opening scenes. It was great fun watching such a young talented actor. MORE TRIVIA: This episode sadly points out that dog abuse is still a deep unresolved issue in this county after more than a half century of efforts to eliminate this brutal inhumane activity of pitting dogs against each other in fights. The ending where Gramps proves to Jeff that no animal is all bad, and cites the people training the dogs as being the evil ones, was very touching. EVEN MORE TRIVIA: It is also interesting to note that the dogs used in this episode were American Bull Terriers, the same breed that was made famous in the 1920-30's children's comedy series "Our Gang" (aka "The Little Rascals"). In about 1926 an American Pit Bull Terrier named Pal the Wonder Dog was hired on as part of the Our Gang cast., Originally named "Pansy" in the series, he later became known as Pete the Pup, the pet dog paired with child actors Matthew "Stymie" Beard and Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins ". The black ring around Pal's one eye was a natural almost complete ring that the great Hollywood makeup artist - Max Factor - finished and closed with makeup to produce a complete circle, creating one of the most recognized dogs in film history.
Lassie and the Lassie Trademark are owned by Dreamworks Animation.This episode was broadcast on over the air antenna TV by NBC affiliate COZI TV in February 2015.