 The trainer, Rudd Weatherwax, then substituted the male collie, Pal, in the role of "Lassie".Pal had been hired to perform the rapids stunt and, being male, looked more impressive in the part.Still other accounts, such as a 1943 "New York Times" article written while the film was in production, say that Pal was cast by director Fred Wilcox after first being rejected, because no other dog performed satisfactorily with the "near human attributes" he sought for the canine title role.