Lassie is a fictional female collie dog character created by Erik Knight as a short story and expanded to novel length and published in 1940 as “Lassie Come Home.” However, Knight may have been influenced by another female collie named Lassie, featured in the 1859 story "The Half-brothers" written by British writer Elizabeth Gaskell.
Knight's novel was filmed by MGM in 1943, with a rough collie, aka long-haired collie, named Pal, playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long-running, Emmy winning television series “Lassie” debuted, and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.
The rock on the hill to the south might not be a direct descendent of Pal, but the profile resemblance is striking.