Lassie - Episode

Lassie helps rescue two young boys who, while camping, try out a new raft and were swept downstream on the rapids.
NOTE: this episode contains the most heartbreaking words ever spoken on a Lassie episode. Once the boys are delivered safe to a local forest ranger, Lassie turns and trots off alone into the woods. When the father asks who she belongs to, the forest ranger replies, "Well, I guess you would say she belongs to everyone who needs her." In effect the collie is now alone in the world, having lost Jeff, Timmy, Corey, and finally (for unknown reasons) the last two rangers Scott and Bob. She stops once and looks back, but nobody calls to her, or asks her to return. So she turns and goes away, alone, into the woods. No longer did she have someone to care for her, or care about her. Probably the saddest line of dialog ever spoken, and I'm sure it hurt the hearts of all those who loved this beautiful dog to realize she had no one special in her life anymore. It would not surprise me that this was one of the main reasons that the audience had declined and the series was not renewed after this season. The following year the series went into syndication on cable, and the human element was returned by Lassie becoming a beloved member of the family of the Holden Ranch.