Where are the heroes of yesteryear?  What has happened to our country?  It used to be that the airways were filled with primetime dog stars.  The dearth of dogs gracing the cover of TV Guide and leading the Sunday night primetime ratings is a measure of how our country has gotten away from absolute principles.  Lassie was our Ronald Reagan!  That stalwart dog represented all that was right and good about America.  Now we are left with pretenders to carry on the canine tradition of loyalty, forbearance and temperance.  Today we have Desperate Housewives engaged in illicit affairs , and we are all the poorer for the loss of Lassie's positive motherly message of caring, nurturing, family values and life saving heroics.  Sunday night TV meant something back in the day. I wish I had lived back then, when dogs were dogs, and it was morning in America. Ronald Reagan probably watched Lassie, and got some of his material from studying her character. I seem to recall Lassie barking something about  "morning in America" in one of her episodes. She was giving an inspirational speech to the neighbor dogs and trying to get their cooperation . She wouldn't have minded that someone else used her message, as long as it was for a good cause.  Where would America be today without us dogs?