If you dream of cozying up to celebrities, don’t write business columns. Other than Martha and the Donald, there are precious few executives regularly prancing down the red carpet. So, you can imagine our excitement when we were invited to interview Lassie, who is currently starring in a new movie debuting at the TriBeCa Film Festival and, more germane to this column, launching a line of organic dog food.

If you’re of a certain age, no one will take you back to your childhood (other than Annette Funicello in mouse ears) faster than Lassie. The iconic pup starred in one of the longest-running shows in the history of television, not to mention 10 full-length films.

As befits a star of this stature, Lassie (the ninth generation) kept us waiting quite a while at her suite at the W Union Square Hotel. She had been driven to Central Park in her Escalade; the local Union Square Park is off limits because the locals tend to crowd Lassie, hoping for photo ops.We were a little skeptical that Lassie could actually be picked out of a collie crowd, but then her trainer returned, decked out in Lassie-themed clothing.

Lassie travels first class, sitting normally in the bulkhead seat, and has the frequent flyer miles to prove it. She participates in many charity events each year and is about to embark (spelled “em-bark” in her press releases) on a five-month countrywide promotional tour for her new movie “Lassie,” starring Peter O’Toole.

All of this activity is arranged by Classic Media, which owns several well-known family entertainment products in addition to Lassie, such as Casper and Lamb Chop. Accompanying her will be her trainer, her public relations team, and her celebrity vet, Jeff Werber.

We had never heard of a celebrity vet before, and are still not sure whether that means Mr. Werber is the vet for celebrity pets, or for the pets of celebrities, or that he himself is a celebrity and also a vet. Either way, Mr. Werber’s credentials are impressive. He has taken care of pooches and felines belonging to Mandy Moore, Magic Johnson, Rod Stewart, Britney Spears, and Julia Roberts, among many others. Mr. Werber handled much of Lassie’s interview.

Mr. Werber, too, has been on TV. He is a great advocate of healthy eating for animals (and people, too) but has also devoted much of his time to encouraging people to bond with their pets. He is the founder of the Association of Veterinary Communicators, a group that deals with “the media needs of animal behaviorists.” He is especially enthusiastic about his partnership with Lassie because he credits the original TV show with “bringing pets indoors.”

He says Lassie was the first dog to be shown sitting in the living room, maybe even on the sofa, or being fed in the kitchen. Certainly Old Yeller and Rin Tin Tin were never invited in. This, to Mr. Werber’s way of thinking, was the beginning of an inexorable trend, which now has dogs regularly sleeping on their owners’ beds. He thinks this is a good thing.

Mr. Werber hopes Lassie’s celebrity status will speed the introduction of the new organic line of dog food and treats called Lassie Natural Way.

There are other “natural” lines sold mainly in specialty shops, but Lassie’s is available at mass market vendors such as Albertsons, Kroger, and Shoprite, at a significantly lower price. The product line of 17 different food and treat products contains no artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners and no animal by-products such as bones, brains, or other items too gruesome to mention.

Not surprisingly, sales of so-called “natural” dog food are skyrocketing. Just as humans are waking up to the nasty things included in many food products that they eat, and turning to Whole Foods, for instance, so are pet owners declaring war on foods containing floor sweepings and offal. Pets have not only been invited indoors, they are increasingly being fed at the family table.

This so-called “humanizing of our pets” may reflect the growing number of Baby Boomer households that suddenly have no children, or the increasing number of people deferring having children. Either way, today 63% of households in America own pets, up from 56% in 1988, and they are spending more money each year on their care. Americans own 73.9 million dogs, and spend more than $7 billion each year on dog food. Sales of organic foods have grown 17% to 20% a year since 1997.

Lassie, in other words, is playing for high stakes. Numerous other concerns, such as Newman’s Own, known for high-quality products, have launched “natural” pet lines. Mr. Newman’s product is notable for containing premium Bell & Evans human-grade chicken and Ester-C.

Lassie’s line is not only important to her backers, but is vital to supermarkets such as Publix, which is carrying the line. According to Euromarkets, pet superstores are taking increasing market share from supermarkets. Last year they accounted for 17.8% of all dog and cat food sold, up from 16.8% the year before. This is a high-margin business that supermarkets do not want to lose.

So, there are many groups pushing for Lassie Natural to be a success. Supermarkets, Mr. Werber, Classic Media, and, of course, Lassie herself, would like the launch to succeed. What does Lassie get out of it? She has a great life, living with her trainer on a ranch outside Los Angeles, and seems to lack for nothing. Her hours are not too taxing since working animals are governed by laws similar to those that control the workload of a child. She has doubles (yes, there is more than one Lassie, but she is the Lassie) who fill in when she is tired. She was even recently bred, so she’s not exactly without a life, so to speak.

Perhaps the one deficiency might be her leisure activities. The dog, according to her trainer, has been bred to be trainable. Almost all natural impulses have been bred out of her – including the play instinct. She really could use a fun friend; what ever happened to Goofy?

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