Famous movie dogs: Benji

Higgins

Benji is a fictional dog who was the focus of several movies. Benji is a stray dog living in a small Texas town where he has befriended a number of people, but his favorites are two children and their housekeeper. The trio decides to keep Benji and hide him from the children's father, and the plot escalates from there.

The Benji character has been selected by Oprah as her favorite onscreen animal.

The original Benji was played by Higgins, a mixed breed dog. Higgins was the best known dog actor of the 1960s-1970s, appearing in a number of TV shows, being featured on the cover of TV Guide Magazine, and even winning an award.

Higgins was known for being extremely clever. During his14 years in show business he learned one new trick every week, and remembered them all.

~ Maria Sadowski ~