The frequently asked questions below have all been answered by Joe Camp as time has permitted. If you have a question, please send it to question@benji.com and Joe will post his answer here as soon as schedule allows.
Also see Frequently Asked Questions in the Press Room. Click Here.

Q What is the new Benji's Breed? What is the original Benji's breed? 
A We've heard this one a lot. The original Benji was a mixed breed, as is the new Benji. Huggable, floppy-eared mutts, we call them. Lots of folks have guessed about the components of the mix but nobody knows for sure because both were adopted from animal shelters. We feel certain that the current Benji has some spaniel in her because she lies with her back legs splayed out (like a bear rug) as many spaniels do. We know no more than that. We're just happy they came along.
   
Q How old is the current Benji?
A As I write this in January of 2007, she is estimated to be six years old.
   
Q How many Benji's have there been?
A I like to answer this by saying: There has only been one Benji... but four different dogs have played the role. In the purest sense of the concept, Benji is an eternal character, an ever-living manifestation of the qualities of love and selflessness. The current Benji is # 4. The first was a male and had played for eight or nine years on the TV series Petticoat Junction before taking on the roll of Benji. His trainer was Frank Inn. His real name was Higgins and he, like the current Benji, was adopted from an animal shelter. The second Benji was a female, as is the current Benji, and was the daughter of the Higgins. This one did most of the previous movies and television programs. The third Benji was a male but did no movies or television, falling into the time period when my wife had a serious stroke, recovered completely, but ultimately died in December of 1997. The current Benji is number four and has just completed her first film, Benji Off the Leash.
   
Q Where can I find a Benji-like dog?
A All we can do is recommend staying in touch with your local shelters and rescue groups. Make friends. Get on their lists. Check with online pet finding websites like www.Pets911.com . We spent four months traveling around the country last year looking for the new Benji in shelters all across the nation. Four months! We also had terrific assistance from the online services. I know of two people who adopted Benji-look-alikes from shelters thousands of miles away from their home. In one case, a lady traveled to the shelter to meet the dog. In the other, the arrangements were made long-distance and the dog was shipped via air. But a dog does not have to look like Benji to have the unconditional love and terrific personality of a fantastic companion. We've seen so many. In fact most of the pets we've seen in shelters are truly wonderful dogs and cats. Don't get hinng up on a dog that looks just like Benji. Find one that works right with your and your family. You'll be much happier. And, by the way, we've always found that two are better than one. Especially if they have to be left alone at times. They keep each other company, play and sleep together and don't get bored (destructive) as easily. We currently have four dogs and two cats.



Q Thanks so much for all you're doing to help with the adoption efforts of animal shelters . I'm a volunteer and know how underfunded and under staffed these shelters are and how difficult it is to get the word out about the wonderful pets available in shelters. Hooray for Benji out there making a difference!
A Many thanks for the kind words. But Hooray for you too! You are out there giving of your time and energy to help save lives and get those pups adopted. I don't know if you're involved in your shelter's fostering program or not, but one of the things we've found as we've visited shelters around the country is that when a pet leaves the shelter and goes into a foster home, he or she never goes back into the system and always winds up being adopted. It's logical, of course, because a dog or a cat that gets out of the shelter and into a caring home will always stay healthy, will be much better socialized, and will be loved, thus will make an even better pet. So one of our focuses as we go foward will be to help shelters build their volunteer foster parent programs. This is a terrific way for folks who have some time and love pets to get involved. Call your local shelter. Meanwhile, the new Benji, recently from a shelter herself, will continue to help raise the awareness of what wonderful, smart, loving pets can be found in shelters. The new Benji lives with us when she is not in training with a trainer and I simply cannot fathom why anyone would ever abandon this incredible dog who is so marvelously picking up the reins of The World's Most Huggable Hero. 

Q Why is there so much stuff on your website that doesn't relate to Benji? It's okay, but I think the website would be better if there were less about kids' education and whether or not they should be watching TV, and more about Benji.
A I have grave concerns about the material the media is shoving at kids in the name of "family" or "children's" entertainment. I've done a lot of research on new studies that substantiate these concerns in terms of how the media is changing the way kids develop both physiologically as well psychologically. When I ask folks in Hollywood how they feel about this, they respond, "It's what sells. It's what kids want." I say: Do you give kids what they want in school, or what they need, what they should have? Do you give kids what they want when you discipline at home, or what they need, what they should have? It's all about adults being responsible when they design entertainment for kids. Kids are growing beings. Their brains and bodies are still developing and what we feed them as entertainment affects the way they develop. Especially those who are sitting in front of a television set for twenty-six hours a week (the National average!) I believe I owe it to kids and parents to not drop to the lowest common denominator just to sell movies, books, or whatever. We never have, and we never will. That's why Benji is not about special effects, crude humor, sexy-twelve-year-olds, violence, screeching sound, and warlike monsters. And I believe I owe it to parents to speak up when I see ways that can maximize their kids' chances for success in school and life. We are not on this earth to be selfish. To go for the personal bottom line no matter what the cost. We're here to try make this place a little better than we found it.

Q The most frequently asked question we hear is: "When will there be another Benji movie?"
A Benji Off the Leash was out in the summer of 2004. The DVD was released December 28, 2004. If response to these continue to show that Benji and good value-based, safe family entertainment is what familes want, more will be on the way. I am currently writing the screenplay for Benji and Mustang Lost wherein Benji meets a herd of wild horses. Stay tuned to the website.
Q I've seen references to some sort litigation surrounding Benji. What was that all about?
A

A few years back, after my wife had fully recovered from a massive stroke, we made a decision to pu t Benji into a partnership that would allow us to spend more time enjoying each other, and less time totally wrapped up in the day-to-day business of Benji. In some respects, this was an error in judgment. In one particular respect  it was not. Carolyn and I had nine terrific years before she died suddenly of unrelated causes. The partnership did not work from the beginning. After Carolyn died, I focused on rescuing Benji. After several years of continuous litigation, we re-acquired the video rights to nineteen previously-produced Benji titles. Disney and Fox once verbally agreed to license to us the video rights to two additional films that we produced but didn't distribute (Benji the Hunted and Oh Heavenly Dog). But, sadly, once the issue got into their business affairs departments (attorneys) both were lost forever.

The future rights to Benji (rights to make new movies, to produce or license Benji products, to arrange marketing tie-ins, anything that involves future use of the trademarks), were, unfortunately, still in litigation until November of last year. The good news is: the litigation finally settled and we are now back in possession of all rights (except those mentionedd above) related to Benji. 

Q Greetings from Tennessee! I am a PhD student in my late 20s, and my room is still decorated with Benji's pictures. I saw "Benji" when I was four years old in Seoul, Korea. It was my first theater trip. (So, you can guess how Benji is personal to me.) When we got back home, my mom taught me the song "I feel love". Since then, Benji has been the "prototype" dog with love, courage, intelligence, charm, and athletic ability, and it was you who transplanted those precious emotions into my childhood.  I've tried to find Benji items for my collection, mostly at Ebay. There I could purchase your book, "Underdog" (hardcover-your signature on it), Benji Press kits, posters, Dakin plush dolls, puzzles, games, soundtrack LPs, and Viewmaster reels. I've seen lots of other fellow Benji fans there. However, I found that those videotapes I bought from ebay were poorly recorded in ep mode. So I decided to find another place to purchase better Benji items. I tried some keywords like "Benji" , "Benji, Higgins", "Benji, Joe Camp" using major search engines like yahoo, webcrawler, askjeeves. However, the results were not satisfy ing. Finally, I tried "Mulberry Square Productions" using least known multiple search engine "dogpile." It brought me to Benjimovies.com site!! I am a fortunate Benji-lover.

Anyway, I am glad to hear that you have re-acquired video-rights. I look forward to seeing your next Benji movie. I have two questions: I found a movie, "Mooch goes to Hollywood." Higgins was playing main role. (There was Frank Inn cameo, too.) Was that filmed before "Benji"?

Also, I want to know whether the movie, "Benji the hunted" was also performed by Higgins' daughter.

I thank you for all fond memories in my childhood. Hope you and Mr. Inn are doing well.

Warm regards, Soo-Lyon Yon

A Thanks so much for your email! There are several things you say that we believe are very important... like your comment related to the quality of videos put out by the former video distributor. I'll be anxious to hear your comments on our new videos. We've worked very hard... gone back to original negatives, digitally mastered... AND we reproduce from digital masters (NOT from analog copies); and we've re-mastered the soundtracks on three early titles in Stereo. They all look and sound like brand new movies.

Answers to your questions:

RE: Mooch... yes, I know of the movie and have seen it. It was made before the original Benji and we, in fact, had to go thru a little legal skirmish with the owner of the Mooch video rights because they were using the trademarked name Benji on their package without permission. They changed thei r package, so if you have one that says Benji, you might have a real collectors' item. And, of course, that was a younger Higgins playing Mooch, the same dog that played the original Benji.

RE: Benji the Hunted

Yes, that was Benji # 2 (the daughter of Higgins)... she was doubled during a couple of really hard (distant) running scenes because she was getting old and there was no need to wear her out.

RE: Search engines... finally you should be able to easily find us on Yahoo and MSN search engines (even dogpile.com) by merely typing in "Benji"... or "benji.com"... or Benji Movies".


Q As some of Benji's greatest fans, we love the site and are glad to see him back in the limelight. But all this information - and not ONE word about Frank Inn? How disappointing! You are also missing a great opportunity to send some wonderful and im portant humane messages. Higgins was rescued from a shelter. Benji was the first "hero" mixed breed dog and helped make the adoption of mixed breed dogs much more popular around the world. Important contributions to increasing the humane quotient of humanity. Congrats on having your legal issues behind you!
A Many thanks for your kind words and your questions about Frank. Frank's contributions to the Benji success were very important and are well documented in the book "Benji & Me," and the videos "Benji at Work" and "The Phenomenon of Benji." Frank died a few years ago. He was in his late eighties. There has never been anyone better and we miss him very much.


Q

Hi!  I am a fifth grade teacher and sponsor of a school newspaper.  What, if anything, can be published in our school newspaper without copyright?  The stories? The excerpt? Thanks!

A Thanks so much for your interest. I have no problem with you publishing the excerpt, or any copy on the site... but we must ask that you not "publish" the Benji Wish Book as it is destined to become a book soon. Certainly don't mind you making copies for distribution to your class... as that's what it's for. The photos are fine so long as they are accompanied by a copyright notice. Thanks so much for asking... hope you and your kids enjoy the website labor of love.