Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland

by Rita Golden Gelman

"Question: What small, shaggy dog can do anything - talk on the phone, climb a ladder, feed a dolphin, or SCUBA DIVE? ANSWER: BENJI! - in his most outstanding role yet." - from cover This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590315471
• ISBN13: 9780590315470
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 71 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

How Benji became the world's first scuba diving dog

Benji's amazing exploits in his feature films are well known, but I wonder how many people are aware of the fact that Benji was the first dog to ever scuba dive. It happened in 1981, and this book by Rita Golden Gelman describes all of the action featured in the Benji television special Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland. Joe Camp was well-known for his crazy ideas; no one thought he could make a movie that told the story from a dog's point of view, but thanks to Benji he did just that in 1973. Over the ensuing years, Benji had proven he could do pretty much anything asked of him by his much-loved owner and trainer Frank Inn. The real challenge lay in figuring out how to pull the whole project off in the first place. You can't just run out and pick up scuba gear designed for a dog; scuba gear producers wouldn't even entertain the idea of designing and making gear for a dog, not even Benji. Fortunately, Joe Camp's own scuba diving instructor also worked as an industrial engineer, and he agreed to work on the problem. Eventually, a special bubble and jacket were made for America's most huggable hero, and the stage was set for a truly memorable television special.Gelman does a great job of explaining the process by which Frank Inn got Benji accustomed to wearing his customized scuba gear and swimming underwater in a backyard pool. Then she covers the evolution of the television special from inception to completion. Scuba diving was only one of the amazing things Benji was called upon to do in his visit to Marineland. He had to perform with the dolphins, climb and dive from a fourteen foot ladder, and - incredibly - sit still while a dolphin leapt into the air and snagged a dead fish he was holding in his mouth. Clearly, though, the highlight of the show was the scuba diving, which Benji executed perfectly. He was actually swimming in a tank holding sea turtles, barracuda, and even small sharks, so this was by no means a danger-free stunt for the heroic little guy. This book makes for a great companion piece to the actual video special. The details of Benji's incredible feats at Marineland are fascinating, and the text is complemented by diagrams of Benji's bubble and jacket alongside a number of pictures of Benji's training and actual performance. An inset of color pictures really captures many of the big moments in vivid detail. Benji truly could do anything, and this book proves it.