Benedict Allen in Siberut, Indonesia
I have a disdain for people who feel they’re so far above the rest ‘morally’ yet don’t realize their own hypocrisy. Now the reason I bring this up is because very recently, as in 2 days ago, I joined a discussion online in which the topic centered around explorer Benedict Allen. In 1985, Benedict Allen found himself in a situation that so few people today can even fathom. He was alone with his only companion being his trusty pet dog. Together they were lost in the Amazon jungle, perhaps 100 miles from civilization and he had little knowledge of how to survive in such an environment. Allow me to backtrack a bit. Earlier Benedict Allen and Cashew, his dog, were traveling up river in a canoe when it was overturned by strong river currents. Allen battled the currents and when he judged it was safe to board the canoe, he was once again driven further back by the river. His Canoe was lost and it was assumed that Cashew, who was on the Canoe at the time of the incident, was also lost. Benedict was able to safely make it to land. As days turned to weeks he fell ill with malaria, and eventually his body was unable to digest the little food he was able to acquire. Starvation soon reared it’s ugly face, and he could not sleep with the constant insect bites during the night. About 2 weeks into this Amazon nightmare, Cashew found his way back to Benedict after surviving on his own and traveling many miles. That day, or perhaps a few days later, Allen, who was starving and in need of food thought of… eating… Cashew. He then decided against it. As his stay in the Amazon approached the 30 day mark he began to question his own sanity. At one point he could no longer bare the hunger and he decided to do what at first he balked at. He grabbed his machete and struck his pet dog, killing it, and then he ate it. Once again his body refused to digest the meat and he immediately threw it up.
The actors who portray Benedict Allen and Cashew
As I watched this show, I thought that killing Cashew was an unfortunate decision, but a much needed one. I didn’t want him to do it, but I feel I understood why under his circumstances, he would feel this was the only way. What I saw was a story of survival, and I looked at this incident as a sacrifice for Benedict. I do not think he wanted to kill Cashew, but that desperation took over and his survival instinct kicked in. He did what he had to do. Given that, the last thing I expected when I searched for his story online was to see a bunch of sheltered, hypocritical morons berating this man for killing his dog, yet not seeming the least bit concerned about the man himself.
Here are only some of the comments concerning Benedict Allen:
“A Man is lost in the Amazon with his dog and this disgusting excuse for a human being eats his dog. The dog that he says he loved and was his best friend. The dog that was given up for dead only to walk through the jungle for forty miles to find this man. He then eats him. To the man, you are sick and arrogant human being”
“They are currently showing that episode. I did NOT agree with this being shown on this channel…or ANY channel. This is a SICK person. I honestly cant believe they would air this. I watch animal planet regularly and I probably will NEVER watch it again. Absolutely disgusted and completely upset. The man should have died, or the dog should have eaten him. Unacceptable. I just cannot express how disgusted I am.”
“Poor dog could have gone off on his own, but instead decided to find his master. So what does his master do? Eat him, and not even benefit from it. This guy should have never made it out. El Dorado? Really? Give me a break. RIP Cashew.”
Though he doesn’t outright say it, his words are as clear as day. He is advocating the death of Benedict Allen. A man who survived for a month in the Amazon jungle, by himself, while suffering the combined effects of an untreated and quickly escalating case of malaria, starvation, and huge amounts of psychological stress.
So much for ‘compassion’, this user clearly has none.
“I also started watching this excuse for a human’s story and even felt sorry for him at first. How anyone could kill their dog and eat them is beyond me. If the dog had died of natural causes that would be different but to kill your loyal companion and friend? That is unforgivable. As far as I am concerned this guy deserves the same fate as his dog.”
This person is no better than the one quoted above.
“The world would’ve been better served if this pathetic excuse for a human being had died on the forest floor. This undercuts everything that Animal Planet ought to stand for. I have watched Animal Planet for the LAST TIME. It now officially off the channel lineup for every satellite TV in our house. NAUSEATING, WRETCHED.”
“Wow. I would have definitely let myself die before doing that.”
I’m sure you would have (sarcasm), but saying what you ‘would’ do means absolutely nothing. Not until you face what Benedict Allen survived can you say what you would do, because by then you would’ve already done it. Ya see, something as profound as being alone in a jungle for 30 days, with little to no food, with a bad case of malaria isn’t something you can fathom unless you’ve experienced it first-hand.
I’m not sure I can publish the following comments on here for legal purposes, but this link contains dialogue from Benedict Allen himself in this topic at his website.
This is a response from a user to Benedict Allen:
“What a pompous creature you are mr. benedict.”
The pure concentrated hatred enveloping Benedict Allen is, to me, completely unfounded. Now I could be wrong, though it’s highly unlikely, but I doubt that any of the people spewing this garbage have ever been, or will ever find themselves in Benedict Allen’s 1985 Amazon scenario. They claim to be a compassionate people, yet do not at all care about an innocent man who was likely hours from death. They rationalize it this way, ‘he brought it on himself for being unprepared’, or my personal favorite, ‘dogs are no different than humans’. I can understand this sentiment and in a way I sort of agree with it, but at the same time I don’t consider a dog ‘no different’ than a human, and I’m sure no one who professes to, does. Animal Care Institutions would rather put to ‘sleep’ unwanted dogs instead of keeping them in their facilities. Would we kill orphan children who aren’t adopted? Do you see anything ‘equal’ about this double standard? Why is euthanasia frowned upon while putting a dog to sleep falls in line with the American standard of morality? Despite what people profess to believe, the overall majority of Americans do not view dogs as they would humans. If we were to put that into a literal sense, that belief would fall apart very quickly.
I don’t know the kind of relationship that Benedict had with Cashew. I am, however, sure of one thing. When Cashew found his master after surviving alone for two weeks, Benedict was already suffering immensely and starvation was a potent culprit. Benedict could have struck and killed Cashew then, but he did not. Instead they survived together for another few weeks until the desperation overtook Benedict. If he was a murderous psychopath as so many have said, I’m quite sure he would have taken advantage of the situation immediately, instead of allowing himself to starve for another 2 weeks. The people who berate Benedict Allen claim to be compassionate and caring, yet I see the exact opposite. I see uncompassionate and callous people, who have never themselves been subject to the extremities Allen faced, judging him for committing an act he felt would assure his own survival. How then, can they truly say how they would behave?
Comments source
Click Here to visit Benedict Allen’s Website
People always say they will never eat their own pet, and that if someone kills their dog in order to survive they are sick and “pompous creatures” . THAT IS PATHETIC ! No person ever plans on eating their own pet, but when stravation kicks in, so does insanity, and this man definitely had symptoms of insanity, but he also had the will to fight for survival . Don’t forget that in other countries, like China, people EAT dogs on a regular basis, they don’t see dogs as pets . Also, people can say they would never do “Blah blah blah” if they were in that situation; but people also say they won’t bite their nails, but they still do . People always say that they will stop fighting with their sister; but do they ? No . People say they will or will not do a lot of things, but when faced with the actual sitaution, morals are set aside, and the human brain will kick into surival mode .
Getting mad at Benedict Allen for killing and then consuming his dog is completely childish, if you were fighting for your life, and the only available food source was your kanine friend then you would eat it . Its either that, or the dog eats you after you die . And DO NOT say that your dog would never eat you because barely a year ago there were two pugs in the news who’s edlerly owner had died two weeks before, and no one knew about it, and the pugs who could not find any food source were forced to consume their deceased owner .
Long story short; I believe that until you are in a sitaution of that magnitude, you can not say what you would or would not do .
They say Benedict was insane for killing and trying to eat his dog. They made the point. He was insane, That is why he tried to eat him. So why all of the blame? Insane people aren’t balamed for killing other humans so why blame him for killing his dog to survive?
Why did he take his dog there in the first place?As for this silly attempt in justifying the Chinese eating dogs.The Chinks have little value for life in general.Those that eat dogs by choice are scumbags.
the dog was a stray that he had fed, so it followed him.
I read the forum, I saw the program, and am wondering how much research you have done before coming to his defense.
This is not the first time he has done something like this. Put himself in a situation and animals suffer the ultimate price.
One of the posters on his forum that went there to express their feelings about the program- posted a link to The Long Riders Guild- I am wondering if you have read that as well.
I did my research before forming my opinion on him, which is not a good one.
Just as they have a right to post their opinion, so do you and I disagree.
I just read the link: http://www.thelongridersguild.com/sacrifice.htm
These recent incidents show just how uncaring he can be toward animals and I consider him no better than a Sarah Palin type of person who goes around killing animals for no reason (in other words he’s trash, just like Sarah Palin). These incidents should be condemned and I agree fully that he’s an asshole (and I agree with barring him from the Long Rider’s Guild), but I don’t think that these incidents should be used to judge what happened in the Amazon jungle almost 3 decades ago. Like I’ve said many many times already, it was a life or death situation. I still think that back then he did what he had to do and I think it’s something that most people would’ve done. In fact I think he held out longer than most people would’ve in his situation (I can’t say that for sure but that’s what I think). Not to sound repetitive but need I remind you that he didn’t kill Cashew the day or even the week he returned. He let himself starve for weeks while knowing he could die at any moment before he decided to finally kill and eat Cashew. I think that shows that he did care about Cashew on some level, that he would let himself starve for that long even though he was already deathly sick.
Anyway, you can have your opinion because it’s worthless, just like mine is.
The end results proves that he didn’t care about the dog. Otherwise he wouldve respected the dogs loyalty to him and thereby left him alone. Even if it meant his own death. He wasted the dog in the end anyway. He is a supreme IDIOT. If I had of been there, there wouldve been a hell of a fight.
I just saw it on Discovery Channel, I think it was such an extreme situation that we cannot possibly understand without actually living it, and therefore it would not be right to judge or to say what we* would have done in that situation.
Still, I just find it a bit stupid to do more similar traveling afterwards, looking for the same “adventure”
I just saw the story and the movie of this person who does not deserve even to be nominated and got information about who and ‘and what is’ in my life I saw that e’ was given a pack of Siberian huskies for an expedition … .. but who gave him these dogs for his new “adventure” did not see what he did to his dog? or perhaps they were to be killed and if they survived with him would be pardoned?? . I hope you will review ‘Hell cha killed his dog from behind not having had the courage to look him in the eyes, and this means that in addition to being aware of what’ he was doing and ‘was a premeditated action to decrease the sense of guilt, mentally preparing a different situation … as if it were an animal, wild and his dog, this means that it was not in the throes of madness as many claim in this forum but it has worked well how to kill it without rancor, without resentment and without regrets but only to “save” himself with a deliberate, voluntary and consciously well-studied … just look as she told her story on TV does not prove any emotion when I say … and ‘just a coward … kill his dog after the loyalty ‘that has shown going to her research km. I hope no one to go with him on an expedition … and a man who ‘could kill the dog who gave only affection you believe that we can trust if it is located in the same situation with a more human’ weak or sick or dying?? the dog definitely had even more ‘hunger of the master having been engaged to look rather than’ hunting and this shows that he would never eaten alive by his master and ‘nor indeed would have been dead by them’ to watch over him and let die and this ‘demonstrated by his loyalty’ to look through the jungle. Killing the dog and ‘inexcusable and’ an act was deliberate, conscious and arbitrary and out of every reason to medical awareness that eating it would improve his health what ‘that un’esploratore as it is defined must know and understand and if someone on the forum goes on to say that the dog and’ killed ’cause he was in his folly malaria tell only lies …. malaraia not make the foolish and the instinct for survival is not prevalica the love you feel for the animal or person and ‘lived ….. you can only say that it is a crazy man being left without any knowledge of how to survive in a jungle. Malaria does not make it mad. and it ‘other tropical diseases, if he really needed to eat in the jungle is all the food you can not escape snails, grubs, worms, insects and other small animals on the ground that they are also more’ nutritious dog meat and veal The truth ‘and’ that it was disgusting and he has not eaten. tried and did not even eat roots, leaves, berries or bark, is clearly seen in the movie and the story that did not want to eat anything that did not look like the food of the city ‘ and the only thing I thought to fulfill his desire to eat with something pleasant ‘was the dog’ cause he was attractive port and safe meat and this makes it even more ‘guilty for killing the dog for a desire to something edible and safe and not to survive. therefore the only people who have not criticize those who do not feel right to kill the dog, but who paid him to realize his folly to explore the Amazon jungle without any experience or knowledge of survival techniques. Think … we’re not talking about a person who has’ discovered in the jungle ’cause precipitated with the plane he qualifies explorer and adventurer and and’ voluntarily went into the jungle so she had to know what were the basic needs in an emergency and not kill her dog to feed …… Thanks for watching
Had Benedict Allen had ANY survivalist training prior to his “adventure”, he would not of had to eat Cashew. Instead, Allen, a rich, entitled moron took on an adventure of an enormous scale 100% depending on guides. He had no clue how to survive on his own. No training. Not enough experience. He didn’t even know how to malaria would effect him. He didn’t even think that he wouldn’t be able to digest the dog. He killed a dog that saw him as it’s leader. Morons like Allen should die alone in a jungle. That’s just natural selection.
I just watched this episode. What a piece of filth this guy is! He brings his faithful companion into the Amazon then eats him when he gets in a jam. I wish cashew would have eaten him!
Wow, I didn’t thought of that, the dog could have eaten/bite him too, still he didn’t.
The dog would’ve died anyway later
Wow you a fucking idiot sir. How does a dogs life go over human life?? He would have DIED if he didnt eat that dog. I would LOVE to see the animal in you when you go on living for 30 days without food. And anyone else with the same opinion as you hasnt even got half a brain. All these comment are full of fail. I am a big dog person and was really upset when he did eat his dog but WTF else could he do?? He had no choice, it was either kill or be killed and he had the kind of mentality that he didnt wanna die then.
He did have a little training. he was not rich then (had to work at a factory) All his supplies were taken by Miners earlyer and would you have known about malaria’s effects Good on him for taking all this abuse
Wow. I just saw the episode and had to turn it off when he had to kill the dog. I have two dogs. I lookied at them and said “I could never do that”….In the same breath I thought “I dont’ know what I would have done in his situation..life or death” . I feel sad for Benedict because he has so live with this. Hebb kept mentioning his selfishness about exploring. We pay prices for our wants.
I just saw the story and the movie of this person who does not deserve even to be nominated and got information about who and ‘and what is’ in my life I saw that e’ was given a pack of Siberian huskies for an expedition … .. but who gave him these dogs for his new “adventure” did not see what he did to his dog? or perhaps they were to be killed and if they survived with him would be pardoned?? . I hope you will review ‘Hell cha killed his dog from behind not having had the courage to look him in the eyes, and this means that in addition to being aware of what’ he was doing and ‘was a premeditated action to decrease the sense of guilt, mentally preparing a different situation … as if it were an animal, wild and his dog, this means that it was not in the throes of madness as many claim in this forum but it has worked well how to kill it without rancor, without resentment and without regrets but only to “save” himself with a deliberate, voluntary and consciously well-studied … just look as she told her story on TV does not prove any emotion when I say … and ‘just a coward … kill his dog after the loyalty ‘that has shown going to her research km. I hope no one to go with him on an expedition … and a man who ‘could kill the dog who gave only affection you believe that we can trust if it is located in the same situation with a more human’ weak or sick or dying?? the dog definitely had even more ‘hunger of the master having been engaged to look rather than’ hunting and this shows that he would never eaten alive by his master and ‘nor indeed would have been dead by them’ to watch over him and let die and this ‘demonstrated by his loyalty’ to look through the jungle. Killing the dog and ‘inexcusable and’ an act was deliberate, conscious and arbitrary and out of every reason to medical awareness that eating it would improve his health what ‘that un’esploratore as it is defined must know and understand and if someone on the forum goes on to say that the dog and’ killed ’cause he was in his folly malaria tell only lies …. malaraia not make the foolish and the instinct for survival is not prevalica the love you feel for the animal or person and ‘lived ….. you can only say that it is a crazy man being left without any knowledge of how to survive in a jungle. Malaria does not make it mad. and it ‘other tropical diseases, if he really needed to eat in the jungle is all the food you can not escape snails, grubs, worms, insects and other small animals on the ground that they are also more’ nutritious dog meat and veal The truth ‘and’ that it was disgusting and he has not eaten. tried and did not even eat roots, leaves, berries or bark, is clearly seen in the movie and the story that did not want to eat anything that did not look like the food of the city ‘ and the only thing I thought to fulfill his desire to eat with something pleasant ‘was the dog’ cause he was attractive port and safe meat and this makes it even more ‘guilty for killing the dog for a desire to something edible and safe and not to survive. therefore the only people who have not criticize those who do not feel right to kill the dog, but who paid him to realize his folly to explore the Amazon jungle without any experience or knowledge of survival techniques. Think … we’re not talking about a person who has’ discovered in the jungle ’cause precipitated with the plane he qualifies explorer and adventurer and and’ voluntarily went into the jungle so she had to know what were the basic needs in an emergency and not kill her dog to feed …… Thanks for watching
I just watched the animal planet episode and was truly troubled by Benedicts choice to kill his dog. If the man/boy couldn’t eat berries a few days earlier what on Earth made him believe that he could consume a dog. (Oh yeah, he was crazy with malaria). My impression of this man is that he looks at the world as his own and everything inhabiting the planet as something of a personal amusement or curiosity. As if our world and all that inhabits it are here for him to explore and exploit. Of what possible contribution is he making to our planet, it’s people and all other living things. He calls himself an “adventurer”, I think he is more a perpetual child. Grow up Mr. Allen and tend to your family. The world does not need you, the adventurous bully, pushing your way around and taking ghastly advantage of all the world has to offer; including a loyal, little dog from the Amazon.
The dog was his. 30 days alone in the forest would’ve made anyone insane
I just saw the story and the movie of this person who does not deserve even to be nominated and got information about who and ‘and what is’ in my life I saw that e’ was given a pack of Siberian huskies for an expedition … .. but who gave him these dogs for his new “adventure” did not see what he did to his dog? or perhaps they were to be killed and if they survived with him would be pardoned?? . I hope you will review ‘Hell cha killed his dog from behind not having had the courage to look him in the eyes, and this means that in addition to being aware of what’ he was doing and ‘was a premeditated action to decrease the sense of guilt, mentally preparing a different situation … as if it were an animal, wild and his dog, this means that it was not in the throes of madness as many claim in this forum but it has worked well how to kill it without rancor, without resentment and without regrets but only to “save” himself with a deliberate, voluntary and consciously well-studied … just look as she told her story on TV does not prove any emotion when I say … and ‘just a coward … kill his dog after the loyalty ‘that has shown going to her research km. I hope no one to go with him on an expedition … and a man who ‘could kill the dog who gave only affection you believe that we can trust if it is located in the same situation with a more human’ weak or sick or dying?? the dog definitely had even more ‘hunger of the master having been engaged to look rather than’ hunting and this shows that he would never eaten alive by his master and ‘nor indeed would have been dead by them’ to watch over him and let die and this ‘demonstrated by his loyalty’ to look through the jungle. Killing the dog and ‘inexcusable and’ an act was deliberate, conscious and arbitrary and out of every reason to medical awareness that eating it would improve his health what ‘that un’esploratore as it is defined must know and understand and if someone on the forum goes on to say that the dog and’ killed ’cause he was in his folly malaria tell only lies …. malaraia not make the foolish and the instinct for survival is not prevalica the love you feel for the animal or person and ‘lived ….. you can only say that it is a crazy man being left without any knowledge of how to survive in a jungle. Malaria does not make it mad. and it ‘other tropical diseases, if he really needed to eat in the jungle is all the food you can not escape snails, grubs, worms, insects and other small animals on the ground that they are also more’ nutritious dog meat and veal The truth ‘and’ that it was disgusting and he has not eaten. tried and did not even eat roots, leaves, berries or bark, is clearly seen in the movie and the story that did not want to eat anything that did not look like the food of the city ‘ and the only thing I thought to fulfill his desire to eat with something pleasant ‘was the dog’ cause he was attractive port and safe meat and this makes it even more ‘guilty for killing the dog for a desire to something edible and safe and not to survive. therefore the only people who have not criticize those who do not feel right to kill the dog, but who paid him to realize his folly to explore the Amazon jungle without any experience or knowledge of survival techniques. Think … we’re not talking about a person who has’ discovered in the jungle ’cause precipitated with the plane he qualifies explorer and adventurer and and’ voluntarily went into the jungle so she had to know what were the basic needs in an emergency and not kill her dog to feed …… Thanks for watching
thanks for stopping by guys…
He pretty much sounds like an idiot if what’s published on Longridersguild is all true.
I’m guessing they aired the episode again??? lol
I would have rather died than killed my best freind. He wouldn’t have so proundly announced he killed his loyal companion if it had been a human, and yet he looked at his fellow traveler and decided to kill and eat him. Just be glad you weren’t traveling with him. All I can say is, he was very appropriately named by his parents.
You would’ve ate him
Your post just gave me cancer. Stop posting such idiotic rubbish
Yeah he deserves to be hated. He had been throwing up whatever he put in his mouth. So why did he think the dog would stay on his stomach. He should have took his death like a man. Afterall he did set himself and the dog up for that crap by even going out there. In the end his killing his dog didnt even help him. It was a waste of the life of a friend. Im not a huge dog lover or people lover, but I thought it was ridiculous. He should have just told people the dog drowned or something . He had to know people would have bad reactions to this. I mean he acts like he is proud and or has no remorse. I think thats the worst part. Hes so proud of his survival skills he doesnt care that what he did sucked. Im glad I wasnt with him on that trip maybe he would have ate me. Maybe he never felt any real feelings for Cashew anyway. That is the only way this can be explained. I mean if he ate a random dog that didnt belong to him it would be different. Cashew trusted and loved him and how did he rpay him? Killing him, cutting him up, cooking him, trying to eat him, regurgitating him and leaving his severed body in the jungle.
He is truthful about the dog and everyone shouldn’t be mean At least 1 survived rather than both dieing
Both could have survived instead of one dying.
If he was not trained to survive in the Amazon he should not have been there. I missed the first part of the program, came in when he was slinking off with Cashew and left his 2 guides behind so he would not be murdered. Were the guides murdered? Did he leave them helpless. After Cashew found his master and traveled all those miles, he deserved to live. Benedict apparently does not care for life, or he does not think animals have a right to life. He ate his monkey and thought it tasted good. Did he also eat his horse? He was so sick he could not even eat Cashew, so the poor dog died in vane. Shame on you Benedict Allen. You should not even be getting money for rubbish such as this. You should be in jail for animal cruelty. I hate to think that he is making money for telling this story!
I just saw the story and the movie of this person who does not deserve even to be nominated and got information about who and ‘and what is’ in my life I saw that e’ was given a pack of Siberian huskies for an expedition … .. but who gave him these dogs for his new “adventure” did not see what he did to his dog? or perhaps they were to be killed and if they survived with him would be pardoned?? . I hope you will review ‘Hell cha killed his dog from behind not having had the courage to look him in the eyes, and this means that in addition to being aware of what’ he was doing and ‘was a premeditated action to decrease the sense of guilt, mentally preparing a different situation … as if it were an animal, wild and his dog, this means that it was not in the throes of madness as many claim in this forum but it has worked well how to kill it without rancor, without resentment and without regrets but only to “save” himself with a deliberate, voluntary and consciously well-studied … just look as she told her story on TV does not prove any emotion when I say … and ‘just a coward … kill his dog after the loyalty ‘that has shown going to her research km. I hope no one to go with him on an expedition … and a man who ‘could kill the dog who gave only affection you believe that we can trust if it is located in the same situation with a more human’ weak or sick or dying?? the dog definitely had even more ‘hunger of the master having been engaged to look rather than’ hunting and this shows that he would never eaten alive by his master and ‘nor indeed would have been dead by them’ to watch over him and let die and this ‘demonstrated by his loyalty’ to look through the jungle. Killing the dog and ‘inexcusable and’ an act was deliberate, conscious and arbitrary and out of every reason to medical awareness that eating it would improve his health what ‘that un’esploratore as it is defined must know and understand and if someone on the forum goes on to say that the dog and’ killed ’cause he was in his folly malaria tell only lies …. malaraia not make the foolish and the instinct for survival is not prevalica the love you feel for the animal or person and ‘lived ….. you can only say that it is a crazy man being left without any knowledge of how to survive in a jungle. Malaria does not make it mad. and it ‘other tropical diseases, if he really needed to eat in the jungle is all the food you can not escape snails, grubs, worms, insects and other small animals on the ground that they are also more’ nutritious dog meat and veal The truth ‘and’ that it was disgusting and he has not eaten. tried and did not even eat roots, leaves, berries or bark, is clearly seen in the movie and the story that did not want to eat anything that did not look like the food of the city ‘ and the only thing I thought to fulfill his desire to eat with something pleasant ‘was the dog’ cause he was attractive port and safe meat and this makes it even more ‘guilty for killing the dog for a desire to something edible and safe and not to survive. therefore the only people who have not criticize those who do not feel right to kill the dog, but who paid him to realize his folly to explore the Amazon jungle without any experience or knowledge of survival techniques. Think … we’re not talking about a person who has’ discovered in the jungle ’cause precipitated with the plane he qualifies explorer and adventurer and and’ voluntarily went into the jungle so she had to know what were the basic needs in an emergency and not kill her dog to feed …… Thanks for watching
I saw the show and in the first place, he should have never taken this dangerous journey and should have never put his dog in harm’s way, like he did. Eating the dog would be like eating my child and I could and would never do that no matter how desperate I was.
Yes, he deserves to be hated. He foolishly took that poor dog with him on an obviously dangerous trip. The poor dog managed to survive the tumble into the river and sought out his human companion, only to be killed and eaten. That horrible man deserves every bit of hatred that is directed at him.
I don’t think you (author) or Benedict Allen gets it. I will not say what someone starved, delusional and lost for 30 days in the jungle is capable of, but a rational human being does not take a pet on a dangerous journey like that in the first place. Mr. Allen is a arrogant man who brought a nice pet on a dangerous journey without a thought of how it would affect anyone but himself because he wanted the companionship.
It wasn’t HIS dog, it followed him from one of the villages he had stopped in.
Also, we need to remember that some people view dogs like they do cows or fish: as animals. If it had been a chicken following him around, would people care this much?
What a peice of filth this guy is. I would die before killing my dog. Killing an inoccent creature is no excuse to survive, and i say this trashy dude deserves to be hated. >:(
Then you are stupid, as simple as that. What do you know about what he lived ? It’s easy to say you would die before killing your dog, try to starve for 25 days just to see if you’ll think the same way afterward. We all love dogs, they are awesome animals, but geez, the guy only did it to survive, get over it !
He is a bloody ass hole who killed his dog for his survival… just tell if this asshole was starving and dieing for food, what about his dog, his dog would never thought of killing him and if that son of bitch Allan the asshole is reading this, listen bastard if you are alive today that just because of a dog, whatever are you earning donate 50% for your local shelter for dogs.
I bet you that your dog can starve to death but would never think to eat you anyways when he is more capable of doing these killings…..
If you have died in that jungle thing i would send some money for your kids and your wife, if they are there….but still people like you never deserve to have kids because people like you can eat your kids and anyone else around you..
Beware girls if any girl is in relationship with this guy…he can kill you to save himself…bastard
Write me a mail if you are a man…this website will not give you my id…. but it is harshberry@gmail.com
Harsh
This guy was amazingly selfish. The poor dog found him out of loyalty, trusted him, followed him. When I watched him do what he did to his supposed ‘friend’ I was absolutely disgusted and felt sick beyond belief. That guy was the one that chose to go in there and in the end the dog was wasted because his stomach couldnt handle it. What an AMAZING idiot and disloyal FRIEND. I would never have done that even if I was dying.
First of all, I liked your note, you made some very good points.
I just saw the episode and at the first moment he started to say he was starving I thought “Oh God! Please don’t eat Cashew!” and I felt horrible when he finally did. I consider myself very sensitive about these topics -in fact, it’s almost impossible for me not to cry when activists show videos of animal cruelty- and I damned the man all over the rest of the episode. Anyway, after it ended I had to admit that very few people in the world have been in a situation like this, and it’s not wise of us to just claim we wouldn’t ever do it, because you simply don’t know what it’s like till you live it. The man was agonizing, malaria made him lost his mind and he was starving, all of these obviously influenced on his decision. Nevertheless, I read the link and Allen’s attitude towards his horses and the monkey made me sick. So, in conclusion, I disagree with people who thinks he should die for killing Cashew -though I do think it was very selfish of him to bring Cashew in the first place- for the reasons I’ve explained before, but considering what I read and the way Allen told the story, I definitely don’t like him and don’t consider him an explorer. If you’re gonna explore Earth, respect it in every aspect. Otherwise you’re just another shameless, pathetic monster who calls himself a human being.
(if there are any mistakes, sorry, I’m from Uruguay -my native language is Spanish)
Your English is fine Josefina. It’s certainly better than many native English speakers I’ve known and seen.
and sorry for taking so long to approve your posts guys, I haven’t been on this blog in quite a few days.
PIece of shit . pathetic. should have died painfully >:(
Well…well…well…Mr. Alex Rodolfo Gomez Ignoranto…you seem about as compassionate as that “sorry excuse for a man” Benedict Allen! Backing his actions up like you do in your article above here…makes me even more sick than I already feel from watching that “Lost In The Amazon” episode the other night! Have you ever owned a dog? Oh….I’m sorry, what a dumb question for me to ask…because I know what your answer to that would be…either, “No” or “Yeah, until I was starving because of my own stupidity and then “had” to eat it.” Your article here, REALLY got me amped up….so like a million cases of Bud Light…here we go!!!
Number one…RESEARCH!!! You wrote, “Despite what people profess to believe, the overall majority of Americans do not view dogs as they would humans.” Now where on earth did you get this statictic from…or is this one of your “I assume” statements, trying to make yourself sound like an edumacated writer that did his research? Because you know what happens when you assume, right?! Infact, I would like for you to call a thousand American dog owners, all across the USA, and ask them if they view their dog(s) as human? Being a dog owner for over 6 years myself, I will be your first call….and my answer is “YES” I do consider my dog as human! Your next question should be, “And would you ever kill your dog to eat it, if you were to “put” yourself in the same circumstances that Benedict Allen “put” himself in?” My answer…”NO…NEVER…I’d rather kill myself to save my dog…because it wasn’t my dog’s fault that we were in such a predicament!” I also know A TON of other dog owners, family and friends alike, that “I KNOW FOR A FACT” would have the same responses as me!!! And it’s kinda humorous that almost everyone who has commented on your article here, feels the same way as I do….hmmmm…now that’s a mystery?!
Now to…possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen written on this subject…by you…and I quote, “As I watched this show, I thought that killing Cashew was an unfortunate decision, but a much needed one. I didn’t want him to do it, but I feel I understood why under his circumstances, he would feel this was the only way. What I saw was a story of survival, and I looked at this incident as a sacrifice for Benedict. I do not think he wanted to kill Cashew, but that desperation took over and his survival instinct kicked in. He did what he had to do. Given that, the last thing I expected when I searched for his story online was to see a bunch of sheltered, hypocritical morons berating this man for killing his dog, yet not seeming the least bit concerned about the man himself.”
You want to talk about hypocritical morons…how can “you” say that “you” felt like “you” understood why he would do such a thing under his circumstances but then say that “we” the other people are morons because “we” feel that “we” would never do such a thing given those circumstances? Don’t put words into people’s mouths…why don’t you just admit that you would kill your dog too…because you haven’t been in that situation either!
SACRIFICE FOR BENEDICT…WTF!? Right from the “get-go” of this ridiculously planned Amazon trip…he didn’t care about anything but his own self-stardom!!! First of all, he set out to discover an un-forseen land…that was supposedly called the Lost City of El Dorado…with gold, sea erchants, waterfalls and blah, blah, blah! He also knew of the serious consequences and dangers of traveling to such a desolate and unforgiving place as the Amazon…yet “without question” he put Cashew, the dog he found in a nearby village (or as he claims to have rescued from a nearby village…but how can he claim to “rescue” a dog only to put it in worse circumstances than it was already in) and two other guides life’s in danger to accomplish “his” dream! He went WAY UN-PREPARED, had the survival skills of a blindfolded two year old and was setting out on a selfish journey to a lost city of mythical song lyrics.
In the midst of defending this cruel and selfish man for sacrificing his dog to survive…Mr. Gomez Ignoranto forgot to mention the fact of what Benedict did to his two tour guides that were paddling him up the Amazon, even before he captsized his canoe. Benedict, Cashew and the two tour guides were forced to pull off on a bank of the river because it was getting dark. Here is where they unfortunately came into contact with two Bandito Gorilla types that were planning on killing them all. As Benedict overheard them talking about slitting his throat…he quickly grabbed his belongings and took off running back to the canoe with Cashew following. They both jumped into the canoe and took off upstream…why not back down stream from where they came and even “more-so”…why not with the two guides that already risked their lives for him…I DON’T KNOW…but my guess is, is that he still wanted to accomplish whatever he came to discover, no matter what the consequences were! So…now we have a little bit of a contradiction here with what type of credulous man you are making Benedict out to be? Before he even killed his dog, he carried no morality for human life as well! He left those two guides for dead…and there are no other two ways about it!!!
After he left the two guides for dead, karma kicked in and his canoe smashed into some rocks upstream and capsized…forcing him to lose all of his belongings (along with, for the time being, Cashew) besides a machete. Now, totally alone, he decides that walking into a million miles of desolate rainforest is the safest way to go…instead of trying to follow the river or wait for other travelers that may come through…I bet you he wouldn’t have waited 28 days for that to happen? Over two weeks later, out of no where and DEEP into the rainforest, Cashew miraculously finds Benedict to give him hope! Like kids to their parents or companions to their masters…being by the side of your loved one is where you feel most comofort…so Cashew found Benedict because that’s where he felt safe. Instead of finding a way out of the rainforest by himself, like Benedict was doing, the only thing that Cashew was doing was trying to find his master. So, instead of taking Cashew’s appearance as one of hope and comfort and a “live to gether-die together” type attitude…Benedict’s mind immediately goes to eating the child that found him for his love. I can’t even imagine having been in Cashew’s paws…enduring what he went through in order to find his master…to only have his efforts and attachment murdered by the same hand he found and trusted! May I also add, that a week prior to murdering his dog for “food”…Benedict found some edible berries that he mashed up into a pulpish like liquid form and tried to eat/drink them…but ended up throwing them up too. So what in the world would make him think, even one week more of not being able to hold “anything” he ate down, that “dog meat” would be any different? As if the mere image of him butchering his own dog doesn’t make you disgusted enough…he also said that he couldn’t look Cashew in the eye before he did it…so like the COWARD he is…he murdered Cashew from behind.
I need to start closing this…because it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it any more! First of all, The Animal Planet should have never aired this episode of “I Shouldn’t Be Alive”. Unlike all the other episodes I’ve ever seen on this show…this was not a survival story worth sharing! No matter how dumb every other person or peoples were, to get themselves into such chaos…I have always rooted for the people to make it out alive…but not this jack-ass, Benedict Allen! This was not a survival story about Benedicts “will to live”…this was a repulsive and slefish act of cruelty to humans and dogs alike in order to save his own hide from dying a slow and horrendous death…one that he very well deserved to die…due to his ignorance and cowardness along the way. To say that Benedict “did what he had to do” is absolutely preposterous! He did what he did because he was a selfish and ignorant piece of sh_t! God left him with the machete to take his own life…not his dog’s! I am also fathomed by the fact of how he managed to get other guides to take him on his future expeditions? So, even after this huge ordeal went down in The Amazon…he evidently still risks other naive people’s lives for his own benefit….hmmmm? Ahhh, this makes me sick…because if it comes down to it, in another one of his expeditions, you can bet your sweet bippy that he will throw anything under the bus before he sucks up his own pride! You disgust me…Bene-DICK Allen, Alex Rudolfo Gomez Ignoranto and all of you other’s that think murdering your own dog is right…given ANY circumstance! You’ll get your’s Allen…those church house steps are going to be burning your wings to dust!!! You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself!!!
Now I’m going to tell you how I really feel!!!!
I see I’ve riled you up quite a bit Stephen. Anyway, yes. I do own a dog and no, I’m not stupid enough to get myself into any such situation. But if for some reason I did somehow get trapped in a forest with my dog like Benedict did, I can’t say for sure what I’d do. You can’t either. I’m not saying you would kill your dog because I really don’t know what you would do in your situation, but I also know that you don’t know what you would do. No one does. After all, it isn’t very often that myself, and I’m assuming you as well, have ever been stuck for 30 days in a brutal forest.
Perhaps you do view your dog as a human, but I think only to a certain extent. Then again, I don’t know you. Maybe you are one of those rare nuts who would gladly jump in front of a car to save a dog. But society mostly values the life of a human more than that of any pet. Why is there such outrage against euthanasia for humans, but not against putting dogs down? If you can’t find a home for a pet, even if it isn’t sick it will put down. But I can’t imagine foster homes murdering human children who aren’t adopted.
It doesn’t really matter what the majority of people think.
I said I felt I understood why. Not that I know I definitely would have killed my dog. Benedict was under such dire conditions, (Need I point them all out again?) that’s why I said I felt I understood why HE felt he had to kill Cashew. Most people who argued against Benedict though, said they know they definitely would not have killed their dog because their dog is no different than a human, and because they’re so holy, they could never do such a thing. They said it as if it were some fact. It isn’t. Factually, they can’t know.
I didn’t watch the show from the beginning. I started when Cashew and Benedict were being swept away by the river. From how you described it though, what was he supposed to do against two armed lunatics? What do you think you would’ve done? Where were the tour guides when Benedict left? Was there any possibility that the “tour guides” may have set him up? Is there any possibility that these tour guides may have abandoned Benedict and joined the “Gorilla Types”? Do you even know? According to you, they said they were going to cut “His” throat, meaning Benedict correct? So they didn’t say they were going to cut “their” throats? For all Benedict knew, perhaps it was a set up all along with the only unknowing party being Benedict. I’m not saying that’s what happened, but all things considered, it was a possibility. He knew he was going to be killed, he panicked and ran away. That seems to be what happened.
I believe it was a week or more after Cashew found Benedict that Ben decided to kill and eat him. You make it sound as though as soon as Cashew reappeared, Benedict killed him. That isn’t what happened. By the time he reappeared, 2 weeks into this ordeal, I’m sure Benedict was already starving and perhaps near death. He thought of eating Cashew then, but didn’t. At least not on that day. I’m aware that he was unable to digest food, and by the time he killed Cashew he’d been in a battle with malaria, trying to ward off insanity and who knows what other sicknesses. He most likely wasn’t as rational as he would’ve been due to the effects of everything he’d been through. All he knew was that he was hungry and needed to eat something, anything.
It’s very easy to say what you would do in any given situation… but I’d assume Benedict’s situation is a world apart from any you’ve been in, and certainly any that I’ve ever been in.
Yes, you have riled me up…along with any other person who thinks that what Benedict Allen did to Cashew was the “right” thing to do and/or the “only” thing he could’ve done. You are beginning to sound like a lawyer trying to plead “reason of insanity” for Benedict. The reason for his insanity was his own damn fault! That dog tracked him down for miles to be with him and he decided to butcher that dog! How f’d up is that to do…to anything that finds you in such circumstances? I don’t care if I was puking my eye balls out from starvation, Malaria, infections, etc…I still have my dignity and to make myself clear again…I WOULD NEVER MURDER “ANY” DOG NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE…PERIOD!!!
I also saw that you reposted a blog almost right after posting your article saying that “These recent incidents show just how uncaring he can be toward animals and I consider him no better than a Sarah Palin type of person who goes around killing animals for no reason (in other words he’s trash, just like Sarah Palin).” I too, did my own research on Benedict Allen and watched his you tube videos as well…and the guys’ a pompous piece of sh-t! He’s worse than Palin! He sets off on expeditions that are ridiculously dangerous and somehow convinces locals to take him into places where they risk their lives…for what…a piece of bread and a pat on the back…while he goes on TV shows and takes all the credit? 100% of stuff he does is only for his benefit and stardom…nothing else. Also, unlike all the other Adventurers on TV…his work isn’t educational what-so-ever! He goes to places that he wants to see…and videos them…goes on TV and get’s acalades for his bravery and heroism. He’s a total dip sh_t and a dog killer! Oh yeah…and by the way…did you happen to watch that you tube video when he films a 8-9 year old girl, top half naked, swinging from a tree, as an introduction to one of his videos and then talks about how her father wants him to marry her when she gets older…he also says that he learned many things from that little girl while they were alone in the woods for weeks…makes me sick…anyone who is out there reading this…youtube Benedict Allen…he has a segment where he is naked, half waisted, in a bath tub, swallowing the last sip of some red wine the night before he set out on an expedition…for christ sakes! He’s not an adventurer…he is, is a classles, dirty Brit! Could you imagine Steve Erwin filming himself in the bath tub naked or filming a little girl half naked or killing his trusty dog he always takes with him? Come on!!!!
It makes me sick to think about all the dogs that are put to sleep on a daily basis…it really does! But there is out-rage on this subject too. Animal Rights Activists are going nuts trying to find ways to save these animals or lesson the number of off-spring they produce, so that not so many dogs have to be put down. Also, for you to say that “society” mostly values the life of a human more than that of any pet…is quite a vague statement. And also…we live in a Democracy…so yes, it actually does matter what the majority of people think.
The two tour guides were sleeping close by to where he was. Not once did Benedict ever mention about being sketched-out by his two tour guides. In the episode, when the two gorillas found them ashore…the two guides looked to be very surprised and in quite a good amount of fear. When Benedict woke up and over heard the two gorillas talking about killing him…he grabbed his stuff and took off…but not once did he ever mention about trying to wake up the two guides…in fact, he showed no remorse what-so-ever for leaving them behind…or never gave any reason for us to believe that the two guides he left for dead were bad guys. So, by the way the show portrayed him leaving that night and by what he talked about after he had left the two guides…one can only believe that he didn’t care about leaving them. Not even after the whole ordeal/show was comng to a close…did he ever show any sign of sympathy for those two guides…even if it was a “I hope they made it out ok.” Which to me…shows exactly how selfish his thought process is! There are two kinds of people…one’s that would risk their own life to do the right thing and one’s that would risk other lives to stay alive…which in this case…Benedict is the latter half.
Correction…when Cashew finally found Benedict after two weeks…he actually did “immediately” think about eating him but then backed off on that idea. He, very soon after that, found some berries to eat but couldn’t hold them down. Nothing he tried to eat was being held down…so why murder your dog for food? It was a pointless and selfish act!!! That dog found him to walk him out of that Jungle…to be his guide and to be next to his master…he did not find him to be killed by the hand that feeds him. When Benedict took that dog under his wing…he made a vow to be that dogs best friend and he re-nigged on that vow. Also, speaking of the “un-known”…maybe the only reason why Benedict took that stray dog in the first place was a back-up plan for food if his his crazy suicide mission went haywire…and then he just embelished the fact that he held off on eating Cashew when really he ate him the day he appeared after two weeks of being lost? I mean, come on…he did name the dog after a type of food. He even ate one of his monkey friends that had followed him around for a long time and sat on his shoulder…and then knowingly ate the monkey and said it tasted delicious. Benedict Allen has absolutely no class and he honestly makes me sick to my stomach! The guy should have died in that jungle/rainforest…alone! This first expedition he took into the Amazon should have been his first and last day of anything! He will always be a selfish coward in my book!
And another thing…When Benedict talks about his expeditions, he says that he likes to go on them “alone”. Hmmmm? I don’t know about you…but I wouldn’t call…taking a dog and two tour guides up the Amazon River with you on a 3 month expedition…doing it “alone”? This is just another way to show how selfish this guy really is! He travels to remote areas “alone” and then finds villagers, who are by his standards “perishable”, to help him get his adrenalin fix and TV time. Every mission this guy sets out on, sounds like there’s about a 95% chance “or more” of dying. It doesn’t make any sense to me?! He’s a loose cannon and doesn’t really care who he takes down with him on his way! His day will come…hopefully over a camp fire, in some remote part of an African jungle!
I just saw the story and the movie of this person who does not deserve even to be nominated and got information about who and ‘and what is’ in my life I saw that e’ was given a pack of Siberian huskies for an expedition … .. but who gave him these dogs for his new “adventure” did not see what he did to his dog? or perhaps they were to be killed and if they survived with him would be pardoned?? . I hope you will review ‘Hell cha killed his dog from behind not having had the courage to look him in the eyes, and this means that in addition to being aware of what’ he was doing and ‘was a premeditated action to decrease the sense of guilt, mentally preparing a different situation … as if it were an animal, wild and his dog, this means that it was not in the throes of madness as many claim in this forum but it has worked well how to kill it without rancor, without resentment and without regrets but only to “save” himself with a deliberate, voluntary and consciously well-studied … just look as she told her story on TV does not prove any emotion when I say … and ‘just a coward … kill his dog after the loyalty ‘that has shown going to her research km. I hope no one to go with him on an expedition … and a man who ‘could kill the dog who gave only affection you believe that we can trust if it is located in the same situation with a more human’ weak or sick or dying?? the dog definitely had even more ‘hunger of the master having been engaged to look rather than’ hunting and this shows that he would never eaten alive by his master and ‘nor indeed would have been dead by them’ to watch over him and let die and this ‘demonstrated by his loyalty’ to look through the jungle. Killing the dog and ‘inexcusable and’ an act was deliberate, conscious and arbitrary and out of every reason to medical awareness that eating it would improve his health what ‘that un’esploratore as it is defined must know and understand and if someone on the forum goes on to say that the dog and’ killed ’cause he was in his folly malaria tell only lies …. malaraia not make the foolish and the instinct for survival is not prevalica the love you feel for the animal or person and ‘lived ….. you can only say that it is a crazy man being left without any knowledge of how to survive in a jungle. Malaria does not make it mad. and it ‘other tropical diseases, if he really needed to eat in the jungle is all the food you can not escape snails, grubs, worms, insects and other small animals on the ground that they are also more’ nutritious dog meat and veal The truth ‘and’ that it was disgusting and he has not eaten. tried and did not even eat roots, leaves, berries or bark, is clearly seen in the movie and the story that did not want to eat anything that did not look like the food of the city ‘ and the only thing I thought to fulfill his desire to eat with something pleasant ‘was the dog’ cause he was attractive port and safe meat and this makes it even more ‘guilty for killing the dog for a desire to something edible and safe and not to survive. therefore the only people who have not criticize those who do not feel right to kill the dog, but who paid him to realize his folly to explore the Amazon jungle without any experience or knowledge of survival techniques. Think … we’re not talking about a person who has’ discovered in the jungle ’cause precipitated with the plane he qualifies explorer and adventurer and and’ voluntarily went into the jungle so she had to know what were the basic needs in an emergency and not kill her dog to feed …… Thanks for watching
Would still like to know what happened go his 2 guides
“I WOULD NEVER MURDER “ANY” DOG NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE…PERIOD!!!”.
Stephen have you ever imagined yourself INSANE??? Have you imagined yourself being absolutely out of your mind?? I can assume that in this kind of situation you wouldn’t have the clear mind to control your actions. It’s possible that you would kill your dog, a relative or even your son. PERIOD. When your mind plays games you just lose yourself.
Please this is sick ! What’s next killing your own child because you are starving ??
Poor cashew came back to take care of the master and die together instead that disgusting piece of useless crap killed and ate that angel !
Well karma’s a “bitch” so watch out asshole!!
He is a complete idiot, I would not have even thought about killing the dog, dogs can be useful for hunting prey or retrieving a prey. He sounds like a small child “looking for El Dorado”, which does not exist. I saw the program at discovery channel, I can not understan why he says he wants to be an explorer and adventurer and he goes to the jungle without knowing survival techniques; I think he is not worth as adventurer because he did not try to hunt, fish or look for edible plants. A complete failure this guy benedict.
LMAO your normal every day typical house dog won’t be able to track or hunt prey unless he was trained to do so. I doubt he was or else chances are he wouldn’t have had to kill him. The dog was starting to fall behind and was no use at all.
Your an idiot, those type of dogs were bred to hunt mice and rats.
“it wasn’t a pet”, he said. That meant “That dog didn’t mean anything to me”. Who can defend this rubbish???, only somebody woul could do the same atrocious thing to his loyal friend who searched the forest for his master during days. Not to agree is not to be hypocrit. We are not savage animals.
I agree completely with you.
Poor dog!!! Hate u Benedict!!!!!!!! RIP Cashew
Milgrim experiment…. look it up and realize saying something and doing it are two totally different concepts. Most people are very good at judging others and thinking they would be better in that situation. Read about the milgrim experiment than ask yourself the question…. would I do the same thing in that person’s position. Also realize that your making these statements malaria free, full stomach and warm seat where your ass been sitting all day. I can’t believe that people would think in his position that he was thinking straight or properly. Not to mention that if any of you who are parents that love their kids would probably choose the chance to see their family again than die in a rain forest with your dog. But hey just keep judging people from the safety of your home….. They must be PETA fans…. they are the only ones that would value a dogs life over seeing their loved ones again.
The blogger obviously didn’t do any research on Benedict Allen. This guy has a history of putting himself in such predicaments. The story he shares is quite far fetched and sensationalized. Glad others see killing his dog the same way I do. The blogger might want to do his research first before defending such a useless piece of crap. Discovery shouldn’t air this episode considering a lot of his claims can’t be verified. For all we know Cashew was killed the moment he caught up to him. As for the comment as to whether we could eat our pets, I wouldn’t be such a moron to put myself in such a predicament to start with, therefore wouldn’t have to make such a decision. Without the dog he quite possibly could’ve died. Too bad he didn’t considering he’s put people’s lives in danger time and time again while claiming he’s some sort of adventurist martyr.
I just watched the program and of course like most of you felt for the pet friend. Having experienced a few close death situations I can understand how his mind may have been working. Many folks will never know the feeling as we live a life where we head to the supermarket to fulfill our hunger etc. We are cultured however we are still very much animal especially when confronted with death. Only Benidict will know if he sacrificed his pet prematurly he has to live with this. We do not know for sure and should not judge. It is inconcevable to eat a pet let alone a person however most of you once confronted with starvation would have no problem eating human flesh when faced with no other choice. The will to survive is instinctual and those that want to live will. Many folks head out into the wilderness with little experience relying on those around to provide them with what is required to survive. I do not feel for Benidict however I know the feeling of wanting to live and can understand his situation.
I thought there was maybe something wrong with me because I could not get this off my mind since watching the show so I got on line and am relieved other people found this so disturbing. I have two dogs and love animals but have never been in a position that Allen was in so I didn’t feel I could pass judgement. Until I read a recent interview in which the interview asked Mr.Allen about killing and eating his dog, his response ” That didn’t work out too well” and he shrugged. What an A hole!
Alright…I understand what he had to go through and that he had nowhere else to turn. I know he needed food, but did he really have to eat his own dog?! This dog walked 40 miles to find him, and he goes and stabs poor Cashew and eats the…*blech* meat. If i was in this situation i would have just died with my dog. period. SICK AND DISGUSTING EPISODE. i will not be watching again! I agree with the person above me, i thought there something wrong with me! I can’t get it off my mind! Just the thought of this makes my tummy lurch. The though of killing and eating my dog makes me want to throw up! Literally. If I was him, I would just starve with my precious dog, and we would die together. <3
He was in Amazon Rainforest!!!! He could have find snakes. He could find non-poisoneous snakes even but he never dared to. H ecould have find frogs, larva, etc. bu the never tried.
Which type of this guy is? Can you think about it? Dog was shown healthier than Benedict. Why? Wasn’t that hungry too? He got food from somehwere. 2 weeks and he manged to live healthy and this moron ate him. He came to find his master and this sickhead ate him up. Disgusting!
personally if i had a human friend with me, i’d kill them with a machete and devour the remains. mmm.
BENEDICT ALLEN IS A FILTHY SCUMBAG!!!! HE DID NOT NEED TO KILL HIS DOG! HE AE CASHOO AND IT ENDED UP BEING USELESS!! HE JUST THREW UP EVERYTHING HE ATE!! THERE IS NOTHING REMOTELY HUMANE ABOUT THIS AWFUL MAN! CASHOO WAS NOTHING BUT LOVING AND LOYAL TOWARDS HIM! AND WHAT’D STUPID BENEDICT DO? HE WENT AND KILLED CASHOO!!!!! THIS AWFUL MAN DESERVES TO DIE! HE WILL GO TO HELL!!!
Dogs don’t have feelings, yes he was loyal, but he did it to survive. Get over it.
By the way kid, writing in capital letters don’t make your stupid argument (what argument ? ….)
more valuable…
You cannot prove dogs have no feelings. However, there is ample evidence to suggest they do.
I got elected to go to the international school awards at Newcastle, england, in late 2011 (this year) and he told the actual story…and he said things like this, thinking it was funny.
”I had to kill my dog and i ate him just so i could survive.”
He said this!:
”I visit schools all around and tell them the story of the Amazon, and my dog. When i was at one school one boy at the back started to burst into tears when i was talking about my dog and he rushed out the room…well, let’s just say i didnt get a thankyou letter from that school”
Everyone but my 2 teachers and my friend laughed and i was thinking ”What kind of monster are you?”
To be honest, i wasn’t amused AT all! Come on, i had my dog for 13 years, and i never ever dreamed about killing him! i loved him like a brother, and i agree benedict did something inhuman, and to be honest, i think he should have been banned from getting pets any more (i know it sounds ridiculous, but yeah,he should have???”
If i was him i would die like a man in proudness
but no, he took the life of an innocent dog, who probably fought death to find his master. (sounds wierd, but i think its true…)
~Anonymous
Straight up, It was a dog. Not a person. He’s not a monster for eating a dog. Sure, let’s say for the sake of argument he IS an idiot, and should never have been in that situation anyway, that doesn’t change the fact that Cashew was an animal. People eat pigs all over the world, and they’re widely considered more intelligent as a species. Why don’t you throw some hate the Pig-eaters way?
Ur. Faggot and a selfish asshole
I would like to see him dead!!! That was a filthy stinking thing he did to that poor dog that was only being his loyal friend by finding him when he thought he was all alone. What an asshole! Don’t bother to send me a reply.
True that man
I’ve not read everyones postings here but I saw this episode and so I’d like to ask the question for all of you that think he was in the right? Would you kill and eat your best friend if you were dieing? Most people here in American see there pets as part of the family or as their true life child. He put his dog and himself in harms way not having a clue of what he was doing there, that being said no matter if he was right or wrong why would animal planet air such an offal program instead of showing something positive they show negitive crap and I have boycotted ever watching animal planet again.
True that
lol stupid westerners.
Caring more about damn dogs than about people.
Yes Benedict did the right thing and I would have done the same if I was in his position.
99% of you morons would have never made it out alive if you were in that situation cuz you think survival is like some relaxed bingo or card game.
He had the will to live unlike your pathetic selves.
He was still stupid though for putting himself in that situation but its not like y’all are too bright either (shown by you caring more about a dog than another person in a terrible situation).
I hope y’all get in the same situation and die a horrible, painful death while refusing to eat meat.
Peta hippies all over the internet ? I’m sorry but he did the right thing, I do own a dog, and I had 2 dogs before that one and I love it. But what do you guys know ? Have you ever been in a situation like his ? of course not, you’re on the internet arguing about something that you don’t even know !
No one can react the same way, but I’m pretty sure starving for 25 days is not good for your health or sanity. He did it to survive, and how the hell could he know that he would puke it all out ? He couldn’t ! Seriously cut him some slack kids. A lot of people around the world eat dogs, hate them not the one guy that needed to do it to survive…
Screw u u don’t have a dog u ignorant fuck
Want to know why we care more about dogs than people? Because dogs trek 40 miles to find their owners, while people kill their loyal friends the moment things go awry.
Fuck you , you don’t have a dog probably, atleast I would die with dignity knowing that my dog could still have a chance to survive
The guy is a prick and is proud of it, he first scapes leaving behind his two guides with dangerous people… in their canoe!. then, knowing he was puking everything he ate decides to kill the dog, that wouldn’t have been much of a problem, except that the dog followed him through the forest after being separated. What a selfish prick this guy is.
I am a owner of two Siberian Huskies of whom I love dearly however I am their owner and master. I have always put my dogs and my fellow humans first. I do not know what I would have done in Benedicts position I know that I would need to survive and if my mind was taken over by shear hunger I may have done the same, how ever I certainly would not be putting myself into situations that I was not fully trained to do.
Maybe slightly off topic, but I’d like to say something about Mr Allen’s trip in Mongolia.
The article at http://www.thelongridersguild.com/sacrifice.htm is factually incorrect. Anyone who reads his book (not that his haters would care to spend money on them…) will find that he cared more about the horses and camels than most of the Mongolians would.
“”
He didn’t leave the horses unguarded. The horses & camels were left in the care of an old man and his son – and well away from the fly-infested river. Unfortunately the flies were blown up from the river; no-one, not even the Mongolians, could have anticipated that. The old man and his son had already started to get the animals out of the danger zone, when Mr Allen arrived and helped them. He organized a truck to get 3 horses out, but the rescue was again delayed by his indigenous companions who threw a little party and couldn’t comprehend why he wanted to help the horses – which in their opinion were only tools. As Mr Allen says: “their compassion was for me, not for the animals”.
Furthermore “there was nothing I could do today.” was a statement regarding one of the camels which was still in the hills (but out of the fly-infested zone), & couldn’t walk back to town. Mr Allen tried to get a truck and a crane, which proved to be impossible because of the national holiday.
“”
That’s because there was nothing else he could do: no rescuing equipment available for words or money because of the holiday and the vet was drunk at that point.
“”
Mr Allen actually returned to the camel in the hills while the party was still going on. Unfortunately it was dead by the time he arrived. As were some of the horses at the town edge.
“”
Two of the horses were dead since morning and none of his companions thought of telling him. And yes, it was a waste. He had lost some of his animal companions, which he cared for and he felt “as if my organs were being yanked from me, one by one.”
I’m sure those of you who already hate his guts will find numerous reasons to slate him: why he shouldn’t have been there in the first place and why he is an idiot and why HE should have died instead of the animals. All I can say is: Get a life!
I have to agree with the malcontents on here… Benedict continues to put himself in dangerous situations requiring drastic measures, at the expense of others. He is not an explorer in my book, but a desperate man placing himself in “nonsense” circumstances in an attempt to earn the noble title of explorer. There is no nobility in executing an innocent companion animal because you willingly engaged in neglectful misadventure. None.
EU ODEIO ESSE EXPLORADOR CHAMADO BENEDECT ALLEN…..MONSTRO DESUMANO QUE MATOU O SEU MELHOR AMIGO…E NO FINAL O VOMITOU FORA…ODEIO ELE…….NAO TEM FOME ENEM DOENçA QUE JUSTIFIQUE O QUE ELE FEZ….NAO TEM DESCULPA……MORRERIA…MAS JAMAIS MATARIA O MEU CAO FIEL!
What was the point in killing and eating the dog, when he was just going to throw him up. Smh eating the dog did nothing for him. And that episode of I shouldn’t be alive has scarred me for life, I can’t stand to have my dog out of my sight for a second without me thinking she’s going to be killed or hurt! </3
i just watched the episode. can’t believe he ate his dog. the dog followed him 40 miles out of loyalty and love and the idiot eats him. also why would you take your dog to the jungle. he was careless and his dog paid the price while he got to live. ugh. i hope on his next adventure he falls off a cliff.
Benedict had malaria,was dehydrated,hungry and his organs and brain was shutting down….
put yourself in that situation and see what you would do…
ever seen the movie ALIVE?..people ate people..
now we dont go around wanting to eat people but when its a survival situation who knows what we are capable of.
he ate his dog…big deal, get over it..how do you think benedict feels knowing he did what he had to do.
In “Alive”, people ate people that had already died. No one killed a living person to eat them. Besides, they had NOTHING else up on that mountain. Benedict was an idiot. He was in a jungle, full of life, not the same as ALIVE at all (they were stranded for 72 days, btw). Either that dog wasn’t starving because he was smart enough to find food, or he was starving but was loyal enough to his master and choose not to kill Benedict and eat him himself. Either way, you can see how people sympathize with the dog in this story which makes Benedict seem like the lessor moral creature. I hope he is torn apart by rabid dogs some day.
U don’t understand u don’t have a dog u Dumb motherfucking asshole
You forgot to mention that he had 2 guides that he left behind after hearing 2 other men near their camp supposedly “plotting” to kill him. Instead of waking/finding his guides and letting them know of the situation, he made the decision to trek out into that jungle on his own. HE PUT HIMSELF IN THAT SITUATION by making a snap decision. I have no pity for people that arrogantly put themselves in situations such as this. Knowing his body was rejecting any food he ate, he decided to kill his poor dog for food. He is a selfish man, arrogant, and doesn’t deserve sympathy for his actions.
you are absolutely right , I also googled for that site “Long Riders’ Guild animal sacrifice” and it comes Benedict Allen has done more nasty things to “his” animals with absolutely no regret…. that nasty sociopath!
Very true. He left the two guides with murders and no boat in which to escape.
i just watched ‘ I should not be alive’ on discovery and this man killed his dog to save his own life?. rightnow, i just hate this man more than anyone else in this world. how could a human being kill his own pet?when we raise a pet, we treat them like our own family member or our own kid. this is absolutely disgusting!!! I wish he died there in that jungle… you heartless jerk..
i don’t beleive the fact that he wanted to be an adventurer like his father since from the little and he did not learn some survival skills? there should be a choice to not kill that faithful dog and eat something else in that jungle.
Totally agree and if I ever see this man in real life I will kick him in the nads as hard as I can
I hope he dies a horrible and painful death for killing his dog
so…. I take you you and Benedict Allen are buddies?
I would rather die than eat my dog! Sick nutcase!
I just watched this episode. I couldn’t believe it when he ran off and left his 2 guides behind and then never even mentioned them again! I just read an interview with him where he talks about his regret for killing the dog but again, there is no mention of the 2 guides. Shocking.
He is sick in more ways than one. What a vile individual. Makes me ashamed to be a human being. How sad that dogs can show more loyalty than people. Even worse to be selling his story and making money out of it. Maybe a wild animal will get him one day.
Let’s not forget he stranded two guides with murderers
Well I didnt watch it on TV but read the book and found the narration captivating. But from the beginning of the book there are several situations we stand to question his integrity, the way he exploited the emotions of those two innocent girls, standing on moral highground and projecting himself as an attractive specimen of a male ,even at that point I wondered what kind of person he was . Later the way he narrated about the indians. as if these people should be kept in zoos ,so some of the explorers from the world of Elizbeth can visit and have fun at their plight , I thought about all this and the last blow was the blow given to Cashews head. I think this man is just for cheap thrill and dont have any respect for the real human values.
B. Allen is a narcissist. I’ve known individuals like him before and can smell the stink from a mile away. All he seems to care about is fulfilling his own delusions of grandeur about himself, and anyone caught in his path is just a “supporting character” in his own self-imposed melodrama. It is unfortunate that a sweet, loyal dog had to pay the ultimate price for his selfish arrogance. As someone mentioned in a similar discussion, Cashew was starving too, but he would have starved before thinking of eating his best friend. The dog was much nobler than the coward.
*starved to death
i was sick to my stomach. episode aired on south african tv last night. as an animal lover i would never ever do that to a pet. let alone if it was me and my pet searched for 2 weeks to find me. i would rather die myself than looking that dog in the eye and killing him for nothing. i hope this will haunt him for the rest of his miserable life. he doesnt deserve to be alive. that guy should rott in hell
You are right, he doesn’t deserve to be alive. The title of the show, “I Shouldn’t be Alive,” suits him well.
I MAY have understood him having to kill his dog to save his own life, HOWEVER he wasn’t keeping any food down, so he just puked the dog up anyway!! He KNEW he was sick, he KNEW that he would throw anything he at up, but he STILL killed his loyal companion who had tracked him 40 miles for 2 weeks to find him. In the end, he proved to be more of an animal than the dog. She was loyal to her death and he killed her for NO REASON. If you see anything noble about him, you are just as sick and animalistic as he.
P.S. I watched this on ANIMAL Planet. Why in the hell would this station think that his story would go over well with their animal loving audience.
why you did not cook yourself for that dog just because you were a “higher” existence and you were in power and that dog just trusted you and gave all itself to you. Eating a friend who came back for you was really disgusting and even you survived and did so many things. I still do not consider you are a human being. that dog actually was higher than you in heart. The dog has been trusted you even after it died for your food.
Reading all this just makes me feel sick. I stopped watching the programme when I found out what the outcome was going to be.
This forum is however heartening that so many people are passionate about animals which is not always evident even in the West with so much cruelty going on. There again it’s mostly people that found this so abhorrent that have posted.
I think he was very selfish for thinking he could go into the Amazon with just two guides and his dog to live out his selfish boyhood dream. He’s such an idiot. He should have been left out there to rot. He didn’t consider to have any type of communication from the outside world for 3 months?! What a dick head, then the poor dog has to suffer for his selfish act.
I’m glad I’m not his best friend and went there with him and got lost, he probably would of stuck a hatchet into the back of my head and cooked me up and ate me too! This guy is a selfish prick! Leaves his guides to die…. without even letting them know what was said, then kills his dog and eats it….. If he had any brain cells at all,and did his research before going to the amazon, malaria is a common thing to catch and if he wasn’t absolutely stupid he would of realized he was to far in for the food to even go down and be beneficial therefore saving his dogs life! What kind of cold hearted dickhead kills his dog after it searched for him for days and traveled so far to find him… I’m sorry my friend there is a special place in hell for you!
Don’t quite understand why so many have such strong feelings about this one dog, which was killed in sad circumstances decades ago. So was Laika, the first dog in space. Can’t hear anyone complaining about that. Animals (including dogs) are being killed every day and most of them in a much more disgusting way. Ah well, people just love to hate, don’t they?
indeed they do
This was a really good (for lack of a better word) “review” you wrote on Benedict Allen’s situation. I also completely agree with you. I felt so sorry when i watched Cashew be murdered, but what else could Benedict Allen do? Cashew was a sweet dog, and perhaps he would have been better off if he had not come back to his master, but in a way, saving Benedict was his final act of loyalty. Furthermore, no one will ever be able to fathom what conditions Allen was truly put to. The show probably did not show everything he went through, because there were some days of his “adventure” that they skipped. Benedict Allen probably went through some of his own horrors that weren’t aired. Eating the dog was an unfortunate, but neccesary thing for the man to survive.
Would it have been ok to eat his human best friend for his own survival if he thought he could get away with it? No probably not but then humans abuse animals because they can.
Big Boss, I can appreciate your call for sympathy and for rationality, but your smug reactions to everyone’s outcries about the dog are actually a bit chilling. There are plenty of things one can value beyond his own life. (Like friendship, loyalty… even of a dog.)
And for the record, we’d all be dead if not for a long history of reciprocity and loyalty tracing back to primitive times.
What pisses me off is that this dumbass put himself in this position for whatever reason and his loyal pet pays the price. The arrogance of humanity knows no bounds. I bet that dog was rather peckish too, did he ever have a go at that asshole? Pity he didn’t quite frankly! I wish this guy all the loyalty, love and trust he gave his dog!