Higgins: Higgins. Actor: Lassie. The real name of the dog who played the original "Benji" was Higgins, owned and trained by famed animal trainer and breeder Frank Inn. Inn adopted the dog in 1960 from the Burbank Animal Shelter in Burbank, California. He trained the dog, who went on to appear in the television series Petticoat Junction (1963). Soon after the series ended, Higgins was retired by Inn but returned at...
