I think a lot of people are reacting with their emotions rather than logically. For starters, I've see Benedict Allen in other interviews and documentaries...and he has always been very logical in his delivery (rather than emotional)....but that does not mean he wasn't distraught about what happened. In fact, he said many times how hurt he was and how difficult that decision was for him. But that dog was starving as well, and would soon be suffering....and Benedict had to make a life or death decision. People would be ok if he had caught and killed a wild squirrel in order to survive....but the dog (because they were "friends") made it wrong? Don't get me wrong...I LOVE animals, and I'm a huge advocate for animal rights and support....but I think Benedict did what he had to do, and his decision made sense. It was a gut-wrenching decision...but it came from his primal instinct for the need to survive. Just like the instinct that soccer team in the Andies had.....or that instinct that mountain climber in Touching the Void had when he made that awful decision to cut the line attaching him to his friend....or the instinct that hiker had who cut off his own arm in that mountain cravasse in order to free himself and live. We can't possibly fathom what that survival instinct would drive us to until we're in that stuation. Also, he was not in his right head. He was dilerious from malaria, and he was dying.
And people act as if "doing it behind the dog's back" rather than to his face was somehow dishonorable. Really? Thankfully, the dog never knew what hit him, and did not suffer. You could even argue...his last thoughts were (thankfully) not of his friend attacking him.
As for the 2 guides....they were raised in the jungle and could easily have traversed that jungle to safety as needed. The miners would not have done anything to the guides. There was no need. The guides were no threat to their gold; they were harmless. Benedict's only chance was to do exactly as he had done: get the heck out immediately. Trying to wake the guides and make a whole production out of it was not an option. Besides, they were not listening to him as they charged toward the miner's camp, drinking the whiskey bottle as Benedict was trying to whisper "Vamanos...vamanos!".
The story about the dog finding his friend 2 weeks later was amazing....and his death was absolutely tragic, I agree. I'm just saying...I don't think Benedict felt he had any choice, if he wanted to live.
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