More than one million people have now viewed the youTube clip and as a result, the dog almost has a cult following – even paving the way for a range of t-shirts with a picture of the black labrador. The clip shows the pet’s agitated owner chasing it through
London’s Richmond Park, shouting what viewers first thought sounded like “Benton!” as the pet chases around 40 terrified deer. It has since been discovered the dog’s name is Fenton.
The owner’s efforts appear on the video as in vain, as the deer herd charges through Richmond Park, in south-west London, and across a busy road, forcing cars to stop. The final moments of the footage show the dog owner swearing in despair.
The 47 seconds of footage was filmed by Jake Goodyear, 13, from Holloway, north London, who was visiting the park last Sunday with his father Ali, 37, a gardener. As a result, fans can now listen to the“Fenton” yell in their pocket, after a ring-tone was developed by SpaceRace.
On Tuesday, “Benton” was the highest British “trending” issue on Twitter.
But when Mr Goodyear told The Daily Telegraph that the black dog’s name was Fenton, and not Benton, Fenton then became the new topic of discussion on Twitter.
High profile Twitter users were weighing in. Jeremy Vine, the BBC Radio 2 presenter, posted to his almost 59,000 users on Twitter: “Re the guy who chased after his dog #Benton in Richmond deer park… whoever uploaded this take on it is a genius.”
Graham Linehan, the comedy writer and director of Father Ted, also posted on Twitter: “Whoever did this is a Comedy God…. (via @ddibbley) #benton.
Mr Goodyear said his son posted his mobile phone footage on video because they both thought it was “very funny”. He has since been “inundated” with interview requests from British media as well American television networks and European newspapers.
“We were filming the deer and all of a sudden this man came from behind us and was agitated to say the least because he had lost control of his dog,” he said on Tuesday night.
“The dog chased after the deer and I think the owner feared he would never see his pet again.”
“I think he also thought he might be fined for disturbing the deer. At the time we thought it was really funny.” He added: “The deer scattered everywhere and went across the road. The dog then disappeared into the woods.”
“It was 500 metres in front of him and he had a mission ahead of him. I don’t know if there was a happy ending because he ran off into the distance.”
He said he still looks at it “to make me laugh” but he did “feel sorry for him”.
The owner has not been identified, but technically could face prosecution for the incident. A spokesman for The Royal Parks said dog walkers must keep their pets under strict control “or risk prosecution”.
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