Benji: Off the Leash!

Benji Off the Leash is a 2004 American comedydrama film that was shot in various parts of Utah.

Meanwhile, two Animal Control officers come across a shaggy dog that is impossible to catch. A local elderly man, Zachariah Finch, offers food to the stray at his home in the woods and becomes attached to him. The dog is dubbed Lizard Tongue by the officers looking for him due to its long tongue always hanging out of its mouth. When the fluffy dog sees that her mother is sick in the kennel, he opens her cage and helps her escape. Then he gets Lizard Tongue to help when she is too weak to eat, and they both draw the Animal Control officers to the abandoned house and the ailing black mother dog. At the shelter, a veterinarian determines she is dying from overbreeding and poor care, so the shelter director and the local sheriff authorize the vet to spay the dog.When Hatchett learns that the Benji film producer is in town and wants the fluffy dog to be the new Benji, he intimidates Colby into lying about being the owner. At the shelter, the fluffy dog is reunited with its mother, and Colby tells everyone the truth about the dog, which makes Hatchett lose his temper and get arrested. The end credits show various scenes from the film as they were shot and make reference to the origins of the shelter dogs used in the film. ........

Source: Wikipedia