Filmed in and around McKinney[4] and Denton in Texas, the story follows Benji, a stray but friendly dog, who is adored by some of the townspeople, including two children named Cindy and Paul.

This film was Frances Bavier's and Edgar Buchanan's last on-screen acting appearances before they retired and died in 1989 and 1979 respectively.

Benji, a stray dog who lives in an abandoned house on the outskirts of a small town, sets about his daily ritual of visiting human friends; he has no fixed home, but he desires one, and he likes the children of the Chapman family, Paul and Cindy, best.

Although Henry and Riley are spooked by legends that the house is haunted, Linda intends to propose the location as a hideout to their boss Mitch, mastermind of their illicit activities.

The next day at the Chapman home, the children brush Benji, hoping their father will accept him into the family, but Mary tells them that the doctor will not change his mind.

After impressing his human friends with his new hairstyle, Benji encounters a pretty white dog in the park who is scavenging through his favorite trashcan.

Benji presents her with the bone he received from Bill, and she follows him back to the Chapman house, where Mary names her Tiffany after the jewelry store.

He growls and barks, and Mary berates him and carries him away, but he bites her and lunges at Linda, causing the note to fall out.

He told Variety magazine in 1977: "It has become an industry-caused thing, but the G-rated classification has to some degree become 'if it's G, it can't be for me'."

Camp observed that four-wall companies had saturated the market for G-rated product; in response to the diminished quality of their films, he created Benji.

"[11] Linda Gross of the Los Angeles Times called it a "cheery family film" that was "prettily photographed.

"[13] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune, on the other hand, gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "agreeable" but criticizing "a few cheap grabs for emotion.