Skip to main content

Chester County Press

A real dog of a story: couple's video is finalist on national TV show

12/17/2014 11:17AM ● By Richard Gaw


There is a Labrador/Boxer mix in East Fallowfield.

Her name is Brooklyn, and she is named after a borough in the City of New York.

She is a rescue dog, and she belongs to Lindsay and John Abel.

Brooklyn has developed the peculiar habit of attempting to eat television remotes.

To date, she has gnawed her way through eight of them.

For her bad behavior, she has earned the Abels a sizable chunk of money, and may soon win them a whole lot more.

This week, the Abels are embarking on an all-expense trip to attend the filming of "America's Funniest Home Videos" in Los Angeles, Calif., where they are finalists for the funniest home video of the fall season. The video, originally aired on the program on Nov. 9, is of the Abels reprimanding Brooklyn for chewing apart yet another TV remote. For the video's first appearance, the Abels were given a $10,000 award for funniest video, and given the opportunity to compete with two other finalists for a grand prize of $100,000 at a show that will be filmed this week.

"The day Brooklyn got her eighth remote, the show called us to say that our video was chosen as a finalist with two other videos," Lindsay said. "We never supposed that we could actually win a three-day, all expenses paid trip to California from a little video."

Lindsay first became aware of the show when caring for her mother in Florida last year.

"When I was taking care of my mother, my parents would watch the show every Sunday, and if I'd not been down there so long, I would not have considered taking the video," Lindsay said.

Brooklyn accompanied her on the trip, and it was at her parents' home where the dog was found attempting to chew her way through a remote, and was caught hiding behind a couch and facing the wall.

"Because I had been aware of the show, I decided to take the video, submitted it to the program, and soon after, the producers called back asking questions and wanting the back story on Brooklyn," Lindsay said.

Brooklyn's back story is made even more peculiar, given that she only attempts to consume the rubber buttons on the top of the remote, leaving the bulky remainder of the gadget intact, and that she only attacks remotes when Lindsay's father has handled them first.

The air time of the program that will feature the Abels has not yet been determined. For more information about "America's Funniest Home Videos," visit afv.com.

To learn the results of the Abel's visit to "America's Funniest Home Videos," stay tuned to the Chester County Press' website, www.chestercounty.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, e-mail [email protected].