BEND, Ore. – An overly-friendly deer got a little too close for comfort at a recent middle school race, where the animal licked one of the runners, then chased him for seven minutes while incredulous onlookers gaped.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Oliphant

The wild deer seen chasing the middle school boy.

When it first wandered onto the race site and showed no fear of people, seventh-grader Kevin Cox petted the deer.

SLIDESHOW: Amazing photos of deer chasing, licking runner

Apparently for the deer, a bond was formed –- an extremely strong bond. When Cox tried to leave the animal, the deer would have nothing of it.

Photographs show the deer pursuing Cox and later standing on its hind legs with its mouth on the back of the boy's head.

"I was shooting the images while trying to cheer on my sixth grade daughter... I mailed the photos to some friend who passed them on, and, as I can tell, have since been forwarded hundreds, if not thousand, of times," said Dennis Oliphant, who e-mailed the photos to KGW.

He said he even heard from an exchange student from Germany who he coached 10 years ago and who somehow received a forwarded e-mail about the wildlife incident.

"Go figure -- the power of the Web," Oliphant said.

On Thursday, National Public Radio reported the story.

Deer are plentiful in central Oregon.