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Meet Benny, the ice-skating dog, who also received the 2021 AKC Awards for Canine Excellence. This award recognizes dogs who make positive impacts on the communities.
The 50-pounder Labrador was owned by Cheryl Delsangro, a former professional ice skater. Benny’s whirlwind adventure on ice has touched many hearts and lives in his community.
Benny caught the eye of the photographer, Rick, and was featured in the Cheer Video. He never skates and when Cheryl saw Benny on the ice she comes up with an idea to teach Benny to skate.
“I started to think I could teach him to skate. I taught our daughter when she was 17 months old, and I figured Benny had better balance than a toddler. I had not skated for about 15 years since moving to Las Vegas. In essence, this brought my two passions – dogs and skating – together.” Cheryl said.
Since a dog cannot own a skate, Cheryl asked a friend to design a customized skating boot for Benny.
“He no longer goes front to back with his skates but pushes out to the sides,” Cheryl says. “Also, he has taught himself to stop, with a reverse snowplow move. He has also learned to skate in reverse for a short distance. To a major degree, he is self-taught.”
After the Cheer video, Benny became famous and his social media accounts have millions of views. A non-profit organization, Spectrum on Ice, coordinated with Benny to promote acceptance and opportunities to children and young adults.
Benny skates and acts as the Leader while performing tricks and interacting with the children.
“He’s like a magnet for the kids, and creates an instant comfort zone,” Cheryl stated. “As one mom told me with tears in her eyes, her son had never touched an animal but petted Benny on the ice, and with a smile on his face, followed him around. That put everything in perspective for me.”
Benny has been amazing. He also knows how to do the Conga and skateboards. He also climbs trees and pushes wheelchairs. For Benny, the sky is the limit.
Below is the adorable video of Benny skating.
