After six months of staying at home, Benny, the ice skating yellow rescue Labrador, got his tail spinning like a helicopter for a wonderful surprise.
Benny, or more famously known in Las Vegas as Benny the Ice Skating Dog, has loved the ice ever since the first time he stepped on the rink.
Cheryl Delsangro, Benny’s mom, shared how much her dog enjoyed skating.
“Benny love skating so much because he’s the center of attention”
Wearing his custom-made doggie skates and with a hockey stick on his mouth, he has performed in different shows and has brought smiles to people as he flaunted his finesse over the ice.
But things weren’t always this exciting.
Benny stayed in the pound of six months. Opportunities to be adopted always passed over Benny like missed treats tossed in the air. He even got adopted one day but was returned the next day. And being in the local lab foster program isn’t as assuring either.
It was at this time that Cheryl went to their website and saw Benny’s photo.
That moment, she knew she wanted to give Benny a forever home.
“We were the only ones that put an application for him even.”
Things just snowballed after that, a big yellow snowball to be exact. Cheryl shared that there was something different about Benny. The yellow lab was always highly-charged, always all over them, always running around with the other dogs, and always wanting to play. To put his high-octane energy to use and develop his smartness, Cheryl decided to put him to training.
It was during this time that Cheryl had an idea.
She grew up skating and so she wondered how Benny would fare over the ice.
At first, Benny would grab a hockey stick and just run over the ice. Showing agility and finesse, Cheryl thought of training him how to skate.
“So I got dog boots, little blades, and I put them together. And the first day we took him, he could actually get up and skate just like a little kid when they first start.”
Benny fell in love with skating right away.
He got faster and stronger and there were tricks that he even learned on his own. Soon enough he was jumping over hurdles, doing crossovers, and going to the ice alone just to skate.
But his happy gliding days soon ground into an unceremonious halt.
As the global pandemic worsened, lockdowns started across the United States. Public establishments like restaurants, hotels, bars, gyms, and recreational places were shut down – including the ice rinks.
To keep up with Benny and his new normal, Cheryl adopted different exercise routines. They had agility exercises, balance exercises, and running exercises. But it was obvious that Benny missed skating more than anything else.
Then, after six months, his most awaited news finally came.
“Who wants to go skating”?
The moment Benny’s owner invited him to go skating, his eyes lit up. He can’t contain his excitement that he had to bring his purple friend along. Benny grabbed his skating bag, complete with a big happy grin and energetic hippity-hopping.
Benny was like a ticking time-bomb of happiness waiting to explode.
“When we’re about a half mile from the ice rink, he knows where we’re going. And he’s up and he’s at the window, he’s trying to climb in the front seat with us.”
While everybody was excited for his return, Benny’s owners were a bit nervous that he has forgotten how to skate. With his blue shirt and his skates, he looks into the ice and steps in.
Remembering how to skate felt like being reunited with his first chewed-up stuffed toy. He knew exactly what to do, how to do it, and where he should go.
Cheryl and Benny were clearly having a great time.
All those months being cooped at home were finally behind him.
“If you’re not working with him, he’ll run back into the ice all by himself without anybody out there and he’ll just skate around.”
We’re glad to see Benny back in his happy place, and we’re sure that he’s pretty stoked about it too.
Benny gives us the hope that we can enjoy the things we used to enjoy, and we’ll see each other again after the worst is over.
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