Las Vegas ice skating dog wins national award
He can push a wheelchair. He can swim. He models on the side, but the trick that drops jaws across the country is when Benny, a Golden Retriever, has his ice skates on.
Las Vegas resident Cheryl Del Sangro said Benny was a day from euthanasia when Las Vegas Labrador Rescue helped her retrieve Benny from a Salt Lake City adoption agency seven years ago. The puppy had been in the shelter six months.
Now, the 8-year-old rescue dog is the newest winner of the American Kennel Club’s Exemplary Companion Award. The AKC cited his stints at Vegas Golden Knights games and work with Spectrum On Ice, an ice-skating program for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
“My life with Benny has been a huge adventure,” Del Sangro said. “We go to a lot of dog things. I’ve never met a dog that has all his qualities.”
Benny first got on the ice in 2018 to make a video for the Golden Knights in their attempt at a Stanley Cup. Del Sangro, a professional figure skater who retired after 20 years teaching on the ice, fashioned some ice skates for the pup. He figured it out in a day.
In a fundraising event for the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on Wednesday night, people cheered for Benny, and taunted their friends as the dog skated past them. Benny held his 2-foot-long hockey stick in his mouth, his tail wagging while he followed Del Sangro around the ice.
Since that 2018 video, Benny and Del Sangro have traveled to figure skating competitions and the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Game. Del Sangro’s next goal is taking Benny to The Rink at Rockefeller Center in New York. She said she never charges a fee, and encourages all venues to donate to an adoption agency.
“Benny is the poster pup for adoption,” she said. “If you can get a dog out of the pound that becomes a phenom like he has, what more can you ask for?”
Del Sangro said Benny is the only dog she knows who can ice skate. To maintain his talents, Benny makes frequent visits to the vet and the chiropractor.
“I want to share him with everybody as long as he can do it comfortably,” she said.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
