Benny is such a skate dog!
Cheryl del Sangro, 56, can do her very own Paw-vill and dean act on the ice...
My four talented babies are my whole world.
And, no, I’m not some pushy stage mum! Tootsie, 14, Doodles, 12, Mia, 10, and Benny, 5, are my four gorgeous rescue dogs.
My actual baby Britany, 35, even gets a bit jealous, though she flew the nest long ago!
And my hubby Flory, 66, knows there’s no competition.
The three oldies enjoy short walks, chewy treats and a lot of sleep.
But Benny is a bit different... Rescuing him from a shelter in 2013, days away from being put down, we saved his life.
As he slobbered his tongue across my cheek that day, I knew he’d fit right in.
Just a pup back then, he was mischievous and playful, jumping in the pool and obsessed with his toys.
Chasing his older friends round the garden, he gave the old mutts a new lease of life.
But I was quick to notice Benny was a very brainy pooch.
He always caught the toys before other dogs in the park, never strayed onto the road and always came if we called him.
In June 2017, one of my photographer friends was
looking for a dog for a promotional video.
It was for the Golden Knights ice-hockey team here in Las Vegas, after they’d won a couple of awards.
‘I’ve got access to the rink, we should do it there!’ he suggested.
I was unsure how Benny would take to the ice, but figured there was no harm in trying.
Plus, I was no stranger to the rink myself – starting to skate at 4, I’d gone on to be semiprofessional in my 20s, then worked as a coach.
It was time I picked up my skates again...
But I couldn’t let Benny go bare-paw so, using baby boots, a pair of doggy shoes and an old ice-skating blade, I created possibly the world’s first canine ice skates!
Arriving at the rink, I reasoned that I’d taught Britany at 17 months, so why couldn’t I teach a dog to skate?
As soon as we got there, I glided onto the ice.
And Benny needed little encouragement from me...
Hot on my heels, wagging his tail madly, he flew across the ice after me.
‘He’s loving it!’ my friend said, as he recorded a video. Benny was enjoying it so much – rolling around on his back, lapping up the chill.
Wearing the boots just on his front paws, he used his back two for grip as he whizzed across the rink.
It was amazing! When my friend uploaded the video, viewers went barking mad for it.
Amazingly, it got more than 40,000 views.
Every dog has his day – and this was Benny’s!
After that, there was just no stopping him.
We went back to the ice rink a few times a month and he couldn’t get enough.
Now, I’m teaching him to spin to music and we’re creating our own routine.
Sliding gracefully – one paw after the other – across the rink, or carrying a hockey stick or puck, Benny looks like a pro.
We definitely taught this dog a new trick!
you’ve gotta laugh!