This ice skating dog is living out his NYC dreams
On Wednesday morning, skaters at Central Park's Wollman Rink watched in awe as a dog pushed his way out onto the ice wearing his own two ice skates.
Wagging his tail, he made his way around the ice, even jumping over cones to the delight of onlookers.
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The dog, eight-year-old yellow lab Benny, donned a blue vest covered in his sponsors—Ocu-GLO and Animal Necessity—and held an OcuGLO-branded hockey stick in his mouth as he glided around the ice on his front two legs. His back legs did most of the pushing. It was a sight to behold.
The furry Las Vegas resident was making his NYC debut on one of the most iconic ice rinks in the world—a dream he (or rather his owners have) had since he began ice skating three years ago. His trip to the Big Apple is part of his tour to raise awareness for the Vision for Animals Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life of animals by advancing eye health through science and education. (Benny has his own code on AnimalNecessity.com that gives 10% off purchases and for every purchase made the company will donate an equal amount to the Vision for Animals Foundation.)
In his career on ice, Benny is no stranger to big ice rinks. He has skated for the National Hockey League's Vegas Golden Knights as well as at the U.S. Skating Championships.
But that's not all he can do—Benny can perform over 100 tricks, including riding on a skateboard.
"It wasn't that surprising [when he started to ice skate]," his owner Cheryl DelSangro told us. Benny simply started to follow DelSangro on the ice when she would go skating and soon enough, he got his own customized skates, which are just dog booties and tiny blades tied together with shoelaces.
Benny is quite a miracle child in his own right. DelSangro said she rescued him from a kill shelter in Salt Lake City one day before his scheduled euthanization. Since then, he's been making the very most of his doggy life.
You can follow along on his Instagram account, @vegaskingbenny.
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