FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett and his wife, Zoe Bennett, stopped by the Humane Society of Broward County on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale -- and they brought the Stanley Cup.
The couple’s Benny’s Buddies, a nonprofit program the couple started last year, has helped to cover adoption fees at the animal shelter at 2070 Griffin Road.
“Every time I would score, they would say, ‘That’s for the animals!’ Or if someone gave me a back door tap in, they would say, ‘Oh, I passed it, so you could get another animal adopted,’” Bennett said about his teammates’ support.
In June, the 29-year-old Canadian signed an eight-year $64 million contract to continue playing with the Florida Panthers. Zoe Bennett, an animal advocate who has volunteered at the Humane Society, sees it as an opportunity to help more animals.
“We’re so excited because we just started it and it was getting so much momentum, and we didn’t want it to end, so eight more years is amazing,” she said. “We can do a lot.”
Bennett scored 41 combined goals last year, including 15 in the postseason en route to the Stanley Cup championship, and the Conn Smythe Trophy given to the League’s MVP in the playoffs.
“It is a dream come true for us to put puppies and kitties in the Stanley Cup,” Cherie Wachter, of the Humane Society of Broward County, said. “I asked for it when they won, and it has finally come true.”
Bennett posed for pictures too, and he said the timing for him and Benny’s Buddies was perfect, adding, “If I had started this program earlier in my career, we definitely wouldn’t be getting as many animals adopted.”
Local 10 News Digital Journalist David Dwork contributed to this report.
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