Ellie and Benny - Ashton, Lancashire

• Ellie - Veterinary Nurse Student
• Benny (3) - Rescue Dog

What makes your bond so special?
When I moved away from home to go to University I developed anxiety and became nervous about leaving the house. I thought getting a dog might help me and after scouring various charities and rescue centres I came across Benny, who was found wandering the streets by the charity Action Aid for Animals. When Benny finally came home with me he was a shivering mess and was terrified of everything. He would shiver constantly and hide under tables, and it was a big challenge. However, after months of cuddles and treats, I managed to rehabilitate him to be a happier and more relaxed dog. Throughout this process Benny helped me with my own anxiety and we both came back into the world together.

Why did you both want to enter?
I wanted the opportunity to make sure I’m giving Benny the best life I can. Benny seems to like swimming but he never had much opportunity to work on it so I thought being in the Lake District would allow him to roam the countryside and learn new skills. While Benny was very obedient he is still scared of loud noises and struggles in some social situations.

What was your favourite and least favourite exercise/challenge?
My favourite challenge by far was the paddle boarding. It wasn't a task that we won or did particularly well in, however from my point of view this was the biggest challenge for Benny; new environments scare him, but he enjoys water. A paddle board, a life jacket and a huge oar seemed like rolling all his fears into one. But instead I got the shock of my life when he took to it. I didn't even see it as a race after that - I already knew we had won just paddling around on the lake with Benny next to me. All the other dogs were quite confident but I was so proud that my little man had come into his own that I didn't care about the race. It was my favourite exercise because there was the most progress and that's what I wanted out of the experience.

My least favourite exercise was probably the mud task in which we crawled through the obstacles. I hate mud. Benny hates mud. We are the perfect partnership. I had no doubt in my mind Benny was not crawling through that mud for any treat on this planet!

What did you get out of the contest?
I would say that it's one of the best experiences that I've had but in all honestly I cannot even put into words how much we achieved throughout. There are skills and techniques that the trainers taught us that will guide me and Benny further and it finally feels like I've given back something to the little dog who hugged me every night whilst I sat up till 3am with anxiety.

Do you have any funny stories from filming?
I had countless laughs! There was a moment when me and Toni were in the changing rooms trying to squeeze me into a wet suit. I don't actually think my own mother has seen as much of me as what Toni saw that day! We fought so hard to get me in it - the crew was waiting for us and after about 20 mins I thought I'd finally done it only to realise we put it on backwards. Toni had the patience of a saint that day, she always looked after me like mother hen!

Biography

Naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham has had a long and successful career on TV, beginning with The Really Wild Show in 1986 and more recently Springwatch, Autumnwatch, and Winterwatch, Nature’s Weirdest Events, World’s Weirdest Events, Inside the Animal Mind, Operation Iceberg and Secrets Of Our Living Planet.

In 2010 Chris was awarded the Dilys Breese BTO Medal for his outstanding work in promoting science to new audiences. He was voted Conservation Hero Of The Year (2014) in the Birders’ Choice Awards (Birdwatch magazine). In 2015 he reached second place in The Wildlife Power List featured in the BBC Wildlife Magazine. In October 2016 Chris earned the top honour at the Wildscreen Panda Awards - The Christopher Parsons Award for Outstanding Achievement - in recognition of his significant contribution to wildlife filmmaking, conservation and the public’s understanding of the environment.

Earlier in 2016 he was made honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Southampton, where he had graduated 30 years before.

Programme Information

• Episode one
• Episode two