It’s Super Bowl weekend, and while I’m mildly interested in watching the reactions to Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, I’m much more interested in the pregame entertainment known as the Puppy Bowl! (OK, maybe the Super Bowl ads, too)
Team Ruff and Team Fluff will face off Sunday at noon MST, and the other game is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. MST, so if you want to watch both, you can!
According to the ASPCA, there are approximately 3.1 million dogs and 3.2 million cats taken to shelters every year. Just under a million of those animals end up euthanized. The Puppy Bowl is a friendly competition to promote pet adoption from a shelter. It will feature puppies trying to cross the goal line — any goal line — with a toy in their mouth, a kitty halftime show, a “Lombarky” Trophy, an MVP award (most valuable puppy, of course), the Underdog award and the Krypto Super Play award.
Who is playing?
This year will be the biggest Puppy Bowl so far, with 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states and two countries. (Sadly, Utah is not on the list.) There are also 11 dogs with special needs, including Jolene, an American Pit Bull Terrier-mix competing in a wheelchair, and Sprinkle, a blind and hearing-impaired Australian Shepherd-Great Pyrenees mix, according to a press release from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Team Fluff will be led by Julep, a St. Bernard-Collie mix, and Smoosh, the only Pekingese to compete in the game. Team Ruff will be led by Mr. Pickles, a Pug-Chihuahua from Dallas, and Tuani, a Chihuahua-German shepherd from Nicaragua.
You can check out all the players on Discovery.com and see their cuteness for yourself.
Are the puppies trained?
Yes, the puppies are trained. At least partially. Victoria Schade is a dog trainer who has been working with the show for 19 years. She describes her job as “ensuring puppy happiness and safety during gameplay,” in a profile piece by The Associated Press. She watches for pups who are overwhelmed or need a break, and gives them a little timeout on the sideline. She is the one who is responsible for getting the puppies to run through a tunnel, out on the field, and for getting them to look up during the national anthem. She also watches for doggies who need to go potty and gives a heads-up to the volunteer pooper scoopers.
She will join referee Dan Schachner, now in his 14th year, on the pregame show.
Where can I watch?
The three-hour show and its one-hour pre-show will be simulcast on Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max, and Discovery+.
The inaugural Puppy Bowl was watched by nearly 6 million viewers. Last year, 12.6 million viewers tuned in. In comparison, this year’s Golden Globes attracted 9.3 million.
Can I adopt one of the Puppy Bowl puppies?
All of the puppies were available for adoption and some might still be available on Sunday, but since the show is filmed over a week in the fall, many are likely already adopted. Schachner says the Puppy Bowl has 100% adoption rate, and that shelters around the U.S. typically see a spike in inquiries for pet adoption.
From Feb. 5-12, Animal Planet will cover adoption fees for pets at Best Friends Lifesaving Centers nationwide. There are locations in Utah, just waiting for your call.