Perhaps the biggest event of the national sporting calendar, the Super Bowl is back on Sunday (Feb. 12). And this year, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles are battling it out to become NFL champions in Super Bowl LVII.
But for the 19th year, Animal Planet is putting on the Puppy Bowl on the same day, CNN report. As part of the annual event, a rufferee oversees Team Ruff and Team Fluff as they both aim to lift the Lombarky trophy.
Raising Awareness Through the Puppy Bowl
Technically, the aim of the game is to get the ball into an endzone. But really, the idea is that every pup taking part finds their forever home. Meanwhile, it’s a great opportunity to raise awareness about foster dogs too.
This year, 122 canines from 67 shelters and rescues across the US and the Caribbean are taking part.
“We really couldn’t ask for a better platform,” says Chrissy Beckles, founder and president of non-profit The Sato Project, which rescues abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico and rehomes them on the mainland. “I can’t think of a single negative for this — only that it’s only once a year.”
All Sorts of Pups Taking Part
Director of Florida Little Dog Rescue Laurie Johnson says: “The great thing about Puppy Bowl is it shows you that you can get just about any type of dog in rescue.
“I would say 90, 95% of the dogs that are in rescue are not here because they failed as dogs. They’re here because humans failed them as owners, and they didn’t do anything wrong to wind up here and they are perfectly wonderful, amazing dogs.”
“We get calls from all over the country when Puppy Bowl airs asking about our pups,” continues Johnson, who’s now been involved with the Puppy Bowl for nine years. “There’s been a couple years where we’ve had our website crash. We haven’t had a year where there hasn’t been a very high volume.”
But, when and where can you watch the Puppy Bowl? Find out everything you need to know here.
