Puppy Bowl Returns with Shelter Dog Players, Kitten Bowl Cancelled

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It’s that time of year again: The Puppy Bowl is back for Super Bowl weekend, marking the eighteenth such event. You can watch the three-hour event on February 13 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT on Animal Planet and Discovery Plus. Rapper Snood Dogg and Martha Stewart will return to host and coach!

In a statement, Snoop Dogg said he’s honored to co-host “the only sporting event on the planet guaranteed to raise the ‘woof.'”

Each year, the football spoofs are a fun break from the Super Bowl or the main event if you aren’t a football fan. By featuring pets from shelters, organizers encourage pet adoptions nationwide. Over Super Bowl weekend, animal shelters across the country hold adoptions events coordinated with the Puppy and Kitten Bowls.

Puppy Bowl, screenshots, YouTube/Animal Planet

😭 Cancelled Kitten Bowl 😭

Unfortunately, the Kitten Bowl has been cancelled by the Hallmark Channel, Yahoo reports. 

“While we are not currently developing original animal-centric programming, Hallmark Channel is pleased to support partners like North Shore Animal League America as part of our commitment to social responsibility initiatives,” a network rep said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Kitten Bowl via YouTube

The former CEO of Hallmark parent company Crown Media Bill Abbott expressed disappointment on Twitter:

“Kitten Bowl was a passion project that everyone involved will always be deeply proud to have been a part of. Grateful we were able to find fur-ever homes for so many,” he wrote.

Hopefully, it will return to another network soon because the TV special has helped as many as 75,000 pets find homes. 

“The shelters are really upset,” an insider told Variety, but the report suggests the Kitten Bowl may move to GAC Family in the future.

On the upside, Kitten Bowl may return, and the Puppy Bowl XVIII Kitty Halftime Show will go on with kitties up for adoption.

Kitty Halftime Show rehearsal, Image via Discovery.com

According to AV Club:

“The theme this year is apparently “purr-fect beach party,” with the official site saying that, “at this ocean-side getaway, audiences will experience the beach-tastic party with these felines having some fun in the sun and learning about their heartwarming adoption stories.”

Puppy Bowl Encourages Pet Adoptions Nationwide

According to regular Puppy Bowl “Ruff-eree” Dan Schachner, an average of 1500 dogs have found forever homes after appearing in the Puppy Bowl. Most pets find homes before the event airs. However, far more have found homes in shelters across the US.

“…What we’re proudest of is not the dogs that are on TV being watched by millions getting adopted That’s not too difficult to do, it’s that every single shelter and rescue group that we work with reports a huge uptick in adoption inquiries once the Puppy Bowl airs,” Schachner told Good Day Sacramento.

“So that means we have some sort of a lasting impact. That’s what were’s trying to do,” he continued. 

Six Rescued Dogs from Connecticut in the Puppy Bowl

This year, Puppy Bowl XVIII will feature as many as 118 doggie players, including six Connecticut rescue dogs. You can see the dogs here.

 It’s Team Ruff, with orange neck scarves, versus Team Fluff with blue neck scarves. Most of the Connecticut dogs will be on Team Ruff. As you can see below, Snoop Dogg will lead Team Fluff, while Martha Stewart will lead Team Ruff.

This year, the dogs come from 33 US states vying for the coveted “Lombarky Trophy.”

Image via Yahoo Finance/Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart at Puppy Bowl XVIII

Hoku from Maui Humane Society

Hoku, or “star” in Hawaiian, will shine bright as the first dog from Hawaii in the Puppy Bowl’s history. She’s an American Staffordshire Terrier-Catahoula Leopard Dog mix.

She traveled to Norwalk, Connecticut, to live with her forever family after the marketing manager for Maui Humane Society encouraged her parents to adopt her. 

“When we got her, she was 35 pounds. Now she’s about 70,” Maureen Shannon said. “She thinks she’s a lap dog. She thinks she’s about 13 pounds.”

You can see Hoku and many of the other pups in the video from News12 Connecticut below:

Lulu from Pack Leaders Rescue

Pack Leaders Rescue hopes you’ll be cheering for Lulu, a Pomeranian mix. Someone surrendered Lulu to the shelter when she was 10 weeks old, but now, she’s a star and has a loving home.

“She’s a local Connecticut girl,” says Pack Leaders co-founder Tori Cateni. Seeing star potential, Cateni called Animal Planet to suggest Lulu for the Puppy Bowl. Even though the show was already cast, they accepted her for the show. 

Lulu via YouTube

Then, Cateni took Lulu to Albany to film the event, meeting over 80 other puppies.

See more about Lulu from Meredith Local Media Group below:

Dewberry from Shaggy Dog Rescue 

Shaggy Dog Rescue from Houston took in Dewberry and four other puppies after somebody dumped them in a Texas park. Fortunately, two runners found them and carried them for a mile and a half to their car. From there, they brought them to the shelter.

Then, Rescue Road Trips brought the puppies north, where Dewberry, Ellington, and Raspberry were taken into foster care together. This year, all will be in the Puppy Bowl.

“Watch out for Ellington. He got five touchdowns and two field goals. You could be looking at the Most Valuable Pup,” foster mom Ann Brookes said.

The tiny Dewberry, later renamed Aspen after being adopted, will be a Cheerleader. Meanwhile, Ellington and Raspberry will play ball. All have found their forever homes.

Shaggy Dog Rescue shared pictures of the pups on Facebook:

Ellington via Facebook

Dewberry

Raspberry

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