Is there a cuter sports competition anywhere? For the past 18 years on Super Bowl Sunday, there’s another game that draws millions of viewers and features rough and tumble action. It probably involves more drool too. But there are no losers in the Puppy Bowl. The canine competitors get to romp and play (win!) and have a chance to be adopted into permanent homes (win, win!). And this year, two players from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, Vivianne and Sven, will take to the gridiron in Puppy Bowl XIX on Animal Planet and Discovery+.
“We are extremely proud to be a part of Puppy Bowl XIX on Animal Planet,” says Duane Adams, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. “This is Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region’s first Puppy Bowl appearance and a fantastic opportunity to highlight our mission of offering compassionate care to animals, supporting safe communities, and providing socially conscious sheltering for homeless animals in Southern Colorado.”
When the Puppy Bowl was filmed several months ago, Vivianne and Sven were the right ages and had what it takes to make the big game. All of the Puppy Bowl competitors come from rescues and animal shelters, making the Puppy Bowl the original and longest-running call-to-adoption TV event. The three-hour matchup between Team Ruff and Team Fluff will include 122 pups, coming from 67 shelters and rescues across 34 states. Some, like Vivienne and Sven, were adopted since Puppy Bowl was filmed. Others will be featured during the show as currently up for adoption. All the puppies will help to represent the quality and variety of lovable shelter dogs looking for a chance at a better life. You’ll have to tune in to see if Vivienne or Sven score any touchdowns on the field, but they have scored with permanent families of their own here in Colorado.
Now 7 months old, Sven is an Anatolian Shepherd and Great Pyrenees mix. His parents were abandoned in a rural part of Colorado Springs and picked up by Animal Law Enforcement. Sven’s mother was pregnant when she arrived at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region and was placed in a foster home to give birth. She had 15 puppies, and her babies were in foster care until they were 8 weeks old. Sven now lives in the Colorado mountains with his family on a wooded 2.5 acres where he loves to run and get dirty chasing his dog friends. His family fosters a lot of puppies, providing many puppy friends.
Vivianne is currently 6 months old. She and her brother were found on a construction site at just a few days old. They were brought to the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region shelter and placed into foster care, where they were bottle fed and nurtured. Vivianne’s new family lives on multiple acres with other animals as playmates, including cats, dogs, horses and miniature donkeys.
“We hope seeing these wonderful puppies in the Puppy Bowl encourages viewers to get involved with their local shelter or rescue and make a difference in the lives of homeless pets in their community in any way they can,” Adams says.
When Sven, Vivianne and their fellow players take the field at the Puppy Bowl, the game is as chaotic and cute as you might expect. The rules are simple: Drag a toy into the end zone, any end zone, and you score for your team. Almost anything goes on the field, including ear pulls, tail tugs, sloppy kisses and napping. But humping or pooping will draw a penalty flag. The winning team claims the Lombarky trophy.
TV coverage includes puppy spotlights, and 11 shelters around the country will present puppies that are up for adoption during the game. Many pups receive awards, and fan-favorite elements will again be part of the show, including the Puppy Cheer Squad, the coveted water-bowl cam, the slo-mo cam, and end zone pylon cameras to catch all the action.
Puppy Bowl XIX airs Feb. 12 at 12 p.m. MST on Animal Planet. Of course, viewers can join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #PuppyBowl and following Animal Planet on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for the latest updates.
For information on fostering or adopting puppies or other animals in the Pikes Peak region, get details at hsppr.org.
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