WASHINGTON — Sunday, two teams faced off in one of the most important sporting events in America, as the matchup had audiences watching with bated breath for the outcome.
No, not the Super Bowl.
During the 21st annual “Puppy Bowl,” Team Fluff clawed its way to victory to defeat Team Ruff in a nail-biter of a game.
With a final score of 68-66, the adorable piece of Super Bowl counterprogramming came down to the very last play.
A Labrador retriever mix named Paws Allen scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the game — taking matters into his own famous paws and securing the Lombarky Trophy for Team Fluff.
This year’s Most Valuable Puppy Award went to Team Ruff’s Foxtrot, a border collie mix who scored the first two touchdowns and added another in the fourth quarter.
This year’s “Puppy Bowl” featured 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states — as well as one from Nicaragua. The program featured 11 special needs dogs, including a visually-impaired Chihuahua and Australian Cattle Dog mix named Hewett, and a wheelchair-using pit bull terrier named Jolene.
The “competition” each year has two teams of dogs from shelters and rescues around the world facing off in a football game. Though most of the dogs featured are already adopted by the time the pre-taped event airs, it’s meant to encourage viewers to consider adopting a dog from an animal shelter or rescue rather than buying from a breeder.
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Who trains the dogs for the Puppy Bowl?
Victoria Schade is a dog trainer and novelist who’s the show’s lead puppy trainer and wrangler. She’s the one making sure the shelter pups have a conflict-free contest and that they’re captured at their most adorable — all from off-camera.
It is Schade who gets the puppies to look up during the “The Star-Spangled Banner” or run through a tunnel to get to the field for the starting lineups. She’s on the lookout for possible conflicts or nervous dogs.
“My responsibilities include ensuring puppy happiness and safety during gameplay,” she says. “So if there’s any moment where a puppy looks like they’re overwhelmed or they just need a break, I’ll step out and give them a little break on the sideline.”
Schade has been working with the doggies on the Animal Planet show for 19 years and is believed to be the longest serving member of the “Puppy Bowl” crew. She also works the kitten halftime show and calls filming both her favorite week of the year.
“I think she is one of the most dedicated, hardest working people out there in the business,” says “Puppy Bowl” referee Dan Schachner, now in his 14th year. “She doesn’t ever seem to run out of energy. She never says no to a request and there’s always brightness and sunshine from her with every step.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.