Here are Connecticut’s Puppy Bowl XIX stars: Schnitzel, Twinkle, Maverick and the gang
For sports fans, Feb. 12 is all about men playing football. For animal lovers, Feb. 12 is about dogs playing football.
The Puppy Bowl is the annual faux gridiron game starring some of the cutest rescue pooches in the country. Puppy Bowl XIX will be shown from 2 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 12 on Animal Planet (with a one-hour pregame starting at 1 p.m.). After that, the human football championship takes over the airwaves.
Mutts from many states participate in Puppy Bowl XIX, which was filmed last fall in Glens Falls, New York. For years, Connecticut doggos have played a large role in the bowl, which is not just a fun parody sporting event but a tail-wagging advertisement for animal rescue.
This year is no exception. Nine Nutmegger pooches from five rescue organizations will take the field. Some play for Team Ruff and some for Team Fluff. Which pups will score touchdowns? Which pups will fumble? Which pups will just hang around the water bowl? Tune in and find out.
Here are the Connecticut dogs participating this year. All but one have found forever homes already.
Archie
Archie “was found in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on the side of the road in a box,” said Ellen McCabe, co-founder and intake director of Dog Star Rescue of Bloomfield. “Good Samaritans drive around with dog supplies in their cars.” With his siblings, he was sent to Dog Star. “What impressed us was his resilience. He is sweet, loving, trusting. Given what happened to him, you’d think he would be afraid of people and inhibited, but he wasn’t.” Archie’s name was Alabaster. The Puppy Bowl people changed it. His forever family, in Plainville, kept the name Archie. He is on Team Fluff.
Madden
Madden, another Team Fluff pup from Dog Star, also was born in Mississippi. He was surrendered with his littermates to be sent north. “Sometimes there are situations where if people don’t spay or neuter, there is an oops accidental litter. People in the community know that if the dog is sent to Connecticut, it will have a wonderful life,” McCabe said. “He is part Aussie, and he seems to have some Catahoula leopard dog spotting,” McCabe said. With his unique coloring, he was noticed fast. Madden was adopted right away to a family in Berlin, who renamed him Max.
Maverick
Maverick’s original owners, in North Carolina, are fans of “Top Gun” movies. His littermates are named Iceman and Phoenix. The Team Fluff member is bigger than many bowl pups. “He was 40 pounds at only a few weeks old. The Puppy Bowl did DNA tests. He is mostly a Shepherd,” McCabe said. The Puppy Bowl organizers make sure all the dogs stay safe. “They don’t want giant dogs trampling tiny dogs. They size them up by category and edit it all together. Safety and well-being are of utmost importance,” she said. Today, he lives in Oxford and has been renamed Bear.
Pauly
Pauly, a black-and-tan hound mix, is from Georgia. He and his sister were abandoned and were taken to an animal control, where they were scooped up by a shelter, which sent the two little orphans to ROAR (Ridgefield Operation for Animal Rescue). Sarah Roberts, director of shelter operations for ROAR, said “Pauly was so adorable, spunky and playful” that he was a natural for the Puppy Bowl. “We figured he would be perfect for running around on that field,” she said. He wound up on Team Ruff, with the orange neckerchiefs. In his forever home, Pauly got to keep his name.
Schnitzel
Alongside Pauly, on the same ROAR-bound transport from Georgia, was Schnitzel and his six littermates. His name was not Schnitzel at first. “His name was Banner. But there is a copyright on that, from Marvel, so we couldn’t use that. We let the Puppy Bowl name him,” Roberts said. Puppy Bowl put the husky mix on Team Fluff. “He played so much with all the dogs. He was so exhausted by the end of the day,” she said. Schnitzel has not yet found a forever home. “He is a bit of a wild puppy,” Roberts said. He is still at ROAR. To inquire about adopting Schnitzel, call 203-695-1703.
Dakota
Dakota, a Shepherd mix, is from rural West Virginia. “A rescuer went out in the morning and found a big Rubbermaid container closed with bungee cords. She opened it up. Six puppies were inside,” said Karen Pasieka, intake coordinator at Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS). From that humble beginning a Team Ruff star was born, who now has a forever family in Bethel. “She is a sweet big breed puppy, photogenic, confident, fun.” Pasieka said. “It’s funny though. They play and play in the waiting area but when the lights go on, they just sit there. It’s too funny.”
Stardust
Stardust, a border collie mix on Team Fluff, has a twinkle in her eye. Just one eye. “She and her littermates were brought to the pound in bad shape. Her eye was unfixable. It had to be removed,” said Pasieka, of DAWS. But the West Virginia native had that certain something to be a Puppy Bowl star. “You could see she had overcome her challenges. She is a good example that puppies can do well even if they have an injury or a congenital issue. She just had that star quality,” Pasieka said. Stardust has a forever home in Wallkill, New York, where her people renamed her Maisie.
Moose
Moose, a Shepherd-lab mix, was saved in the nick of time. “He was abandoned in Arkansas. He and his six siblings were on the way to be euthanized when the volunteers found them,” said Americo Cateni, co-founder of Pack Leaders Rescue of CT in East Hartford. Of his litter, he was the last one adopted, but he did find a forever home before the Puppy Bowl. Moose now lives in Durham. The Team Ruff star has sad eyes, but he kicked some tail in the Puppy Bowl. “He scored a touchdown but also had a penalty. He was a riot,” Cateni said. “He is a big, fun-loving dog.”
Twinkle
Twinkle was born at a pound in Mississippi, where her mother was kept. “Nobody knew she was pregnant. All of a sudden, there were four newborn puppies,” said Kirstin Mende, CEO and co-founder of Lucky Dog Refuge of Stamford. Two pups died. Twinkle and Luna lived and they wound up at Lucky Dog. “They were full of life and energy, outgoing, rambunctious, excited, happy to be alive,” Mende said. Twinkle, a mix of husky, Aussie cattle dog, Alaskan malamute and German shepherd, is on Team Fluff. Now named Emma, she will watch Puppy Bowl XIX with her forever family in Darien.
Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com
