Alexandria Dog Rescue Featured In 2020 Puppy Bowl

ALEXANDRIA, VA — If the watching Super Bowl isn't your thing, the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet provides a "pawsome" alternative earlier in the day. The Puppy Bowl features dogs from shelters and rescue groups like Alexandria-based dog rescue Operation Paws for Homes. The rescue group is holding a watch party Sunday, Feb. 2 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Wag & Brew, 614 S Pickett Street, Alexandria.

All are invited to the viewing party to watch Team Ruff take on Team Fluff in the Puppy Bowl. Dogs are welcome at this event but must be leashed in the tap room. The event is free, but attendees can purchase a $10 commemorative pup cup that comes with one beer.

The 16th annual Puppy Bowl begins at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, before the Super Bowl. Pre-bowl coverage begins an hour earlier.

Though the Puppy Bowl contestants are usually adopted before the end of the Puppy Bowl — Animal Planet’s most widely viewed program — it exposes the television audience to the pets available for adoption at shelters in their hometowns. The 16th annual Puppy Bowl back up pups lineup features Operation Paws for Homes' own Raven, an 18-week-old Chihuahua/Pomeranian.

Operation Paws for Homes rescues dogs from overcrowded high kill shelters in the south, mostly in South and North Carolina. The rescue group has a network of fosters and partners with boarding facilities to host the dogs until they're adopted. Adoptions are geared toward families in Virginia, DC, Maryland, southern Pennsylvania and neighboring states.

Animal Planet expects to find homes for a record 96 pooches from 61 shelters that have been divided in two swoon-worthy teams that will play, catch kisses on the Pedigree Kissing Cam and just plain charm you as they compete for the Chewy "Lombarky" trophy in Puppy Bowl XVI.

Families adopting puppies get a starter kit from Chewy, an online pet supply business. The kit includes toys, food, treats, a bed, and grooming and cleaning supplies.

The Puppy Bowl’s start was "incredibly low-budget,” Erin Wanner, a senior production executive for Animal Planet, told Patch. "We put down some turf on the office floor and let some puppies go crazy. We spent three bucks on it."

"Now," she said, "it’s a pop culture phenomenon. There’s nothing better than puppies."

Animal Planet has its own Puppy Bowl casting department, a team that works with rescue organizations to recruit puppies and adult dogs for the Puppy Bowl and Dog Bowl, the latter an event for senior dogs that’s held on Saturday, Feb. 1.

If you want to get your Puppy Bowl feels going before the air date, watch for puppy warmup videos on Animal Planet’s YouTube channel.