Miami-Dade Animal Services Pups Back in the Game for Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XIII

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For the second year in a row, puppies from Miami-Dade County Animal Services (Animal Services) will join other shelter pups from around the country to participate in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XIII, which premiers on Animal Planet Sunday, February 5, at 3 p.m.

But Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowls are not only about watching puppies taking part in the cutest competition in sports history—its goal is to raise awareness about the thousands of shelter pets waiting to find loving forever homes.

The drafted puppies included a golden retriever mix named Blitz, a Cocker spaniel named Penny, an American bulldog/beagle mix named Stella and a terrier mix named Tink. The furry golden Blitz made the starting lineup and will be representing Team Fluff for a chance to win the inaugural Petco Lombarky trophy.

“We know all of our shelter pets are champs, and having the four puppies participate in Animal Planet’s great adoption promotion helps bring attention to the many of wonderful pets we have available for adoption,” said Alex Muñoz, director of Animal Services. “The puppies act as the ‘spokespups’ for Miami-Dade County’s diverse shelter pet population.”

Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XIII features three hours of cuteness overload with furry faces and sloppy kisses. The puppies from Animal Services are part of a pup-tastic team that includes furry line barkers and wide retrievers making puppy penalties, furry fumbles and terrier touchdowns for Team Ruff and Team Fluff.

Animal Planet worked with 34 different animal shelters and rescue organizations from across the U.S. this year to fill the rosters of #TeamRuff and #TeamFluff with adoptable players for this puppy pile-up.

The “tail”-gating starts at 2 p.m. with the Puppy Bowl Pre-Game Show, featuring aww-nalysis and cuddly commentary from sports correspondents, including the infamous Rodt Weiler. At 3 p.m., PUPPY BOWL XIII kicks off at GEICO Stadium and will repeat all day and night for a total of 10 hours on game day.

As always, fans will witness Puppy Bowl’s iconic water bowl cam, slow-motion playback cam and fan-favorite Dairy Queen kiss cam. Fans can point their paws to AnimalPlanet.com/PuppyBowl to view the roster of starting pups, watch the live Puppy Bowl Locker Room Cam and Kitten Fan Club Cam, and learn more about how they can help a loving animal find its forever home. On game day, puppy supporters are invited to vote in the Most Valuable Puppy poll at AnimalPlanet.com/PuppyBowlMVP. Viewer votes determine which h
eavenly hound gets barking rights and the title of BISSELL MVP, which will be revealed at the end of the broadcast.

Last year, PUPPY BOWL XIII dominated a field of imitators with the No. 1 cable telecast across the day and dogged all competition in cable and reached more than 9 million viewers.