Get ready for a tail-waggin’ Puppy Bowl XXI! Before the big game kicks off on Sunday, Feb. 9, Puppy Bowl referee Dan Schachner opened up to PopCulture.com about all the cuteness and “chaos” coming fans’ way as they watch Team Ruff face off against Team Fluff like never before.
The longest-running call-to-adoption television event returns this year with the biggest lineup yet, featuring 142 rescue puppies from 80 shelters across 40 states – and two countries. But which team will bring home the “Lombarky” trophy and who will be named MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) this year?
Videos by PopCulture.com
Schachner is keeping his eye on Dee-Bone Samuel, named after San Francisco 49ers player Deebo Samuel, who is a “fantastic player” and an adorable poodle mix for Team Ruff. Schachner also is watching for Smoosh, the only Pekingese to compete in the games, whom he called a “very unique-looking dog” who can “kind of distract other dogs and humans alike” on the field with their looks.
Schachner admits he’s “partial always” to the special needs dogs — 11 of whom are competing in this year’s Puppy Bowl — including Jolene, an American Pitbull terrier-mix competing in a wheelchair, and Sprinkle, a blind and hearing-impaired Australian shepherd-mix. Despite the difficulties they’ve faced, Schachner notes these pups “zip around the field,” and he’s predicting some touchdowns for their teams.
After reffing so many Puppy Bowls, Schachner said he’s come to appreciate the “small, speedy” breeds like Chihuahuas and dachshunds the most as players. “I like them because they’re elusive; they’re slippery; they’re deceptive,” he told PopCulture, adding, “Usually the larger breeds are, of course, great and fast and powerful, but you expect them to handle the ball. You expect them to be running down into the end zone. The little guys will just sneak behind the big guys, under the big guys, around the big guys, behind me, and just create chaos.”
Fans will get a closer look than ever at the Puppy Bowl lineup this year with the new Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff special, airing an hour ahead of the big game on Animal Planet. Dog lovers will get to watch as 10 puppy prospects from across the country engage in practice drills and show off their moves in the first-ever Puppy Combine, competing to be selected as the top pick in the Puppy Bowl Draft and join the Team Ruff and Team Fluff rosters.
Fan-favorite returning segments include the adoptable puppies — and kittens — who will be looking for their forever home during the game, commentary by sportscasters Steve Levy and Taylor Rooks, the Wisdom Panel™ pet DNA test results providing insight into the players and of course, the Kitty Halftime Show.
Schachner hopes this year’s Puppy Bowl helps inspire people to adopt not shop when they’re looking for their next furry best friend. “I know it’s tempting to go onto like a Craigslist…[and] spend thousands of dollars [on a dog],” the ref explained, but in addition to the threat of “disreputable” breeders, there’s “no reason to shop for a dog and spend thousands when you can go to your local shelter and adopt one.”
“If you think that you can’t find a pure breed or if you’re ever looking for a specific type of dog and you can’t… trust me, you can,” he continued. After 10 years of fostering dogs that come from all over the country, Schachner encourages people to work with rescues and shelters to find their perfect dog.
“You might have to let the shelter know what your needs and requirements and asks are, but you’ll eventually find the right dog,” he explained, “and it’ll be so much more satisfying because that dog will be so much more grateful to be out of the shelter.”
Don’t miss Puppy Bowl XXI, airing Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. ET across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+. And tune into the Puppy Bowl XXI Kickoff show at 1 p.m. ET on Animal Planet.
