Pup from Sylvania will star in Puppy Bowl

When the 16th annual Puppy Bowl kicks off at 3 p.m. on Feb. 2, Team Fluff will have a hound mix named “Coach” who hails from Sylvania.

The pup and his six siblings were left behind when residents of a house on Oak Street moved.

A postal carrier mentioned the pups to Carrie Williamson, a passionate member of the non-profit, volunteer-operated shelter Friends of Screven County Animals (FoSCA). She and her daughters – Faith, 18, and Meagan, 16 – spent two days catching the skittish, hungry pups.

Removed from their dire straits, the puppies became more affectionate and trusting.

“We loved on them and they were just fantastic,” said Carrie Williamson, who dubbed them the “Oak Street Pups.”

Morris Animal Refuge in Philadelphia asked FoSCA for potential pups for the Puppy Bowl. Morris is one of the rescues that FoSCA works with to place animals in northern states, where spaying and neutering laws are strict and there’s a shortage of pets to adopt.

Williamson went to Screven County High School and took photos of three of the Oak Street pups. Coach wound up being chosen as one of 42 dogs to take part in the Puppy Bowl, from about 4,000 dogs that applied for the Animal Planet show.

“He is a beautiful dog,” Williamson said of Coach. “He was just an instant poser. He would just stop and look at you with the camera. That’s not like puppies. They usually don’t stop moving.

“We made a difference in that puppy’s life. Because if we hadn’t, he probably would have been feral all his life.”

Williamson said she and her daughters are proud of what they did.

“We get to look at each other and say, ‘We rescued that puppy and see where his is now,’” Williamson said. “Everybody needs to root for Coach because he is our hometown hero now.”

Fellow FoSCA volunteer Stephanie Sheppard said nominations came in from all over the United States as well as foreign countries.

“That’s pretty big. A little puppy from Screven County, Georgia, made it,” Sheppard said. “It is mind blowing for me that that puppy was one of the ones chosen.”

The Williamson family fostered the Oak Street Pups and routinely fosters other dogs both inside and outside of their house in hopes the canines are adopted. The FoSCA shelter on W. Ogeechee Street in Sylvania is constantly filled with dogs and cats. Local volunteers have opened up their hearts and residences to foster the animals.

“I am very glad my husband is willing to put up with my shenanigans,” said Williamson of her spouse Thomas. Williamson said there is a revolving door of new animals coming in and others heading to new homes.

FoSCA needs money to pay for the building’s utilities and buy food for the animals. Additionally, volunteers are always needed to help feed the dogs and cats, clean their pens and foster animals.

“If we can save one puppy, it is all worth it,” Williamson said.

Sheppard said people should have their dogs and cats spayed and neutered to help reduce the numbers of puppies and kittens.

“It makes a big difference,” Sheppard said.