(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Local rescue puppies will participate as team players in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XIX, which will air on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, at 12 p.m.

Team Fluff and Team Ruff will take to the gridiron in the Puppy Bowl stadium to win the ‘Lombarky’ trophy. The three-hour television matchup will showcase 122 adoptable puppies, 67 shelters and rescues across 34 states along with more inspiring adoption stories than ever before. For the first time, the event will feature a Native American animal organization and a puppy player from Dominica, West Indies.

For 2022’s special event, the following rescue puppies from the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region will be competing in the big game:

Sven & Vivianne

Puppy Bowl XIX will start with a pre-game show on Animal Planet and discovery+ at 12 p.m. Audiences will get the inside scoop on the Puppy Bowl draft and exclusive interviews with coaches and players. Viewers will learn more about each puppy’s breed mix and other unique traits from the Wisdom Panel™ dog DNA test that could help determine which puppy will have a furry leg-up on the field. The pre-game show will also provide a first look at the Kitty Halftime Show.

As Starting Lineup puppy players take to the field, it will be revealed which puppy player has what it takes to be named the MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) or to win the Underdog Award.

Audiences will also see the return of Puppy Bowl’s ‘Adoptable Pup’ segments. Throughout the program, 11 shelters from around the country will feature one of their puppies that will all be up for adoption during the game. Three shelters with adoptable kittens will be featured during KITTY HALF-TIME.

Other fan-favorite elements will return, including the Puppy Cheer Squad, the coveted water-bowl cam, the slo-mo cam, end zone pylon cameras to catch all the action and an all-new backstage look at the puppy players’ red-carpet arrivals ahead of the game.

During the game, viewers will get to meet 11 special needs puppy players looking for their forever homes. Featured special needs puppy players include Julius, a hearing-impaired Dalmatian, Marmalade, a sight and hearing-impaired Border Collie/ Australian Cattle Dog; Mykonos, an American Staffordshire Terrier/ Bulldog with a cleft palate, among others. 

‘Pup Close and Personal’ segments will share the back stories of the adorable star athletes. Audiences will get to meet Cooper, a Boston terrier/ boxer mix from Seattle Humane, who will mark the Emerald City’s debut in Puppy Bowl with a visit to the Seattle Seahawks’ Training Camp where Defensive End Shelby Harris coaches Cooper on his signature moves. Another pup that will be featured is Inya, a Chihuahua/Miniature Pinscher mix rescued by the Phoenix-based NAGI Foundation working to restore the sacredness of the Native American community by uniting people and animals. For more “Pup Close and Personal” stories featured in Puppy Bowl XIX, click here.

The event is the original and longest-running call-to-adoption TV event that will return for its 19th year in February. It will air on Animal Planet and stream on discovery+. The competition will highlight the work of rescue and shelter workers who dedicate their lives to helping animals find their forever homes.

Puppy Bowl referee Dan Schachner will return for his 12th year of overseeing all the stumbles and tumbles. He’ll be calling the puppy penalties and touchdowns while sportscasters Steve Levy and Taylor Rooks return to provide play-by-play commentary.