HERTFORD COUNTY, N.C. — While most American sports fans prepare for Sunday’s big game, the Humane Society has another big game in mind — the Puppy Bowl.
Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl — an event that highlights puppies “playing” a football game — took to the screen for its 20th year. A couple of the pups featured have ties to Hampton Roads.
The annual event helps promote adoption by encouraging those who tune in to help dogs in need of a forever home by “adopting, fostering, volunteering or donating,” according to the Humane Society’s press release.
Ollie, a once-local pup who was rescued from Hertford County, North Carolina, was one of the players in this year’s Puppy Bowl.
Ollie and “more than 100 other dogs” were rescued by the Humane Society of the United States in May 2023 from a breeding operation in Hertford County.
The Humane Society rescued the dogs from an egregious environment where some dogs were forced to drink from “murky green puddles” and were in desperate need of veterinary care “for heartworm and other parasites,” officials said. Sadly, some dogs even had BB gun pellets embedded in their skin.
Ollie and many of the pups on the property were malnourished and suffering from rickets “a rare and often painful disease in young animals that causes soft and deformed bones.”
From Hertford County, Ollie was placed with Green Dogs Unleashed a Troy, a Virginia rescue facility, where he recovered from rickets and regained a healthy weight.
Ollie was adopted by a loving family soon after being selected for the Puppy Bowl. Anne and her husband saw his photo and said they immediately knew he’d be the perfect addition to their family.
“It’s him. We need him,” Anne recalled saying.
Ollie has transformed from a dog in need of adoption to a “beloved family dog” without “the major trauma responses that other dogs have,” says Anne who adds that Ollie now spends “his days birdwatching with his feline brother.”
Another Hampton Roads pup was featured in Sunday’s game. Cronut, a Shar-pei from Chesapeake, also took to the field.
“He just fit in beautifully,” his owner said, adding that Cronut, “plays hard and all the time.”
“These happy endings, and the spotlight the Puppy Bowl puts on adoption and rescue, are critical as shelters and rescues across the country navigate an overpopulation crisis,” said Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. She urges viewers to support in any way they can by choosing to adopt, foster, volunteer, or donate.
For more about Ollie, visit the president and CEO of the Humane Society, Kitty Block's blog.