Fox Chapel’s next famous athlete may be of the furry kind.

Oliver Wes, a 6-month-old golden retriever-chihuahua mix, will be competing for Team Fluff in this year’s Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.

The 18th annual animal football game is scheduled for Feb. 13 and features more than 100 rescue dogs. On the field, Oliver Wes will go by the playing name of Wes.

Wes is the newest pet of Fox Chapel couple Dave and Genevieve Kirk, and one of many rescued by the Sato Project, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit dedicated to saving dogs and cats in Puerto Rico. The Kirk family plans to host a watch party for the game.

Genevieve Kirk said their middle child, Anabel, follows a lot of animal organizations and told the family about the Puerto Rico rescuers.

They then adopted Wes and Luke, a 2-year-old golden retriever-shih tzu mix, from the organization.

Genevieve Kirk said Wes is full of energy and a good complement to the more reserved Luke.

“He is overly friendly,” she said of Wes. “He thinks everyone’s his best friend. He’s still learning his manners. He is very cute. He’s very funny. He has a complete love of life and everything.”

The two dogs replaced other family pets, a mini schnauzer named Piper and an Australian shepherd named Magnus. Magnus passed and Anabel took Piper when she moved to Utah.

Luke, adopted in June 2020, was the Kirks’ first dog adopted through the Sato Project. Wes came to the Kirks in October 2021.

“Luke is a very old soul,” Genevieve Kirk said. “When Luke wants to go to bed, it’s bedtime and he’s done. Oliver (Wes) on the other hand is still a baby and wants to play, but they get along. They have their moments where they groom each other to death, and then they have their moments where they’re wrestling like crazy. Oliver knows how far he can push Luke.”

Both adoptions were made through Sato Project adoption coordinator Melissa Giordano.

Giordano said she fostered Wes for about two weeks until her father, Dave Matta, could meet up with the Kirk family in State College.

The Puppy Bowl between Team Ruff and Team Fluff was filmed in October. Giordano said she knows how Wes did, but does not want to give out any spoilers.

Kirk said she doesn’t know what is going to happen in the game.

“(Wes) might not have much of a role in it, or might have a good role,” Kirk said. “I just think it’s such a great thing because of what they’re doing with the rescue dogs.”

Genevieve Kirk of Fox Chapel treats her rescue dogs Luke, left, and Wes. Wes will compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl on Feb. 13. pic.twitter.com/n8pbCUfVbu

— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) January 27, 2022

Puppy Bowl

The first Puppy Bowl took place in 2005.

“We put down some turf on the office floor and let some puppies go crazy,” said Erin Wanner, senior vice president of production for Animal Planet. “It was incredibly low-budget at the beginning. Now it’s a pop culture phenomenon promoting dog adoption. There’s nothing better than puppies, and who can beat puppies playing football?”

The players are selected from various animal shelters and rescue organizations from across the county.

Animal Planet is working with 67 such groups from 33 states and U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, and will have its first-ever puppy from Hawaii. There are 118 puppy players this year, the most in Puppy Bowl history.

One major goal of the Puppy Bowl is to raise awareness of the various organizations and boost adoption of rescue pets.

“We have a casting wall where we hang all the puppy pics,” Wanner said. “We want to make sure we get as many animal shelters and rescues represented as possible, with the best mix of puppy players in terms of size, breed, fluffiness, speed, agility and cuteness. We have a 100% adoption rate for Puppy Bowl. All puppies featured in Puppy Bowl have found their loving, forever homes.”

The Sato Project has been a part of the Puppy Bowl for many years.

“It’s great recognition,” Giordano said. “It gets our name out there and gets people aware of the stray dogs in Puerto Rico.”

Wanner called Wes “quite the player.”

The game will also be streamed on Discovery+.

The Sato Project

The Sato Project is in its 10th year of operation. It partners with Wings of Rescue to transport the animals from Puerto Rico to the United States. They do about four to five trips a year.

Giordano said a little more than 6,000 dogs and cats have been rescued since the Sato Project started. There are about 500,000 homeless animals in the territory.

Animals are spayed and neutered, receive vaccinations and other treatments prior to coming to the states.

The Sato Project has a rigorous screening process for potential adoptive families. It usually includes calling two references and a veterinarian if they have other pets. People also have to submit photos and sometimes video of their homes.

“We rescue these dogs we want to make sure 100% they’re going to families that are going to take care of them and give them great lives,” Giordano said. “We talk with the family go over everything about the dogs and what’s required to care for them properly.

Adoptions usually take place within driving distance of Morristown, N.J., and White Plains, N.Y.

More information about the process and how to obtain a rescue is available at thesatoproject.org.

“I think having a dog is one of the greatest things,” Genevieve Kirk said. “I’m one of those people who thinks dogs should be allowed everywhere, at work and anywhere. Mental health-wise dogs are the greatest things to have around … Rescue them and give them a home and they’re for life.”

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