Four of Pittsburgh’s newest athletes have that dawg in them — literally.
Next month, two pups from Tarentum-based animal rescue Paws Across Pittsburgh and two puppy brothers from Pittsburgh-based animal rescue Animal Friends will compete in the major national television event the “Puppy Bowl XXII.”
Mirroring the NFL Super Bowl, the Puppy Bowl airs annually on Super Bowl Sunday across multiple channels and streaming platforms, reaching millions of viewers nationwide to promote pet adoption.
“It’s a lot about awareness and … getting people to look at dogs in rescues and shelters and adopt, rather than purchasing from breeders and puppy mills,” said Jackie Armour, president of Paws Across Pittsburgh.
The Puppy Bowl, which consists of rescue puppies scoring points by dragging chew toys into end zones on a miniature field, announced its 2026 roster in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Representing Paws Across Pittsburgh this year is Meeko, who is a Jack Russell mix, and Glacier – who competed under the stage name “Carrie Pawshaw,” after Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw — who is an Australian Shepherd mix.
Meeko and Carrie Pawshaw will compete on opposing teams. Meeko represents Team Fluff while Carrie Pawshaw represents Team Ruff, according to the Puppy Bowl website.
“They’re both real cute, friendly, nice dogs,” Armour said.
Representing Animal Friends are Niklaus and Kol, who are Rottweiler mixes and came to the rescue in a litter of six.
Despite being brothers, Niklaus and Kol will be competing on opposing teams.
Niklaus will join Meeko on Team Fluff and Kol will join Carrie Pawshaw on Team Ruff.
“It’s like the Kelce brothers all over again,” said Hayley McGuigan, community engagement coordinator for Animal Friends, referencing how Jason and Travis Kelce played against each other in the 2023 Super Bowl.
The first Puppy Bowl took place in 2005 opposite Super Bowl 39 and is refereed by Dan Schachner, who has appeared in episodes of “Blue Bloods,” “The Mysteries of Laura” and “The Following,” according to the Internet Movie Database.
According to a Warner Bros. Discovery post, Puppy Bowl XXI had 12.8 million views and was the number one of all non-sports cable telecasts on Sunday across all adult demographics.
This is Paws Across Pittsburgh’s third year with puppies in the competition.
Last year, Armour said the rescue had two dogs compete and the year prior it had three.
“We had one puppy that was a big Great Pyrenees, and he really would not participate at all. He just laid around on the field,” Armour said, joking.
The puppy — named Mercury — ended up taking home the “Underdog Award” for being the chillest dog on the field.
Carrie Pawshaw is featured in this year’s starting lineup and Paws Across Pittsburgh is gunning for her to win “Most Pupular” on social media.
“She will need your vote to win the Pupularity Playoffs! Each bracket will be voted on each week until the title of “Most Pupular” is announced on February 7,” the post said.
Animal Friends’ dogs have been appearing in the Puppy Bowl for the last six years.
While neither of their dogs is featured in the starting lineup this year, they were told to still expect to see the puppies on screen, said Cindy Cole, a spokeswoman for Animal Friends.
“Niklaus is going to get some airtime,” Cole said.
All four dogs have been adopted. Carrie Pawshaw and Meeko stayed in the Pittsburgh area, while Niklaus moved to Harrisburg and Kol to Midland with their adoptive families.
Armour said while the Puppy Bowl stars have found homes, there are still so many other dogs that are looking for a home.
“On a more personal level, it brings more attention to us and our rescue,” Armour said. “We will get an increase in people (donating) from outside of Pittsburgh.”
The Puppy Bowl XXII will air on Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. Stream it on Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, HBO Max and discovery+.
