Exclusive: Animal Planet's 'Dog Bowl' is a new breed of football game

NEW YORK — Super Bowl weekend is going to the dogs. 

Fourteen years after Puppy Bowl made football fans of even the most apathetic sports viewers, Animal Planet is spinning off its cuddly game-day event into The Dog Bowl, a one-hour special airing Feb. 3 (8 ET/5 PT) that turns the spotlight on older canines in need of "furever" homes. 

Like Puppy Bowl, which airs on Feb. 4, Super Bowl Sunday (3 ET/12 PT), Dog Bowl splits shelter pooches into two "teams" — Paws and Tails — for a playful game of pigskin, complete with a colorful (and clamorous) assortment of squeak toys, tennis balls and frayed ropes. But the more mature offshoot is a whole different breed of competition, with mutts from 15 shelters in 11 states, ranging from 2 to 15 years old. 

"They're calmer with each other" on the field, says Dan Schachner, Puppy Bowl's official "ruffaree" of seven years. "We don't get fights like the puppies when they yip at each other. They seem a little more aloof" and like to "stake their claim." 

Which means round-the-clock cleanup duty for their handlers, armed with paper towels and plastic bags on the sidelines of the miniature Dog Bowl field on a cavernous Manhattan soundstage, where the special was taped in mid-October. Within 30 seconds after scampering onto the field, the wiry-haired Stewart has already lifted his leg and peed on a stuffed toy; moments earlier, the shaggy black Betty sniffed an opponent's butt and pooped on the 50-yard line. 

While the senior lineup requires more coaxing to interact and run plays, "we don't mind that," Schachner says. "In fact, it's kind of a plus. Part of the message that we're trying to get out there is sometimes older dogs are more sedate and low-key for families that might be looking for that. In a perfect world, a family watches this and goes, 'Oh, that bulldog is so chill!'"

Josie, an English Bulldog playing for Team Paws at the inaugural 'Dog Bowl.'

Keith Barraclough

Most of the 50 pups competing in the Dog Bowl have been adopted, including four English Bulldogs from Long Island Bulldog Rescue in Stony Brook, N.Y., who pant, rather than punt, when they hit the field. 

"Bulldogs don't usually do tricks — the big trick is that they grab your heart," says rescue founder Laurette Richin, huddling between quarters with Josie, a drooling 5-year-old who was given up for adoption after she gave birth to a litter of puppies. Although the breed was named the fourth most-popular in the United States by the American Kennel Club in 2016, Richin says that many are abandoned due to eye and breathing problems, which can amount to thousands of dollars in health bills. 

But for some people, the tail-waggers are as good as medicine. Rommy is a 5-year-old Labradoodle from Denver who was rescued and trained through Freedom Service Dogs of America, a foundation started by Tennessee Titans wide receiver Eric Decker and his wife, country singer Jessie (James) Decker. He was matched with Army and Navy veteran Shon Wilson, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and suffers from PTSD. 

Rommy, a service dog and rescue.

Keith Barraclough

At first, "I wasn't sure I wanted the stigma of having (a service) dog with me. I wanted to be tough, (like) 'There's nothing wrong with me,' " Wilson says. "But it came down to my wife and counselor saying, 'You're not getting better. Let's do something else.' "

Now, Rommy helps Wilson with small tasks such as throwing away garbage and turning on lights, as well as situations directly related to his trauma, including waking him if he's having nightmares or creating space between him and others in crowded places. 

Mellow and shy around his Dog Bowl teammates, Rommy may not look like the next Bark Favre or Peyton Man's Best Friend. But off the field, "he's always playful," Wilson assures. "He'll make a game of anything." 

RELATED: 'Puppy Bowl': Always adorable, now inspiring

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