Tale of the Tape: Team Fluff vs. Team Ruff
Introducing the 2022 Puppy Bowl starting lineups and the rescue organizations they’re representing.

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With the first round of the NFL playoffs in the books, we’re four weeks away from the big game: the yearly tradition of two teams featuring some of our best athletes colliding for the crown. No, not the Super Bowl. Rather, its cuter counterpart — the Puppy Bowl. For the past 17 years, the Puppy Bowl has been an adorable refuge from the often chaotic and intense nature of Super Bowl Sunday. Airing earlier in the day before its human parallel, the game includes exclusively shelter puppies and is intended to raise awareness of the importance of adopting from rescues and the prevalence of pets abandoned in them. Organizations from across the states volunteer pups for this cuddly competition so you can watch 50-plus dogs tumble over each other while supporting a decent cause. These are the dogs (and their rescues) taking the field this year in the annual showdown between Team Fluff and Team Ruff.
Puppy Bowl XVIII airs Sunday, February 13th at 2 p.m. EST on Animal Planet.
Team Fluff
Baxter / Florida Little Dog Rescue
Benny / Bosley’s Place
Blondie / Providence Animal Center
Birch / Ninna’s Road to Rescue
Bunny / Green Dogs Unleashed
Chorizo / Paws Crossed
Cooper Pupp / Angel City Pit Bulls
Dinozzo / Tri-State Basset Hound Rescue
Firework / Helen Woodward Animal Center
Forrest / Brandywine Valley SPCA
Glaze / Green Dogs Unleashed
Heidi / Virginia Beach SPCA
Irwin / The Sato Project
Kali / Lifeline Puppy Rescue
Kirby / America’s VetDogs
Mallorie / Rescue City
Mario / The Sato Project
Mr. Tinkles / Shih Tzu & Furbabies Rescue
Nugget / Florida Little Dog Rescue
Pudding / Rutland County Humane Society
Raspberry / Shaggy Dog Rescue
Rob Gronchowski / Love My Pitties Rescue
Sammie / Virginia Beach SPCA
Sky / ROAR Animal Rescue
Squeak / Florida Little Dog Rescue
Wasabi / The Sato Project
Wes / The Sato Project
Ziggy / Rescue City
Team Ruff
Aspen / Operation Paws for Home
Banjo / Rescue City
Biff / Last Chance Animal Rescue
Billie / Compassion Kind
Bimini / Orange Twins Rescue
Cannon / Save An Angel
Conchita / Miami-Dade County Animal Services
Ellington / Shaggy Dog Rescue
Emmylou / The Anti-Cruelty Society
Hoku / Maui Humane Society
Jackson / Muddy Paws Rescue
Lucy / Rescue City
Lulu / Pack Leaders Rescue of CT
Luna / Danbury Animal Welfare Society (DAWS)
Maisie / Compassion Kind
Maribel / East Greenwich Animal Protection League (EGAPL)
Missy / Providence Animal Center
Moby / Harley’s Haven Dog Rescue
Noir / Charlie’s Crusaders Pet Rescue
Ocean / Matchdog Rescue
Odin / Big Fluffy Dog Rescue
Pongo / Green Dogs Unleashed
Pops / Center for Animal Health and Welfare (CAHW)
Ridley / Green Dogs Unleashed
Scotty / Matchdog Rescue
Snowball / Wagmor Pets
Surf / Miami-Dade County Animal Services
Tayce / Orange Twins Rescue
Ted D. Bear / Florida Little Dog Rescue
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Sean Zucker
Sean Zucker is a writer whose work has been featured in Points In Case, The Daily Drunk, Posty, and WellWell. He has an adopted Pit Bull named Banshee whose work has been featured on the kitchen floor and whose behavioral issues rival his own.