Lucky Dog Refuge Puts Paws in the Spotlight with Two Rescue Puppies in Puppy Bowl XXI on Animal Planet

Lucky Dog Refuge Puts Paws in the Spotlight with Two Rescue Puppies in Puppy Bowl XXI on Animal Planet

Meet the Stars at the Puppy Bowl Watch Party at New York Comedy Club Stamford Feb. 9

Lucky Dog Refuge celebrates two of its rescue puppies making a splash in this year’s Puppy Bowl XXI on Animal Planet. Clark and Vivian are representing the Stamford-based rescue in the highly-anticipated Puppy Bowl on Sunday, February 9, 2025 at 2PM ET.

Clark one of the pups at the puppy bowl on animal planet in February 2025 — Clark, photo credit Geoffrey Tischman Photography

“Around the time we were naming the puppies, I was also working with The Avon Theatre on its restoration campaign. The Avon is a historical gem in Stamford that is being returned to its 1930s glory, and so we were inspired to choose vintage names that were reminiscent of that time in cinematic history. Our Puppy Bowl pups are named after Vivian Lee and Clark Gable, who starred in Gone With The Wind, a movie that was released in 1939, the same year that the Avon opened, ” says Kirstin Mende, CEO and co-founder of Lucky Dog Refuge.

Lucky Dog Refuge will be hosting a Puppy Bowl Watch Party at New York Comedy Club Stamford (230 Tresser Blvd, Stamford, CT 06901)on Sunday, February 9, 2025 starting at 2PM. Supporters can bring their own dogs to enjoy the game, meet the stars of the show, win exciting raffle prizes, and meet adoptable dogs as well.

Clark’s journey is the perfect example of Lucky Dog Refuge’s mission. Clark, an Australian Cattle Dog / Labrador Retriever mix, was in a litter of puppies found at Animal Control in Morton, MS and pulled out of the pound by our foster in the area, who alerted us to their situation. His siblings are Edward, Beatrice, Hugh, and Taylor (deceased). They were found filthy, extremely malnourished and emaciated,and without a mother. They were carefully cared for by our local foster but weren’t improving the way we hoped, with sweet Taylor crossing the rainbow bridge after failing to thrive. Worried, we got them to the point that they were strong enough to be transported and rushed them up to CT, with the transporter deworming them even on the drive. They arrived skinny, anemic, and very sickly. Despite tests coming up negative for parasites and other ailments, we still weren’t confident they all would makeit. But thanks to our vet, careful care by our staff, modern medicine, and probably a dash of luck, the four eventually turned a corner. They started to put on weight, their eyes brightened, and their personalities started to shine.

Soon, they were a litter of rambunctious personalities! From day one, Clark has had a cute tendency to sit on the sidelines while his siblings were playing and look up at the person with his big puppy eyes. The staff would always joke that he reminded them of Jim Halpert from The Office, looking off at the camera like, “Can you believe this?”

When it was time to make his big debut in the Puppy Bowl, Clark initially sat to the side, taking it all in. He showed the camera his best Jim Halpert impression many times! But once Puppy Bowl Referee Dan Schachner gave him a good pep talk, that helped him get in on the action.

Those big puppy eyes helped him wiggle his way into the heart of our staff member Cameron Britt, who adopted him! He still lives in Stamford and has grown so much in a couple short months; he was about 12 lbs at the Puppy Bowl and now about three months later he’s already 40 lbs! He gets to come back to the shelter often to hang out with his friends while his mom is working. His mom says he loves meeting new people, stealing socks from the laundry, and still sits and stares at things when he’s feeling unsure.

Vivian one of the pups at the puppy bowl on animal planet in February 2025 — Vivan photo credit Geoffrey Tischman Photography

Vivian is a Bulldog / Boston Terrier mix found with her littermates and mama in Mississippi. Our rescue partners found the mama and nine puppies at an abandoned house. Four of the pups were deceased when found and five survived. They tried bottle feeding the little ones to help but unfortunately one more puppy passed. Vivian, Ophelia, Imogen, and Albert and their mama Maeve grew stronger together at a foster home in Mississippi until they were ready to make the journey to Connecticut. They all arrived happy and healthy. As a gray pittie mix, we nicknamed her our own little Moo Deng (the world-famous pygmy hippo)! Since then, the whole litter and mama Maeve have been adopted into wonderful homes.

Vivian was a little shy at the Puppy Bowl, more interested in getting cuddles with the people than playing on the field with the other puppies. But she also got a chance to be a cheerleader, so we’ll be keeping an eye out for her in an adorable blue tutu!

Vivian was adopted by the parents of one of our staff members, Audrey Sharp. She now lives with another dog named Katy who was also adopted from Lucky Dog Refuge. As Vivian gets bigger she and Katy look more and more like twins! They love romping around and snoozing together too. Audrey is also fostering another dog named Ellory from us, so they are one big happy Lucky Dog Refuge family! Vivian and Katy still live in Connecticut, so we get to see them often.

Clark and Vivian are both on Team Ruff! Will Team Ruff or Team Fluff take home the “Lombarky” trophy this year?This is the third year that Lucky Dog Refuge puppies will be featured in the Puppy Bowl. In 2024 the

Puppy Bowl stars were Rebekah (now Poppy), Inez (now Izzy), and Betty (still Betty). 2023 was Lucky Dog Refuge’s debut in the big game, with a husky mix named Twinkle representing the rescue. Twinkle (nownamed Emma) was adopted by the shelter’s co-founder, Maria Mende, and lives in Darien with her four rescue siblings.

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