Puppies and kittens and hedgehogs oh my!

How can anyone resist watching dozens of puppies, no older than 15 weeks, stumble around on screen in an adorable attempt to mimic the Super Bowl? I’ll tell you, no one can!

The Puppy Bowl is an annual event that occurs the same day as the National Football League’s biggest day of the year. Making the Puppy Bowl even more of a success is crucial because, all of the animals featured are from shelters and are then available for adoption after the show.

According to The Huffington Post, the Puppy Bowl is a way to, “provide national exposure to the shelters across the country that provide the puppy athletes and the kittens that star in the halftime show, and introduces viewers to the different breeds and animals that need homes.” There are 84 animals total in the show; puppies, kittens and even hedgehogs that are all available to become a new pet for any able and willing person.

While the puppies are running around playing, and doing their jobs on the field, the hedgehogs will be filling up the sidelines posing as cheerleaders. Then the kittens will take the stage and show off their stuff during an amazing halftime performance, one that cannot be missed.

Throughout the show, Meep the bird tweeted to keep everyone updated on stats and scores throughout the bowl.

The Puppy Bowl provides a wonderful way to get a new pet for people thinking of adopting but just need that little push. Who isn’t going to rush out to the nearest animal shelter after seeing 63 puppies attempt to play football? Most of the puppies in The Puppy Bowl are mutts so this event also encourages people to buy shelter animals instead of from breeders.

If you weren’t inspired enough by all the insanely cute puppies running around on the field, how about the kittens doing a halftime performance? Or, if you missed that, the playful hedgehogs cheering on the sidelines!

There is an overabundance of cuteness in The Puppy Bowl, which should inspire anyone with a love for animals and an open spot in their home to adopt a shelter animal.

To keep things interesting, the Bowl is also offering a Most Valuable Pup (MVP) award. Last year, Fumble, a chihuahua and terrier mix, was the winner of the 2012 Puppy Bowl’s MVP award, but Aberdeen, the Australian shepherd mix won the Viewer’s Choice Most Valuable Puppy Poll. With plenty of adorable pups to go around, I’m sure the choice was be tough.

This year’s Puppy Bowl marks the ninth year running for the event Animal Planet should be very proud of. It is not just a two-hour show of animals running around on screen; it’s a display of cuteness in hopes of luring people to the animal shelters to adopt an animal in need.

As for the MVP of 2013, that honor goes to Marta, a Schnauzer Beagle mix, or, as, according to E! Online, the announcer dubs her, “the little pup that outhustled dogs twice her size.”

Madeline Bernstein, president and CEO of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles stated, “a lot of people have come in during the last year and said, “I want a dog just like Fumble.” It looks pretty obvious the Puppy Bowl is doing its job.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED FOR THE TARTAN