INTERVIEW: This football weekend, give some love to older dogs

For football lovers and non-football lovers who would like a break from the pigskin action, check out Animal Planet’s annual celebration of doggy cuteness. Puppy Bowl returns Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. for its 14th edition, in advance of the Philadelphia Eagles taking on the New England Patriots. Audience members should expect adorable little canines, barely able to run without falling over themselves, in general chaos around a football field made to their size.

The cute factor is off the charts.

This year, the Puppy Bowl party starts the day before when the network premieres Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl, airing Saturday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. On this new TV special, hosted by dog lover Jill Rappaport, older dogs (some “super seniors,” as Rappaport calls them) receive the main spotlight.

Rappaport is an alumna of the Puppy Bowl broadcasts, having introduced TV viewers to the “Pup Close and Personal” segments over the years.

“Both shows encourage people to go to your local shelter and find your forever best friend,” Rappaport said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve been so fortunate to be able to do Puppy Bowl for the last few years. I host the ‘Pup Close and Personal’ segment, which tells the backstory of these adorable puppies and how they had a really tough time getting to the gridiron. They were found in ditches alongside roads, abandoned, and so every year I always thought, wouldn’t it be great to shine the same light and give the same attention to the older pets.”

Rappaport is the proud pet parent of six rescues, including a few “super seniors.” She calls these companions her passion in life, and she brought the idea of an adult-centered bowl game to the network. And they gobbled up the proposal like a dog with a bone.

“Originally I thought of calling it Senior Bowl,” she said with a laugh. “When you see dogs 15, 16 years old, vibrant, running, playing, everybody got along, so adorable — I think it’s going to be, no pun intended, a real game changer in rescue, and it’s going to make a huge difference. There’s nothing like it on TV, and I’m so honored to finally see it come to fruition. It’s truly a dream come true for me.”

In her work as a tireless animal advocate, Rappaport has started to see a change in how families consider older pets for adoption. Nowadays, she is seeing more people seek out “super seniors,” trying to help these dogs enjoy long lives of fun and companionship.

“Everyone that has ended up adopting an older pet ends up having the glass-half-full story as opposed to the glass-half-empty,” she said. “You know, people go in thinking, oh, I’ll have less time. It’s going to be a heartbreak waiting to happen sooner. … We’re talking dogs 3 years old, 4 years old and up have challenges getting adopted in the shelter, not just teens.”

Rappaport said that when an older dog receives a caring forever home, they almost always thrive.

“I have a friend that only takes in ‘super seniors’ with life-threatening illnesses when they say, ‘Oh, you may only have weeks,'” Rappaport said. “And she’ll call me and say, ‘Well, it’s been a year and a half. They’re still here.’ When they’re loved and cared for, they can live longer, and they often do live longer. And I hear many more stories of success and longevity than the opposite, and so that’s what I try to tell people. It’s just like with humans. Older people have a harder time being recognized the same way they were, accepted and appreciated the way they were when they were younger. It’s no different for the pets. The only difference with the animals is they languish in shelters, and if the shelter needs the room, they could be euthanized. This show is not only about heart and hope; it’s life saving, truly life saving in every sense of the word.”

Both Puppy Bowl and Dog Bowl feature dogs with special needs. Rappaport seems proud that the TV specials over the years have given the opportunity for many types of dogs to shine in the spotlight, find human parents and hopefully spread awareness.

“These animals, what they show you is how much heart they have, and people are truly amazed because the joys of an older pet is the obvious,” she said. “They are so mellow. They’ve been there, done that. They’re often housebroken. They know that they’ve been dumped, and they’re so happy — over the moon — to get into a loving home. The love that they give back is just truly incredible. I think that the joys are so unbelievable, and again if you speak to anybody who has taken in an animal that’s a little bit older, they will tell you, it’s the greatest thing they’ve ever did.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl will premiere Saturday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m. on Animal Planet. Puppy Bowl will play Sunday, Feb. 4 at 3 p.m. Click here for more information.

Photo: Barry and Olympia, two puppies, take the field for Puppy Bowl XIV. Photo courtesy of Animal Planet.