UPDATE (2/11/24): FRED WON! Helen Woodward Animal Center would like to thank each and every person who voted over the course of the PUPularity Playoffs for helping to make this fluffy boy champion. We couldn’t have done it without you.
A former Helen Woodward Animal Center orphan pup will not only take the field in this weekend’s Puppy Bowl, but he is currently battling for the title of Most PUPular. Defying the odds of millions of orphan pets everywhere, Fred, a Pomeranian/Australian Cattle Dog, along with two other adorable Center pups (Hana and Dory) will battle it out in the cutest championship game of the year, this Sunday, February 11th. Fred, however, is already taking the world of Puppy Bowl by storm, even before the first kick-off! A special pre-game on-line contest, asking fans to vote for the most fetching Fido, has Fred looking like the Center’s MVP (Most Valuable Puppy). Helen Woodward Animal Center asks Puppy Bowl Fans to vote for Fred in the Puppy Bowl PUPularity Contest and then join us this Sunday at the Puppy Bowl Watch Party at McGregor’s Bar & Grill to see if Fred wins the title of most PUPular Pup!
Each year, Animal Planet picks a few of the line-ups most captivating cuddlies and puts their furry faces out to the public for a Puppy Bowl’s PUPularity Pick. The contest, which began January 11th, pitted 16 Puppy Bowl contestants against each other in a single-elimination playoff bracket. Every day the public could vote for their favorite pooch for each match-up and at the end of the week, the winners advanced to the next round. Fred has triumphed over every single one of his matchups thus far (sometimes advancing by just a whisker) and now faces a Chihuahua blend, Bark Purdy, in the PUPularity Finals.
In total, the Center sent three dogs to compete in the pet-themed football championship parody: Fred, Hana, and Dory. While the Center is expecting to see each of these powerful pups on-screen during the big game, there was no doubt that Fred seems set to be the star of the show.
“We knew he had a ton of star power,” Katerina Krautheim, Volunteer and Animal Care specialist for the Center, said. “He had a ton of playful energy and was just the most affectionate puppy you could ask for.”
Voting for the PUPularity Playoff ends February 8th, and the winner will be announced in the Puppy Bowl pregame show starting at 10 am PST on February 11th. If you want to have a say in the Most PUPular player, go to Puppybowl.com and vote for your favorite finalist.
Be sure to join Helen Woodward Animal Center on February 11th, at the Puppy Bowl Watch Party being held at McGregor’s Bar & Grill from 10 am to 2:30 pm. If you can’t make it, you can always watch Fred and his Center alumni friends February 11th from 11 am to 2 pm PST on Animal Planet or discovery+.
For more information on Helen Woodward Animal Center, go to https://animalcenter.org or call (858) 756-4117.
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