CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — A local shelter pup is about to make it on the big screen. Cronut, an 8-month-old Shar-Pei puppy from Chesapeake, was selected to compete in this year’s Puppy Bowl.
The Puppy Bowl, a three-hour match-up with shelter dogs, is nationally televised every year the same weekend as the big game. This year it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary.
“We very, very rarely get puppies,” said Laura Say with Shar-Pei Rescue of Virginia.
Since 2005, Laura Say has rescued Shar-Peis up and down the East Coast.
“We go all the way from New York down to Florida,” Say said. “We have a pretty heavy presence in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk area, Newport News.”
The Shar-Pei is an ancient breed from Southern China — best known for its wrinkly appearance.
“Shar-Pei really are sweet dogs,” Say stated.
Last year, when Cronut was taken to the Shar-Pei Rescue of Virginia from a shelter in Roanoke, Say sent a picture of the pup to see if he’d be selected for the annual Puppy Bowl.
“I thought aw he’s so cute he would be a great puppy Shar-Pei ambassador,” Say said.
The rest is history. Cronut is the rescue’s first dog to make the Puppy Bowl. The three-hour match-up features 131 shelter pups from across the country — competing on either Team Ruff or Team Fluff. Cronut’s on Team Fluff.
“You go to Glens Falls, New York,” Say said. “You get one of three days of filming and you spend the whole day.”
Cronut is currently being fostered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and has just wrapped up filming.
“He did get a penalty and talked to by the ref for excessive cuteness,” said Cronut’s foster mom, Patty Sevick.
Sevick is no stranger to Shar-Pei Rescue of Virginia and has adopted two Shar-Peis in the past.
“We want to spread the word about the rescue and about the Cronut,” Sevick said.
The rescue is selling t-shirts on its website with Cronut’s Puppy Bowl picture to raise money for the nonprofit. You can catch Cronut in Puppy Bowl XX at 2 p.m. Feb. 11 on Animal Planet.
