My Super Bowl Sunday is usually occupied with filling in Super Bowl squares, making delicious game-time treats, and the Puppy Bowl. I had a “ruff” time this year because I could not watch the big game with my pups for the first time. But I could not paws my tradition simply because I would not be home for the event this year. So I watched the Puppy Bowl in its entirety on my laptop, and it did not disappoint.

Now let me interject with my mother probably saying “You’re a grown adult, why do you care so much about the Puppy Bowl?”. And Mom, I just have to say, what do you not love about the Puppy Bowl? I could go on and on about how cute the players are, or their funny antics, but it is truly an inspiring event. It is the biggest call to action to “Adopt Don’t Shop” of the year. As an owner of two rescue dogs myself, I am a strong believer in this initiative.

My dogs, Jack and Jill (yes, they came with those names) are both shih tzu-poodle mixes that we rescued from Waco, Texas about five and a half years ago. Since they are rescue dogs, we are not entirely sure of their age or their life before they were found. They were found together, but we do not know if or how they are related, though we suspect Jill is Jack’s mother. They act in certain ways that make us question their past. For example, Jack has a big problem with bald men in particular. Jill hides at the sight of strangers. We do not know exactly why they do these things, or what factors of their past contribute to these behaviors.

What we do know is what makes each of our pups special. Jill is a bit older than Jack and slower (physically and mentally) until it is time to chase. Come fetch time, she has almost never lost to Jack. Speaking of Jack, he has got the biggest personality of any dog I have ever known. He has got spunk and attitude for days. My point in telling you all of this is that you do not need a pure-bred dog to get to know a dog. Rescue dogs come in all shapes and sizes, hypoallergenic or not. Most importantly, these dogs have the ability to save our lives, just as we have the ability to save theirs.