Animal Rescue Foundation’s puppy Champ was highlighted in an adoptable puppy segment during Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XX!
This year’s Puppy Bowl was the largest yet, with 131 puppy players from 73 different shelters and rescues in 36 states and rescues making up the event’s Team Ruff and Team Fluff.
Supporters may remember that special needs pup from ARF, Bea, was a player in last year’s Puppy Bowl. Read about her adventure and adoption >
Champ’s Story
At four weeks old, orphans Champ and his sister were found alone, dehydrated, and malnourished in the south. Though Champ started to improve, his sister didn’t survive. Unfortunately, they were found too late. Champ was fostered by a dedicated rescuer alongside a litter of four kittens for a few weeks. They had fun playing and growing together. Once they were old enough, Champ and the kittens made the trip up to ARF in New York to get ready for adoption.
Airing on February 12, the Puppy Bowl adoptable segment featured video clips of Champ and a little bit about him. Over 60 applications for Champ poured in within hours of the Puppy Bowl and our adoption coordinators got to work!
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Happy Tails
Sifting through the many wonderful applications for Champ was no easy feat but a couple in Massachusetts stood out. They already had a working dog breed which would be a good match for Champ’s Aussie energy and a cat.
After adoption coordinators checked their references, his adopters drove a few hours on a snowy Saturday to meet him with their dog, Fiona. After a successful meet and greet, it was time to sign the adoption paperwork and take Champ home!
“We’d already been thinking about getting a puppy to keep our Border Collie company, so even though we didn’t start watching the Puppy Bowl thinking we would be applying for a puppy, it was good timing,” his adopters said, “We saw Champ and fell in love!”
Check out the special meeting and happy ending below. You can also follow his adventures with his new name “Hardy” on his Instagram page: @fiona.and.hardy
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Foster Siblings
In other good news, the kittens fostered with Champ found homes of their own. Bea found a home with a wonderful ARF volunteer. Button and Beckmen were adopted together! And Butler, now named Scout, got a dog of his very own – he loved playing with Champ the most!
Animal Rescue Foundation, also commonly known as ARF, is a Federal 501(c)(3) non-profit, no-kill, 100% volunteer animal rescue located in Beacon, NY. Since 1986, we’ve rescued, rehabilitated, sheltered, and found loving homes for thousands of cats and dogs.
Support ARF’s mission to rescue more dogs and cats in need.
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