While every Saturday at Park-9 Dog Bar sees hundreds of four-legged visitors, there were some special guests Feb. 3. In anticipation for the Super Bowl, numerous puppies took part in the bar’s fur-st annual Puppy Bowl.
The game, organized in collaboration with Sweet Paws Rescue, a foster-based rescue group, doubled as an adoption event where paw-tential adopters could meet the “athletes” afterward.
Puppies were split into two teams, Boston Ruff & Tumble and Everett Wag Time, with the first team sporting orange bandanas and the latter sporting blue bandanas. While the game started off strong with lots of energy from both the dogs and the crowd, it quickly turned into chaos with multiple penalties, tackles and interceptions. Tired of being on the field, many puppies began trying to escape the play area.
After a halftime water break, the puppies were at it again, biting, jumping and sprinting as they fought for the various tennis balls and Dunkin’ squeaky toys. With all the chaos, there was no clear winner, but it’s safe to say all puppies and spectators had a good time.
Following the game, groups of visitors were given 10-minute intervals to meet the puppies. As the gate to the play area opened, allowing the first visitors in, puppies swarmed to their fans with tails wagging, soaking up the attention. Couples, families and friends gushed over how adorable the puppies were, petting and holding them while Sweet Paws members spoke to visitors about each puppy.
While thematic, this wasn’t the first adoption event that Park-9 has hosted. In fact, the establishment tries to work with a rescue or non-profit once a month.
Through the Puppy Bowl, two puppies were adopted, with potential future adoptions from interested parties.
“Not everyone shows up to the bar on a Saturday looking to take home a puppy,” said Kayley Nugent, Park-9’s events manager. “So we’re never surprised that all dogs don’t go, but a lot will follow up and they’ll go home, you know, in the next couple weeks.”
Beyond adoptions, Park-9’s goal with events like these is to gain exposure for the rescue organizations they work with.
“This has been better than we could have imagined,” Nugent said. “We had a really great turnout.”
