Sonny the puppy wearing a Puppy Bowl bandanna

Best Friends and Puppy Bowl XX scored a touchdown for the animals!

Our very own Sonny, a puppy from our New York City lifesaving center, took the field representing Team Ruff when Puppy Bowl XX aired on February 11, 2024.

Puppies were the stars of the show, but from Best Friends locations alone, more than 220 cats and kittens were adopted. In the end, a total of 3,200 pets went home from Best Friends and our partners combined.

See some of the new happy families.

Puppy Bowl Logo

Donate to make Puppy Bowl XX an even bigger win for the animals

In celebration of Puppy Bowl XX, the Puppy Bowl is hosting a giving campaign benefiting Best Friends Animal Society. Thanks to this fundraising push, every dog and cat at our lifesaving centers and our animal sanctuary had their adoption fees waived February 7-14.

Your gift today will go straight to work saving the lives of dogs and cats just like Sonny and providing homeless animals the help and healing they need to find loving homes.

Red heeler puppy on an orange blanket
 
Photo Icon - Sonny

Meet Sonny, the star of Team Ruff

Sonny being held by Lilana and Lilyblue with a sign that says, "I heart my adopted dog"

A puppy’s journey part 3: Home

How signing up to foster a puppy changed his new family’s lives — and Sonny’s too
Foster win!
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Sonny the puppy wearing an orange Puppy Bowl bandanna

A puppy’s journey part 1: A star is born

How a puppy named Sonny went from alone on a roadside in Alabama to a shelter and then a foster home where his whole life changed
The start of Sonny's journey
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Ira Shankman wearing a Best Friends hat and holding Sonny the puppy, who is wearing hos orange bandanna

A puppy’s journey part 2: Puppy Bowl XX

Sonny joins the starting lineup on Team Ruff in Puppy Bowl XX.
He represents well
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Adopt a new best friend like Sonny today

When you adopt a pet you not only save a life, but you also free up space in the shelter for another homeless pet. And that’s why Puppy Bowl and Best Friends want you to adopt your next pet.

More than 140 Best Friends shelter and rescue group partners around the country participated in the fee-waived adoption week.

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Adopt from Best Friends

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary

Adopt to make more room for incoming pets at the Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.
Woman petting goats

Best Friends in Los Angeles

Adopting is an incredibly fun and fulfilling way to help save homeless pets in L.A.
White dog in front of mural

Best Friends in Salt Lake City

Give a pet a home and alleviate the burden on shelters in Salt Lake City.
Two orange kittens in shelter

Best Friends in New York City

Adopt to be a part of a lifesaving team working to create a bright future for homeless pets in NYC.
Two dogs sitting together in city

Best Friends in Northwest Arkansas

Adopting an animal is a rewarding way to make a lifetime of difference for pets.
Brown dog wearing bandana

Best Friends in Houston

Houston embraces community-based sheltering to prepare pets for adoption.
Black and white cat

Best Friends partners with animal shelters around the country to save more lives. Not near one of our locations or programs? Adopt from a Best Friends Network Partner in your community.
 

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Not ready to adopt?

There are so many ways you can save dogs and cats where you live, and we'll show you how.

Person playing fetch with a dog in a home

Foster a pet

Welcoming a furry houseguest into your home, even for just a few nights, helps those pets while freeing up space in the shelter to save more lives.
The fun of fostering
Smiling person holding two tiny kittens

Volunteer near you

Wherever you live, whatever your experience or interests, there are countless ways to volunteer your time for pets in need.
See how you can help
Smiling person sitting with a big dog in a chair on a patio

Advocate for animals

You can help create the kind of community you want to live in by teaming up with fellow community members to support progressive pet programs and policies.
Advocating for animals
Happy dog surrounded by hearts

Melt hearts this Valentine’s Day with a gift in honor

The loveliest way to say "you’re something special"? Give a gift in honor of a special someone. It’ll go straight to work helping homeless pets heal and thrive.
Making a gift in honor
Best Friends + Puppy Bowl

Who we are

The 20th anniversary of the Puppy Bowl is going to be a big one. The second most-watched show on Super Bowl Sunday will be simulcast on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, TBS, TruTV, Max, and Discovery+ on February 11 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT when Team Ruff and Team Fluff face off to compete for the championship.

Best Friends Animal Society is the leading animal welfare organization working to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters in 2025. Founded in 1984, Best Friends is a pioneer in the no-kill movement and has helped reduce the number of animals killed in shelters from an estimated 17 million per year to around 378,000 in 2022. 

Best Friends runs lifesaving programs across the country, as well as the nation’s largest no-kill animal sanctuary. Collaborating with a network of thousands of animal welfare and shelter partners, and community members nationwide, Best Friends is working to Save Them All. For more information, visit bestfriends.org.